American Accrediting and the International Environment

been possible only because the legal milieu does not prohibit or regulate it. To promote quality education, it would be worthwhile to create genuine institutional links that are based on equal participation and have adequate controls related to quality and financial arrangements. As a step in this direction, the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), in 1999, formulated guidelines covering the grant of equivalence to degrees offered in India by foreign universities. The main conditions laid down are, first, that the Indian institution (partner) has adequate infrastructure and facilities as substantiated by the report of a Review Committee of the AIU; second, that the program is implemented jointly by the foreign and the Indian universities, or academic institutions affiliated to them, with both contributing to the academic program in approximately equal measure; and third, that the foreign university gives an undertaking, in the form of a certificate, that the degree or diploma awarded to the student in India would be considered as equivalent to the corresponding degree or diploma awarded by the home university, and that it would be recognized in that country as being equivalent to the corresponding degree or diploma of the awarding university. To date, only one university has applied for the grant of equivalence. Obviously, the guidelines of the AIU are not acceptable to the foreign providers of higher education. Perhaps they feel that they can continue operation without a grant of equivalence, for there is no dearth of students wanting a foreign degree. One can understand higher education having financial aspects, but most people in India believe that it must essentially be grounded in academic values.