Introduction: The nature of higher education massification throughout the Asia-Pacific region

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book draws on the cases from selected Asia-Pacific locations to discuss the issue of sustainability of higher education massification. It first addresses six conflicting hypotheses that arise out of contemporary massification provided by Hawkins, Mok and Neubauer. The book then explores how some of the complexities of both massification and sustainability play out within the Asia-Pacific context and (from a few selected examples) within the United States. It examines US higher education institutions from a perspective that queries sustainability somewhat differently. Drawing on the policies and practices of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, the book reviews the major strategies adopted by universities in Hong Kong and Shenzhen in promoting entrepreneurship qualities of the graduates as well as the collaboration in these two cities.