College Board Announces the India Global Higher Education Alliance

Mumbai, May 22, 2018: The College Board announced the formal launch of the India Global Higher Education Alliance during the two-day “India Global Higher Education Alliance Symposium” held at the India Habitat Center.

The India Global Higher Education Alliance is a platform for achieving three primary goals:            

Building a community of innovative secondary and higher education leaders who will work to improve the transition for students to higher education in India

Establishing a forum for sharing of global best practices so we can learn from what’s working in admissions around the world

Taking concrete actions to help ensure that all students, regardless of income, geography or class, can access excellent higher education 

Over the last decade, Indian higher education has made monumental strides in meeting the formidable challenge of doubling the size of its higher education system.  The College Board is convening Indian universities in order to help them to refine and drive structural improvements in that system, giving priority to how students access and prepare for the rigors of postsecondary education.

Linda Liu, Vice President International at the College Board said, “While the College Board has delivered the SAT and Advanced Placement in India for decades, the time is right for us to work closely with innovate universities in India to provide more access to underserved populations, rethink admissions in an Indian context, and ensure India’s leading universities continue to shine on the world stage.”

The Founding Members of the Alliance have all taken innovation approaches to admissions and enrolment, and are engaging in practices at the forefront of change in Indian higher education. The Affiliate Members have tackled the challenge of attracting diverse groups of students from their home countries, as well as increasing global recruitment. The goal of this Alliance is that progressive Indian universities can learn from the best practices shared by the affiliate members and adapt those practices to the current context of higher education in India.

The two-day “India Global Alliance Symposium” focused on all aspects of the Indian education system, ranging from K-12 to Higher education. Day 1 of the symposium focused on the current state of the Indian education system and an overview on the higher education enrolment channel. Day 2 explored subjects like the challenges and opportunities within the transition from secondary to higher education in India, megatrends in global higher education and international student mobility, and assessment in admission process.

The Symposium is the beginning of the work of the Alliance. Through convenings and concrete action plans, the Alliance will help ensure more of India’s neediest students have access to higher education. 

The members spoke about the possibilities and methods for the sharing of global best practices to improve the quality of education in India, ensure equitable access to it, and expanding the scope of conversation to help elevate the role of admissions in advancing the mission and agenda shared by the College Board and the Alliance members. 

The College Board, along with its partners, are seeking to bridge the gaps in the education system by helping simplify entrance and admission processes, building the critical thinking skills needed for the future, facilitating mid- and low-income students’ access to high quality undergraduate experiences and helping Indian Universities to better recruit, admit and enrol students. The College Board also brings to India best practices of its member institutions from around the world that will focus on supporting students while fostering the development of Indian universities into world-class institutions.  

Manoj P., Registrar from Azim Premji University, which focuses on educational research, said: “As a Founding Member of this Alliance, we are excited to share ideas and learn from other institutions, both in India and abroad. We hope that this will open up opportunities for diversifying the applicant pool and enable access and equity.”

The College Board also announced the College Board India Scholars Program, wherein high achieving, low income students in India would be eligible to take the SAT at reduced costs and obtain full scholarships to India Global Alliance member universities in India that are co-funded by the College Board and Indian Alliance members. More details will be released in June.

Founding and Affiliate member universities include: Ashoka University, Azim Premji University, Manav Rachna University, Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, FLAME University, Ahmedabad University, University of Cambridge, NMIMS University, BML Munjal University, Pomona College, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Pomona University, Purdue University, Manipal University, McGill University, University of Hong Kong

About the College Board

The College Board is a U.S.-based, non-profit organization that was established in 1900. It was created to expand access to higher education. Today, the membership association is made up of over 6,000 of the world’s leading educational institutions and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in education. Each year, the College Board helps more than seven million students prepare for a successful transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and college success — including the SAT and the Advanced Placement Program.