NORTH AMERICA 2.0 - Forging a Continental Future - Higher Education Collaboration in North America: A Review of the Past and a Potential Agenda for the Future

Oct 15, 2026

Working paper examining how higher education collaboration in North America evolved alongside NAFTA-era regional integration. Traces foundational agreements and initiatives, including the Wingspread Statement and the Vancouver Communiqué, and summarizes early engagement patterns among institutions in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Highlights measured linkages, mobility and student exchange sponsorship realities, and constraints encountered. Proposes an initial agenda for future trilateral cooperation connecting collaboration, information exchange, and competitiveness.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Higher Education Collaboration in North America: A Review of the Past and a Potential Agenda for the Future

NAFTA’s influence and early trilateral engagement

The First Twenty Years of Educational Collaboration, 1993–2013

The Foundational Statements

NORTH AMERICA 2.0 Forging a Continental Future Higher Education Collaboration in North America: A Review of the Past and a Potential Agenda for the Future By Fernando León García, Sergio M. Alcocer, Taylor Eighmy and Santa J. Ono May 2021 Working Paper * This working paper will be published as a chapter in the forthcoming book, North America 2.0: Forging a Continental Future. Higher Education Collaboration in North America: A Review of the Past and a Potential Agenda for the Future Fernando León García, Sergio M. Alcocer, Taylor Eighmy and Santa J. Ono 1 When the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into fruition in the early 1990s, there were high hopes and expectations on what this emerging economic block could achieve. Although the agreement involved extensive conversations that led to regulations that facilitated trade across the region—the main intent of NAFTA—the same was not true for the higher education environment. Critics have argued that NAFTA’s heavy focus on trade left little room for similar harmonization on issues like higher education. From this perspective, it is evident that if efforts to improve higher education are to gain traction in the trilateral relationship, they must be linked with regional trade and competitiveness. Yet even though NAFTA was not the vehicle for further cooperation on higher education, colleges and universities across Canada, Mexico, and the United States did embrace the opportunity and enthusiastically engaged in conversations that prompted trilateral collaboration. This article follows the key agreements that influenced and guided the early stages of NAFTA collaboration among higher education institutions, as well as developments that kept engagement across the three countries active. It also provides an initial list of areas in which future collaboration might focus. The First Twenty Years of Educational Collaboration, 1993–2013 To understand the historical of trilateral educational cooperation in North America, it is important to look at the foundational statements and key programs that formed the basis of cross-country engagement. Several critical statements or declarations established arenas for collaboration and triggered key programs and initiatives involving all three countries.2 These initiatives, however aspirational, have all experienced problems and faced limitations that are work investigating in greater detail as well. The Foundational Statements In September 1992, a key group of educators met at the Wingspread Center in Racine, Wisconsin, to discuss higher education collaboration in North America. The conversations held at this conference resulted in the development of the Wingspread Statement on trilateral cooperation in higher education. The main objectives of the statement were to develop a North American dimension in higher education, with a focus on collaboration and information exchange. Greater mobility of students, academics, and related professionals was a central topic, as was improved relationships among higher education institutions, government, business, and other organizations that have a stake in the quality of higher education. Notably, current and emerging information management and transmission technologies were highlighted as a means of supporting the objectives ofthe Wingspread Statement. Two main immediate actions resulted from the Wingspread discussions. First, North American higher education institutions made efforts to develop an inventory of existing resources and partnerships that could provide a basis for expanding trilateral cooperation in higher education. Participants in these efforts included the Institute of International Education (IIE) in the United States, the Asociación Nacional de Universidades e Instituciones de Educación Superior (ANUIES) in Mexico, and the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) in Canada) . In addition, an 18-member Trilateral Task Force on North Am

FAQs

How does the paper relate NAFTA to higher education collaboration in North America?

NAFTA created expectations for regional integration, but its trade focus left limited room for parallel harmonization in higher education. The paper argues that efforts to advance higher education collaboration need linkage to regional trade and competitiveness to gain traction.

What role did the Wingspread Statement play in shaping trilateral cooperation?

Educators met in September 1992 and produced the Wingspread Statement to develop a North American dimension in higher education. It emphasized collaboration and information exchange, mobility for students and professionals, and the use of information management and transmission technologies.

Which early initiatives are highlighted to show engagement across Canada, Mexico, and the United States?

The paper traces initiatives following Wingspread, including development of an inventory of resources and partnerships and creation of a Trilateral Task Force. It also covers the Vancouver Symposium and the Vancouver Communiqué, which summarized university linkages and recommended actions to coordinate and enhance trilateral cooperation.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by นรินทร์