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Paper short abstract:

In this paper I analyse the values enacted by accreditation agencies by the way they evaluate internationalisation in higher education. The method is an analytical auto-ethnography. I describe how accreditation is formatted to understand which values internationalisation brings in.

Paper long abstract:

Universities aim for the internationalization of education via student mobility and joint programs. In this paper I analyse the values enacted by accreditation agencies through the way they evaluate internationalisation in higher education and establish new labels of excellence. Internationalisation is charged with dominant values - such as thriving for the best and being a citizen of the world. In this paper I describe and reflect upon how accreditation is demanded and formatted (Dahler-Larsen 2012). My aim is understand which norms and values internationalisation of education brings in. I use the methods of an analytical auto-ethnography (Denshire 2014). I describe and reflect upon my role as an international program director with the task to get the international joint degree accredited in four countries. I did an extensive member check to be able reflect on the normativity that comes with writing about the accreditation of an international joint degree. In the accreditation process internationalization itself became a significant problem. Being international became being excellent (instead of the other way round). Moreover, internationalization became charged with specific values: being flexible, be able to act everywhere, being employable. Both the students and the staff developed into 'sociological' citizens and - in that sense - complied with the dominant norms of internationalization: being pragmatic, flexible, adaptive and able to connect to others.