About The Open Quad
The Open Quad is an independent English-language magazine about international higher education: how universities in different countries work together, what partnerships for development have achieved, and what students need to know to study abroad. It is written to stay useful, with every fact sourced and dated.
What we publish
- Partnerships: analysis of university partnerships for development, how to evaluate them, the history of US aid to higher education, agricultural partnerships and fair research collaboration.
- Study abroad: practical guides on visas, costs, scholarships, English tests, credential evaluation, work rules and housing.
- Trends and data: student mobility, higher education in Africa, brain drain and quality assurance.
How articles are researched
- Official and primary sources first. Immigration authorities, ministries, UNESCO, the OECD, the World Bank, the Institute of International Education, university and programme websites, and archived government records. Sources are linked in every article.
- Dated facts. Fees, thresholds and rules change, often every year. We say which year a figure applies to and link to the page where you can check the current value. Always confirm with the official source before you apply or pay.
- No invented details. Every quotation, statistic or programme outcome on The Open Quad has to trace back to a source we can name; when none turns up, the claim stays out. Nobody fictional appears here either, which is why each byline reads simply as The Open Quad.
- Not legal or immigration advice. Our guides explain the rules; for your own case, use the official services and advisers we link to, such as your university's international office or EducationUSA.
- Revisited each academic year. Every article carries its date, and when a fee, a threshold or a rule is corrected, the "Updated" date at the top changes with it.
Independence
No university, recruiting agent, ministry or aid programme stands behind The Open Quad, and none can buy space in it: there are no affiliate links, sponsored articles, paid placements or agent commissions, nothing is for sale, and universities are never ranked. The legal identity of the publication is set out in the legal notice.
About this domain
The domain hedprogram.org previously hosted the website of Higher Education for Development (HED), a programme funded by the US Agency for International Development and managed by the American Council on Education, which supported partnerships between US colleges and universities and institutions in developing countries. The Open Quad is a separate, independent publication with no connection to HED, the American Council on Education, USAID or any of their partners. We have not reused any of the former site's text, reports, images, logos or branding. Because other websites still link to some old addresses on this domain, those addresses now lead to the closest articles in this magazine.
Contact and corrections
Found a fee or a visa rule that has moved on? The contact page explains how to report it.