Countries share a very rapid expansion of higher or tertiary education which means that instead of this being an experience enjoyed by a privileged minority it has now become even the majority experience of each new cohort. There are other broad trends visible across the OECD – for instance, the growing international tertiary education market and the greater formalisation of quality assurance. There has been prominent OECD work on higher education latterly, with the Guidelines for Quality Provision in Cross-border Higher Education, a major review of tertiary education, and new work underway on assessment of higher education outcomes (AHELO). OECD policy orientations have included acceptance that students should contribute to the costs of their study (with appropriate safeguards), the need to develop e-learning and guidance systems, and reinforcement of the regional and innovation role of higher education institutions (HEIs).