Making Markets in Higher Education: State Reform, Global Edtech, and Virtual Universities in Italy

The landscape of higher education has witnessed a profound transformation in the last decades, marked by the pervasive impact of digital technologies and a notable rise in privatization endeavors. Education has thus been recast as a market to be opened and exploited for profit. This paper contributes to the scholarly discussion on the intersection of digitalization and marketization in higher education by examining the market-making processes within the case of virtual universities (VUs) in Italy. Methodologically, the case study is approached through policy history techniques supported by documentary material and statistical data. The research shows that the VUs market has evolved through a contested and multi-actor process. It originated with the State opening it to private initiative in alignment with the Europeanization of educational policy. Substantial shifts occurred with the entry of the global higher education industry, catalyzing processes of political rescaling (toward the global dimension) and cultural reframing (based on techno-solutionism and the neoliberal emphasis on flexibility and individual responsibility). The VUs market has thus been reimagined and restructured along global and speculative lines, potentially wielding political influence over the broader educational landscape. This study raises critical considerations pertaining to educational governance, pedagogies, and the academic profession.