The number of US institutions using education agencies to recruit undergraduate and graduate students has more than doubled in the past five years, according to a survey from the American Council on Education.

Similarities between the US and the UK’s higher education environments create fertile ground for institutional collaboration, according to a new report from the American Council on Education.

Fortifying higher education links is crucial at a time when "tensions between the two countries are at the highest point in decades", the American Council on Education has said.

In a step towards formal recognition by the HE community, five Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on the Coursera platform have been recommended for accreditation by the American Council on Education (ACE) following a pilot project. However, it is unclear whether the three universities involved will accept ACE's endorsement.

The US Department of Education has released its first ever “fully articulated” international education strategy in a bid to build a more globally savvy country. However, some educators argue it lacks detail, firm policy commitments, and funding to mitigate a 40% cut to spending on international programmes in 2011.