I am an Australian who trained in the United States as an American historian. I teach in a small college which only became a degree granting institution in 1993. The College is a business that began in 1978 as a series of technical training classes in graphic design as a side-line to the work of a design studio. The studio is long gone and the College with over 700 paying students in certificate, diploma, and advanced diploma, and degree programs, a significant operation. The College's growth is in part due to government recognition of the private training sector and the setting up of accreditation schemes.
Accreditation allows private colleges to accept overseas students.
My college was the first of an initially select few to have a degree program accredited. Most of our overseas students are from Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia. I joined the College in 1994 to teach History of Visual Communications and Cultural Studies in the newly established BA Program. I was employed on a Thursday and commenced teaching the following Monday. In 1995 I assumed full responsibility for the BA program.