IAU, founded in 1950, is the UNESCO-based worldwide association of higher education institutions and university associations. It brings together institutions and organisations from some 120 countries for reflection and action on common concerns and collaborates with various international, regional and national bodies active in higher education. Its services are available on a priority basis to members, but also to any organisation or institution, as well as individual policy and decision-makers, specialists, administrators, teachers, researchers and students interested in and working on higher education matters.

The Association aims at giving expression to the obligation of universities and other higher education institutions as social institutions to promote, through teaching, research and services, the principles of freedom and justice, of human dignity and solidarity, and contributes, through international cooperation, to the development of material and moral assistance for the strengthening of higher education generally.  Its work focuses on themes such as higher education internationalisation, sustainable development, equitable access and success, cultural dialogue and the role of higher education and research in the development of all levels of education, among others.

The Association of Private Schools and Colleges Singapore (APSC) is the apex professional organisation for Private Education Institutes (PEI) and providers of ancillary services to the education industry in Singapore

APSC was founded in 1987, with the goal of bringing Singapore’s private education providers under one roof to deliver quality education in response to the government’s push to accelerate continuing education among working adults.

MAPCU (Malaysian Association of Private Colleges and Universities) was registered on 18 March 1997. It stands as Malaysia's most prestigious grouping of private higher education institutions with memberships made up of major and well established private colleges and universities in Malaysia.

MAPCU is recognised by Malaysia’s Ministry of Education, the National Accreditation Board, the Multimedia Development Corporation, the Ministry of Finance, and the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister's Department.