Until the middle of the twentieth century, ten universities existed in the region, including the American University of Beirut (then called Syrian Protestant College), Université Saint Joseph in Beirut, Cairo University (then called the Egyptian University), University of Algeria, and University of Damascus (then called Syrian University).
Instability, globalization, and a general economic downturn in many Arab countries led to new reformist trends in higher education beginning in the 1980s and continuing today.