With Western higher education practices being adopted and adapted in emerging higher education centers around the world, expatriate workers from the West are frequently used as consultants, employees, and trainers to help build capacity in new institutions where higher education opportunity has previously been scarce. For those who choose to take these assignments, their backgrounds, experiences, and the approaches they take to this work will result in substance and sustainability or in flawed replication and dashed hopes. This article explores how the success and contribution of expatriate workers can be enhanced.