The future of transnational education: overcoming the challenges, embracing the benefits

The Future of Transnational Education - Overcoming the Challenges, Embracing the

Benefits

The Future of Transnational Education

Professor Nigel HealeyPro-Vice-Chancellor

(International)

22 May 2014

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Overview

• What is TNE?

• What are the main ways of categorising TNE?

• How is TNE changing over time?

• Are we witnessing the end of TNE?

What is TNE?

• “Any teaching or learning activity in which the students are in a different country to that in which the institutional providing the education is based” (Global Alliance for Transnational Education, 1997)

• “All types of higher education study programmes, sets of study courses, or educational services (including those of distance education) in which the learners are located in a country different from the one where the awarding institution is based” (Council of Europe, 2002)

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University (country A)

Students (country B)

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Types of TNE (1): by activity

1. Distance-learning

2. International branch campus

3. Franchise (collaborative provision, twinning)

4. Validation

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Types of TNE (2): by mode of delivery (GATS)

GATS terminology Transnational education variant

Mode 1 — Cross border supply

Programme mobility: distance or on-line education

Mode 2 — Consumption abroad Student mobility: export education

Mode 3 — Commercial presence

Institutional mobility:• international branch campus• franchise• validated partner

Mode 4 — Presence of natural persons

Staff mobility: ‘flying faculty’ programmes

How big is TNE (a UK perspective)?

  2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13

Registered at HEI:

• overseas campus 7,120 9,885 11,410 12,305 15,140 17,525

• distance learning 100,345 112,345 114,985 113,065 116,520 123,635

• other arrangement incl. collaborative provision

59,895 68,595 74,360 86,630 96,060 103,795

Not registered at HEI but studying for HEI’s award:

• overseas partner organisation

29,240 197,185 207,790 291,575 342,910 353,375

• other 70 35 50 125 345 600

Total196,670 388,045 408,595 503,700 570,925 598,930

Source: HESA

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How is TNE changing?

• Analysis of 30 TNE case studies gathered from around the world through www.linkedin.com

• Analysis of 40 QAA reports of TNE partnerships in China (2012), Singapore (2011), Malaysia (2010), India (2009)

• Key findings:

– Most TNE partnerships involve more than one TNE activity and/or more than one mode of delivery

– A number of “TNE partnerships” are not technically TNE at all

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Part 1: franchisePart 2: flying facultyVLE + summer school

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Quality Distance Learning Ghana

Distance-learningLocal partnerFlying facultyCampus study option

12 April 2023 10

12 April 2023 11

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12 April 2023 15

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Key messages

• There are no ‘clear’ types: TNE partnerships are multidimensional with changing boundaries

• The organisational form of TNE depends on the motives of the UK university, the partner, the host government/regulator and student demand…

• …and these will change over time

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Parallels with international business

• Corporations internationalised in stages from exporting to licensing to foreign direct investment

• But as their ownership, workforce, customer base, R&D and production globalised, they transformed from transnational into multinational corporations

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The end of TNE, the rise of multinational education?

National Multinational

Owners √

Employees (staff) √

Customers (students) √

Regulators (MoE) √

Employers √

Society √

With TNE, it is not only the customers that are multinational…

Stakeholders and TNE

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Final thought: what do these universities have in common?

Further reading

• Bunting, G. et al (2014), Transnational education: a good practice guide, Higher Education Academy (forthcoming)

• Healey, N. and Michael, L. (2014), Towards a new framework for analysing transnational education, Higher Education Policy (in press)

• Healey, N. (2014), Towards a risk-based typology for transnational education, Higher Education, (DOI) 10.1007/s10734-014-9757-6