1. Transnational education: why it is
important and what the future holds
BUILA AnnualBUILA Annual
Conference 2015Conference 2015
Professor Nigel HealeyProfessor Nigel Healey
Pro-Vice-ChancellorPro-Vice-Chancellor
(International)(International)
Nottingham Trent UniversityNottingham Trent University
9 July 20159 July 2015

2. Overview
• What is TNE?
• Why is TNE important?
• Why is TNE important to BUILA?
• How is TNE changing?
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3. 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)
‘Principle of transnationality’

4. Types of TNE (1): by activity
1. Distance-learning
2. International branch campus
3. Franchise (collaborative
provision, twinning)
4. Validation
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5. Types of TNE (2): by mode of delivery (GATS)
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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
*not TNE

6. Why is TNE important?
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Global tertiary
enrolments (m)
51.2 60.3 68.7 81.7 99.9 139.0 178.0
Internationally-
mobile (m)
1.1 1.1 1.3 1.7 2.1 3.0 4.1
Internationally
mobile as %
total
2.1% 1.8% 1.9% 2.1% 2.1% 2.2% 2.3%
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Source: UNESCO, OECD

7. Why is TNE important to BUILA?
• An increasing proportion of international students come to
the UK through TNE pathways:
• An increasing proportion of students studying for UK awards
are studying “wholly overseas” – UK professional services
have to support TNE students at distance or (via
secondment) in-country
• TNE poses new challenges:
– Cultural
– Regulatory – host government / MoE
– Organisational – private sector partners
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http://www.hefce.ac.uk/media/HEFCE,2014/Content/Pubs/2015/201508/HEFCE2015_08.pdf

8. How big is TNE for the UK?
2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14
Registered at HEI:
• overseas campus 7,120 9,885 11,410 12,305 15,140 17,525 19,230
• distance learning 100,345 112,345 114,985 113,065 116,520 123,635 119,700
• Other, including
collaborative
provision
59,895 68,595 74,360 86,630 96,060 103,795 116,035
Not registered at HEI
but studying for HEI’s
award:
• overseas partner
organisation
29,240 197,185 207,790 291,575 342,910 353,375 374,430
• other 70 35 50 125 345 600 7,270
Total
196,670 388,045 408,595 503,700 570,925 598,930 636,675
Source: HESA

9. The value of transnational education to the UK
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https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transnational-education-value-to-the-uk

10. How is TNE changing?
• Analysis of TNE case studies gathered from around the world
through www.linkedin.com
• Analysis of QAA reports of TNE partnerships in UAE (2014),
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 strictly TNE at all
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11. 11
Part 1: franchise
Part 2: flying faculty
VLE + summer school

12. 12
Quality DistanceQuality Distance
Learning GhanaLearning Ghana
Distance-learning
Local partner
Flying faculty
Campus study option

13. 11 July 2015 13

14. 11 July 2015 14

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18. 11 July 2015 18

19. Key messages
• There are no ‘clear’ types: TNE partnerships are multidimensional
with shifting boundaries
• The organisational form of TNE depends on the motives of the UK
university, the foreign partner, the host government/regulator and
student demand…
• …and these will change over time
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20. 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 evolved from transnational into
multinational corporations
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21. The emergence of the multinational
stakeholder in TNE
National Multinational
Customers (students) √
Owners √
Employees (staff) √
Regulators (MoE) √
Employers √
Society √
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With TNE, it is not only the customers that are multinational…
Stakeholders and TNE

22. Multinational stakeholders change the nature
of TNE over time
• Curriculum
– Content (eg, localised courses, MoE mandated courses)
– Learning hours (MoE requirements)
– Pedagogy / academic culture
– Assessment
• The link between home university degree and TNE provision
may weaken over time
• In extremis, the degree may cease to be awarded by the
home university …technically no longer TNE
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26. Final thought: what do these universities have
in common?
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27. For more information:
• E-mail: nigel.healey@ntu.ac.uk
• Website: http://nottinghamtrent.academia.edu/NigelHealey
• Website includes conferences presentations, papers and
resources on transnational education
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