This is the first of two lectures for the University of Bath MA in International Higher Education Management. It covers: 1. What is TNE? 2. TNE in the landscape of internationalisation of higher education 3. Why the interest in TNE? 4. What are the main forms of TNE?  Activities versus channel of delivery 5. How important is TNE? 6. Characteristics of TNE partnerships  Stakeholders 7. The scalability of TNE partnerships 8. How profitable is TNE? 9. Sustainability of TNE partnerships over time 10. Case studies of TNE partnerships

1. TNE partnerships: scalability,
profitability and sustainability
11:00 – 12:30 UTC
30 November 2021
Professor Nigel Healey
Provost and Deputy President

2. Overview
What is TNE?
Why the interest in TNE?
What are the main forms of TNE?
How important is TNE?
TNE in the landscape of internationalisation of higher education
Characteristics of TNE partnerships
The scalability of TNE partnerships
How profitable is TNE?
Sustainability of TNE partnerships over time
Case studies of TNE partnerships

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)
University
(country A)
Students
(country B)
‘Principle of transnationality’

4. Is this TNE?
• Global Alliance for Transnational
Education, 1997: Yes
• Council of Europe, 2002: No

5. Why the interest
in TNE?
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics
5
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2018
Internationally-
mobile tertiary
students (m)
1.1 1.1 1.3 1.7 2.1 3.0 4.1 4.8 5.6
Global tertiary
enrolments (m)
51.2 60.3 68.7 81.7 99.9 139.0 181.7 217.7 225.1
Internationally
mobile as % total
2.1% 1.8% 1.9% 2.1% 2.1% 2.2% 2.3% 2.2% 2.5%

6. What are the main forms of TNE? (HESA)
Distance-learning
International branch
campus
Franchise (collaborative
provision, twinning)
Validation

7. Understanding
validation
• Equivalent to private label goods in
manufacturing – for retailers’ ‘own brands’
• A curiously British phenomenon in higher
education
• UK polytechnics and the Council for National
Academic Awards

8. The financial risk versus reputational risk trade-offs of
different forms of TNE
Financial risk
Reputational
risk
International
branch campus
Validation
Franchise
Distance
learning

9. How important is
TNE?
Source: HESA
8
2007/08 2009/10 2011/12 2013/14 2015/16 2017/18 2019/20
Registered at HEI:
• overseas campus 7,120 11,410 15,140 19,230 25,335 28,355 30,960
• distance learning 100,345 114,985 116,520 119,700 113,995 118,210 127,345
• Other, including collaborative provision 59,895 74,360 96,060 116,035 138,110 148,300 174,470
Not registered at HEI but studying for
HEI’s award:
• overseas partner organisation 29,240 207,790 342,910 374,430 416,065 391,985 95,260
• Other (validated) 70 50 345 7,270 7,500 6,840 4,460
Total 196,670 408,595 570,925 636,675 701,010 693,695 432,500

10. The ‘Oxford Brook effect’
• Register for Level 3 ACCA
• Automatically ‘enrol’ at Oxford
Brookes University with the right
to submit a dissertation within 10
years and ‘upgrade’ to a BSc
Accounting
• Not TNE: simply articulation /
credit transfer
• Not TNE: most students never
exercise the right to submit a
dissertation

11. How many? C-BERT n=305 (UK n=44)
CASS Business School, Dubai
Manchester Business School, Middle East International
Centre, Dubai
University of Hull, Malaysia
Knowledge Hub Middlesex University, Mauritius University of Kent, Paris School of Arts and Culture
Coventry University, Wroclaw Middlesex University, Dubai University of Kent, Brussels School of International Studies
Glasgow Caledonian New York College Middlesex University, Malta Brussels School of International Studies, University of Kent
Grameen Caledonian College of Nursing
(Dhaka)
Newcastle University, Medicine Malaysia SWJTU-Leeds Joint School
Heriot-Watt University, Malaysia China Medical University – Queen’s University of Belfast University of London Institute, Paris
Heriot-Watt University, Dubai University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus University of Nottingham, Ningbo China
Lancaster University, Leipzig University of Bolton, Ras Al Khaimah University of Reading, Malaysia
Lancaster University (Lahore) University of Bradford, Dubai
University of Sheffield International Faculty, City College
(Thessaloniki)
Lancaster University, Ghana
HBU-UCLan School of Media, Communication and
Creative Industries
University of Southampton, Malaysia campus
Xi'an Jiaotong Liverpool University University of Central Lancashire, Cyprus University of Strathclyde (Mauritius)
London Business School Dubai University of Central Lancashire, Mauritius
Surrey International Institute Dongbei University of Finance and
Economics
Manchester Business School, East Asia Int.
Centre
Shanghai International College of Fashion and Innovation Westminster International University in Tashkent
Manchester Business School, Singapore University of Glasgow (Singapore) Bangor College of CSUFT
Manchester Business School, South America
Centre
University of Hertfordshire, Egypt

12. Important caveat: TNE business models are becoming
increasingly blurred
International branch
campus
Distance-
learning
Franchise
Validation
Virtual learning
environments
Flying faculty Student
mobility

13. TNE in the landscape of
internationalisation of higher
education
• The three stages of the
internationalisation of business:
1. Exporting
2. Licensing
3. Foreign direct investment
• Note: not an inexorable process
13/04/21

14. The three stages of the
internationalisation of higher
education:
1. Exporting: export education /
distance-learning
1. Licensing: franchise (collaborative
provision, twinning) / validation
2. Foreign direct investment:
international branch campus
14
TNE

15. Characteristics of TNE partnerships
TNE
18/01/21
Home university
Students
Partner
organisation
Host
government
Stakeholders

16. Pop quiz
• Which form of TNE activity is the most
scalable and why?
13/04/21

17. The scalability of TNE partnerships
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Distance Learning Validation Franchising Interantional Branch Campus

18. The limits of
scaling
validation

19. How profitable is TNE?
• TNE serves many functions:
• Pathway to study onshore in the UK
• Raise the university’s profile in host country
• Widen access to higher education in host country and build capacity
• Diversify revenue streams
• But TNE cannot replace the revenue from onshore international students
• Oxford Brookes University 2018/19 (source: HESA):
International students TNE students
Enrolments 1,845 260,155
Average fee £11,689 £420

20. The value of
Transnational
Education to
the UK

21. Sustainability of TNE
partnerships over time

22. Grown-up branch campuses

23. Case Studies of TNE partnerships
13/04/21

25. •Part 1: franchise
•Part 2: flying faculty
•VLE + summer school

26. Quality Distance
Learning Ghana
•Distance-learning
•Local partner
•Flying faculty
•Campus study option

27. •University of Southampton
•No local partner
•2+2 engineering
•Flying faculty

28. • All local faculty, including
provost
• Local partner
• Degrees identical to London
28

29. • All local staff
• Local partner
• Overseas campus or
franchise?

31. • Overseas campus?
• …or private Malaysian university in
which the University of Nottingham
has a minority stake?