This presentation looks at the changing forms of transnational education, showing that ownership structures, workforces, customer bases and stakeholders are becoming increasingly multinational.

1. The Future of Transnational Education -
Overcoming the Challenges, Embracing the
Benefits
The Future of
Transnational Education
Professor Nigel Healey
Pro-Vice-Chancellor
(International)
22 May 2014

2. 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?
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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)

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

6. 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
Total
196,670 388,045 408,595 503,700 570,925 598,930
Source: HESA

7. 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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8. 8
Part 1: franchise
Part 2: flying faculty
VLE + summer school

9. 9
Quality Distance
Learning Ghana
Distance-learning
Local partner
Flying faculty
Campus study option

10. 23 May 2014 10

11. 23 May 2014 11

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15. 23 May 2014 15

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20. 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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21. 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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22. The end of TNE, the rise of multinational
education?
National Multinational
Owners √
Employees (staff) √
Customers (students) √
Regulators (MoE) √
Employers √
Society √
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With TNE, it is not only the customers that are multinational…
Stakeholders and TNE

23. Final thought: what do these universities have
in common?
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24. 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