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What are the key factors underpinning future growth of high-quality UK Transnational Education (TNE)?
Eduardo Ramos, Director of International & Professional Services at the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, discusses the future growth of UK transnational education (TNE) in his blog.
The blog underscores that UK universities have developed robust systems to manage the complexities and risks of TNE. These systems, supported by organizations like UUKi and QAA, are vital for sustaining the growth of TNE. The upcoming #TNE2024 Conference is highlighted as a key event for professionals to discuss and strategise the future of UK TNE.
TNE is not a new phenomenon. Some institutions, such as the University of London, have been delivering programmes offshore since the mid-nineteenth century, and campuses and programmes overseas became mainstream in the 1990s and 2000s. TNE has nevertheless received increased attention recently as financial pressures suggest universities need to diversify their provision, in order to mitigate risks related to volatile international student markets.
Universities UK International’s ‘The scale of UK HE TNE’ report shows that TNE growth and diversification have arguably accelerated in recent years. We have seen how more institutions enter the TNE space with more innovative modes of delivery, including combinations of digital, onsite, dual, joint and franchised provision.
From the receiving end, TNE helps meet growing demand for higher education at a fraction of the cost of international mobility. Overseas authorities open their higher education systems to UK universities to support widening access to higher education for growing youth populations. See the cases of phenomenal increases in Vietnam (+39.7%), India (+39.5%) or Sri Lanka (+27.4%), countries with growing claims from youth to access high quality higher education.
Underpinning TNE success is the belief that it will bring internationalisation and quality dividends to higher education systems. In a recent survey run by QAA among its network of over 20 international partner agencies, internationalisation of domestic provision was cited as the top reason regulatory authorities accept non-domestic providers to offer higher education programmes in their territories. Many cited also enhancing quality in their system.
But internationalisation and quality come at a price.
There is a subtle negotiation of cultural values, economic imperatives and educational expectations which universities need to navigate to achieve the ultimate objective - making the experience for students superior to the sum of its components. In TNE higher education leaders and managers need to deal with at least two educational and regulatory environments, linguistic and cultural barriers, and increasing demands from stakeholders both at home and abroad.
In this context, the QAA has over time developed services that address the need of members, and of the UK higher education sector at large, to align, identify and mitigate possible points of friction. From the first country review of TNE run by QAA in 1997, to the development of the Quality Evaluation and Enhancement of UK TNE (QE-TNE) Scheme in 2021, the UK sector’s commitment to quality has underpinned TNE expansion.
In this post-pandemic phase marked by financial pressures and volatile international student markets, what is needed to support a new period of expansion and diversification in TNE? In my view there are three interrelated conditions that need to be met in order to support UK TNE growth:
De-risk partnerships
By its very nature TNE is risky business. Navigating two or more cultural, regulatory and education environments requires sound due diligence, risk management and exit strategies. The QE-TNE Scheme case studies and visit reports demonstrate the importance of embedding risk management within partnership governance and committee structure, striking a balance between giving sufficient and specific scrutiny to TNE provision whilst ensuring that it is flexible and responsive and not siloed away from the mainstream business.
Strengthen communities of practice
TNE is a competitive endeavour that requires a degree of confidentiality in partnership arrangements. However, this creates a risk that institutions miss many of the improvement opportunities that come with sharing resources and best practice. Universities should make use of sector-wide platforms to learn from each other and collectively address specific challenges related to quality and standards, such as those provided by UUKi, or QAA.
Focus on enhancement
Besides internal quality assurance, TNE providers grapple with multiple, complex and oftentimes overlapping external quality assurance mechanisms, from the home and host country, and from PSRBs. This may create a risk that institutions develop compliance or tick-box cultures, which divert them from student-centred approaches to teaching and learning. To support sustainable expansion, institutions need to go further by embedding quality cultures through continuous improvement of provision.
Although the expansion of high-quality TNE cannot be taken for granted, UK universities have been remarkably savvy at developing internal and external systems that support sustained growth. These systems have allowed universities to navigate and manage tensions between risks and opportunities, private interest and collegiality, and quality assurance and enhancement.
UK universities have a number of support mechanisms at their disposal to ensure that they are well-prepared to navigate complexity and risk, including platforms and services provided by UUKi and QAA.
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Transnational education conference 2024
The upcoming UUKi TNE Conference 2024, for instance, provides a unique opportunity for TNE professionals to come together, reflect and explore how we collectively can take this remarkable success story of UK TNE into the future for the benefit of students in the UK and globally. I’m looking forward to meeting many of you there.
Eduardo Ramos will be featured in a panel discussion on "Navigating Policy and Regulation: What's Next for TNE with the New Government?" at the upcoming conference. He, along with other leading experts, will explore the new government's impact on international higher education policy, with a particular focus on the International Education Strategy (IES) and its priority countries.
Check out the full Transnational Education Conference agenda!
