The current international education landscape is favourable to TNE. We are at a historical juncture where both traditional receiving and sending countries of international students see TNE as the solution for their different priorities about internationalisation, migration, and economic development.
There is growing post-pandemic awareness of TNE’s role in promoting social goals such as widening access to international education, halting ‘brain-drain’, internationalising local education systems, and supporting more sustainable models of internationalisation.
Increasingly, TNE is also being seen by large receiving countries of international students as a means to control in-bound international students’ mobility, whilst continuing to support the internationalisation activities of national education providers.
However, there are still some important barriers to the growth of TNE, due to international perceptions and understanding of the quality and value of different models, which affect their recognition.
While branch campuses and double degrees are the models that are generally encouraged by receiving countries, they are not a realistic option for most providers, and there are limits to what double degrees can achieve. Branch campuses are significantly resource-intensive projects, and cannot be set up at scale. Meanwhile, double degrees can be challenging not only in having to align different academic regulations but in particular when partnering with providers adopting different financial models.
If the international education community is serious about unlocking the potential of TNE, careful consideration should be given to other more scalable models.
Validation and franchise partnerships represent the most common TNE types for UK providers. They are less resource-intensive than branch campuses or double degrees, hence a more viable option for a larger number of providers. Yet, they encounter the most recognition barriers.
If the international education community is serious about unlocking the potential of TNE, careful consideration should be given to other more scalable models
There is often a perception internationally that the quality of higher education cannot be maintained when offered in partnership with institutions without degree-awarding powers. This is an understandable concern, and these types of collaborative partnerships can carry a higher level of risk. However, the UK experience can prove the value of validation and franchise when they are properly managed.
These types of partnerships have a long and well-regarded tradition in the UK. Many UK universities were former validated colleges of other degree-awarding bodies, and many partner with local community colleges to broaden the reach of their educational offering to sectors of society that might otherwise be excluded from higher education.
This applies to TNE as well, Malaysia being a clear example, with a number of Malaysian universities having obtained their university status after years of experience as validated or franchise partners of UK (or Australian) universities.
This could be the right time to raise awareness internationally of validation and franchise as viable, valuable, and scalable TNE models, capable to help unlocking the socially progressive potential of TNE
