Transnational education partnership patterns, trends and regulatory challenges

Transcription

1 Transnational education partnership patterns, trends and regulatory challenges Christopher Ziguras Facilitating good regulatory practices for trade and investment in higher education services in the APEC region, Regional Policy Symposium Kuala Lumpur, 20 & 21 August 2013

2 How many students are enrolled in transnational programs Only two countries, the UK and Australia publish data on offshore students in their institutions Number Year UK 227, Australia HE 89, Australia VET (public only) 58, For Australia, HE campus enrolments growing, partner-supported programs flat, VET declining since 2009, mainly in China The USA is the other large-scale provider, but publishes no data 2

3 Transnational students Australia, sem UK, 2009/ ,261 30,694 3,495 Branch Campus Partner Campus Distance/Online Data source: Australian Universities International Directors Forum, International Data Collection Project: Semester ; Higher Education Statistics Agency, Students in Higher Education Institutions 2009/ Overseas campus of reporting HEI Distance, flexible or distributed learning Other arrangement including collaborative provision Students studying for an award of a UK HEI 3

4 Australian offshore enrolments, on campus and DE IDP Education Pty Ltd., Survey of International Students in Australian Universities, Data set. Unpublished, chart reproduced from: Banks, M., Kevat, P., Ziguras, C., Ciccarelli, A., & Clayton, D. (2010). The Changing Fortunes of Australian Transnational Higher Education. London: Observatory on Borderless Higher Education. 4

5 What transnational student data is collected? 5

6 What is partner-supported provision? Terminology varies widely: Collaborative provision Offshore programs Franchising Twinning Partnered programs Other arrangement including collaborative provision delivered and/or supported and/or assessed through an arrangement with a partner organisation (UK Higher Education Statistics Agency) Now many joint programs and double degrees are further complicating definitions 6

7 Development Pioneered in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong in the 1980s by private colleges, professional associations and HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education Facilitated capacity building of many partner institutions, from college to university college to full university Private higher education institutions in Malaysia now enrol more than half of all students and nearly 75% of international students Involves a sharing of teaching practice between two institutions, many different variations Often involves credit transfer between the institutions 7

8 Validation 8

9 Validation of studies of non-registered offshore students This practice defined in the UK, but rather loosely: Students studying for an award of a UK HEI are not registered students of the reporting institution, but are studying for an award of the reporting institution, and are registered at an overseas partner organisation or via some other arrangement. (UK Higher Education Statistics Agency) Collaborative provision is the process whereby a degree-awarding body judges one or more programmes of study, courses, or modules offered by another body to be appropriate to lead to a qualification and/or credit of that degree awarding body. (UK Council of Validating Universities) 9

10 Students enrolled in UK validation programs offshore Students studying for an award of a UK HEI Students registered at a UK HEI / / / /12 10

11 11

12 Limitations on credit transfer UK universities can give award for a whole program, need not offer that degree itself, nor teach any of it US universities can give up to two years credit into a four year undergraduate degree, often with a resident academic director, beyond that must establish a campus Australian universities credit transfer policies vary but up to two years credit in a three year undergraduate degree is usual UK strategy released in August - International Education: Global Growth and Prosperity signalled that QAA and the government s Higher Education International Unit will review quality assurance for UK programs offshore 12

13 Common restrictions on transnational provision Price controls on tuition fees, either on establishment or on changes, makes programs less viable over time, Limitation on number of partnerships, eg limits on number of approvals, moratoriums on new applications Needs tests only granting approvals in fields and locations where local provision is insufficient More onerous QA than local providers Loans or subsidies not available for foreign programs 13

14 Quality-focused regulation of partnerships More stringent requirements for local institutions (especially for recruitment of international students) Institution be accredited in the home country Program is offered at the home campus Program admission requirements and learning outcomes are the same as the home campus Curriculum is equivalent to home campus Teaching staff are suitably qualified Limitation on credit transfer Meets standards required of domestic institutions 14

15 A clearer future Governments and industry bodies could assist the maturation of transnational education by agreeing on definitions and data collection conventions: Partner-supported programs International branch campuses Distance/online programs Validation There are now good models for quality-based regulation of partnerships from both the exporting and importing economy Technology platforms now make collaborative provision between universities more common, but restrictive regulatory frameworks can hold these back 15