Transnational Higher Education Research Articles

International Branch Campus and and Institutional Social Capital

The number of international branch campuses (IBCs) has continued to increase over the past few decades. Despite this increase, empirical research is lacking when it comes to the social implications for both the institutions engaged in transnational higher education through the development of IBCs and the students participating in these degree programs. The students studying at international branch campuses are both local and international, undertaking an international education without venturing overseas. The purpose of this study is to understand how students who have studied and are currently studying at an IBC narrate their experiences and expectations from transnational higher education, particularly focusing on the development and manifestation of institutional social capital and students’ ability to use this social capital in their specific local contexts. Through a pilot study employing semi-structured one-on-one interviews and focus group interactions with current students and alumni of an American IBC in Singapore, it is found that enrollment at IBC is mostly a feature of lack of access to one of the local universities, which hold the highest status. However, for some students with an interest in pursuing jobs or graduate studies overseas, earning an American degree is seen as a way to enhance their career prospects. The development of a strong alumni group in Singapore is highlighted as a way to increase the value of the degree in the Singapore context.

Going Beyond the Local: Exploring the Role of Transnational Higher Education in Shaping Students’ Life Trajectories in Uzbekistan

To enhance access and improve the quality of Higher Education in Uzbekistan, seven international campuses have been established since 1998, with two additional ones during 2018. These are part of a more recent trend in the internationalization of higher education: Transnational Higher Education (TNE). Though the growing literature on TNE has investigated an array of issues, very few studies have focused on students’ perception and experience, its socio-cultural value and impact and its long-term implications for employment and individual life courses. To address this gap, the following study explores the way in which TNE influences Uzbek students’ life courses by shaping their individual life projects. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 21 final year students from four different degree courses taken at a British institute. Findings reveal that most students’ life projects were internationally oriented and set in contraposition to their perception of local-traditional parameters for life projects. This juxtaposition was accompanied by respondents’ representation of themselves as those suitable for international spheres of action compared to ‘others’ that fit local/traditional ones. However, many of their plans were perceived to be threatened by the same local traditions which they sought to overcome. These findings can be interpreted as tensions resulting from modernizing forces which shift the locus of life projects away from the local-traditional to the global-modern and by the way life projects are coloured by respondents’ positioning (in Bourdieu’s sense) shaping their representations of self and others.

“That’s the World Standard”: A Critical Ethnography of “Universal” Knowledge

This paper analyzes how knowledge is reproduced as “universal” in contemporary higher education and how this production of universality influences the application of knowledge. Using a case study of clinical psychology, it describes the results of over two years of ethnographic fieldwork in a university and professional settings in Singapore with short comparative field studies in Australia and the Netherlands. The results provide critical insights into the cultural effects and knowledge contestations within transnational higher education.

Institution strategy in transnational higher education: late entrants in mature markets – the case of international branch campuses in the United Arab Emirates

ABSTRACT Late entry into a market is an institution strategy that has been little researched in the context of higher education. The purpose of this research was to identify and analyse the different positioning and differentiation strategies adopted by late entry institutions to gain a competitive advantage. The sample consisted of seven campuses established by foreign universities in the UAE between 2012 and 2018. Data were collected from sources freely available in the public domain, such as institution websites and promotional materials, as well as wider media coverage. Applying a content analysis procedure to institution websites, the results revealed that although the communicated identities and strategies adopted by institutions are largely homogeneous, they also implement a range of positioning and differentiation strategies. One of the strongest differentiation strategies appears not related to any part of the marketing mix but to the targeted market segment – specifically, targeting students of a specific nationality.

The visible hand behind study-abroad waves: cram schools, organizational framing and the international mobility of Chinese students

This paper adds an organizational dimension to the body of literature on international student mobility. Existing studies examine push/pull factors and student motivations, neglecting that students’ motivations and demands are not necessarily spontaneous, but can be shaped by external forces. Drawing on interview, archival and observation data collected on four leading cram schools that prepare students for the TOEFL/GRE, IELTS and SAT in China, I argue that cram schools not only coach students on test preparation and “how to study abroad,” but they also adopt organizational framing to instill in students “why to study abroad.” Leading cram schools have played an integral role in promoting a certain organizational framing as the dominant approach of a niche market in a given era. During the 1990s, when the TOEFL/GRE niche market was rapidly expanding, the market leader in this niche promoted self-help and nationalism as dominant discourses. Self-help discourse frames overseas study and test preparation not as means, but as the ends of students’ lives: going beyond one’s limit and making one’s life complete. Nationalist discourse depicts overseas study as a detour to build a stronger China after learning from the West. After 2000, however, new organizational framing picked up momentum in the new niche markets of IELTS and SAT. Targeting urban middle-class consumers, market leaders in these new niches increasingly framed studying abroad as a springboard for immigration, a channel for becoming global elites and an opportunity for status improvement for the entire family. My article bridges literature on transnational higher education with studies on supplementary education.

The social impacts of a stop-start transnational university campus: How the impact history and changing plans of projects affect local communities

Transnational higher education, in all its varied forms including offshore campuses, is a huge business, especially in relation to China. As at 2019, nine foreign universities had established campuses in China. Although generally this might be desirable, the social impacts of these campuses on local communities are overlooked. Transnational campuses take a long time to establish, and they experience delays and changes in participating parties, which creates anxiety and uncertainty for host communities. We consider the social impacts, as perceived or experienced by local residents, that arose from the attempted establishment of a transnational university campus in Yantai, Shandong Province, China. We consider how impact history and changing project plans affected residents. A major impact was prolonged uncertainty, especially now that the University of Groningen has cancelled its plans for a campus in Yantai. People felt confused about their future and some had lost trust in news about the project. Excessive expectations, impact history, changing plans, and impacts from urbanization processes generally have led to mixed feelings about the proposed campus. However, most people were willing to have a university campus nearby because they thought there would be benefits, even though they also considered they would experience negative impacts.

Stories about transnational higher education (TNHE): exploring Indonesian teachers\u2019 imagined experiences of Finnish higher education

We examined Indonesian school teachers’ perceptions and expectations about their professional learning, and their justifications for these, before they embarked on a transnational master’s programme carried out in both Indonesia and Finland. The data were collected using the method of empathy-based stories. The findings showed that the teachers expected the programme content, execution and internationality to impact positively on their professional learning, while negative professional learning scenarios were framed as stemming from a lack of personal motivation or lack of support from the Indonesian community. Moreover, the teachers expected to become more skilled professionals not only as teachers in their classrooms but also more widely as experts in their communities.

Critical Perspectives on Transnational Higher Education

Critical Perspectives on Transnational Higher Education

Transnational Higher Education and the Factors Influencing Student Decision-Making: The Experience of an Irish University

Increasingly, universities have been engaging in transnational higher education (TNE), and such activity provides students with an additional study option. While much is already known about the TNE activities of universities in larger countries, such as Australia and the United Kingdom, very little is known about universities from smaller countries, such as Ireland. This article examines an Irish university with international branch campuses in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Sri Lanka. The results of a survey exploring the factors that influenced students’ choice of location, institution, and program and conducted among three cohorts of students over a 2-year period are presented. The results suggest that, above all other factors, the university’s international ranking and the accreditations and rankings of its Business School are particularly influential in students’ decision-making process. This finding highlights a potential exposure in terms of the scale of the institution’s student recruitment and revenue streams should it ever experience a decline in its rankings or international reputation.

Managing Faculty in Transnational Higher Education: Expatriate Academics at International Branch Campuses

The purpose of this research is to identify the challenges and issues associated with managing expatriate academics at international branch campuses, and to analyze the strategies that have been, or could be, implemented to overcome these challenges and issues. The data used in this study came from an online survey questionnaire that was completed by 14 individuals holding a senior or middle management position at an international branch campus. The survey participants unanimously reported that expatriate academics tend to be highly motivated and committed, and that they are largely satisfied with their jobs. However, many individuals do have issues with adjustment to the new country, to work differences, and to interacting with others. The participants offered a range of suggestions and recommendations that may help institutions to better support expatriate academics employed at international branch campuses. The suggested actions need to be implemented prior to the new recruit’s arrival in the host country, during the induction period, and on an ongoing basis.

Talent management in transnational higher education: strategies for managing academic staff at international branch campuses

ABSTRACT The study investigates the practices of academic staff talent management at international branch campuses, with the aim of identifying a range of practical strategies that may address the unique challenges of managing talent in campuses located far away from the home country. These strategies are intended to improve service quality and add value to institution profiles. Based on an online questionnaire, ad hoc email correspondence and publicly available information, five case studies are presented. Talent management emerges as a key strategic area, directly managed at dean/president level. Referrals and online portals are commonly utilised as channels to attract talent, and the need to sometimes uplift local packages to recruit and retain talent is recognised. It is concluded that the development of academic staff should be viewed as an investment, and the availability of research funding and teaching awards on campus may be used to attract, develop and retain talent.

Learning between two systems: a Chinese student’s reflexive narrative in a China-Australia articulation programme

ABSTRACTThis article illustrates the author’s transnational learning experiences in a China-Australia 2 + 2 articulation programme. Transnational articulation programme is being actively adopted by many Chinese universities to enhance the diversity of educational structures as a response to the growing trend of internationalisation of higher education. Although many existing studies have investigated the topic of transnational education, few have revealed students’ learning experiences via a reflexive narrative approach. To add insights to this under-researched field, the author examined his learning journey in a 2 + 2 programme based on the intercultural adjustment model of ‘stress-adaptation-development’ and the concept of ‘in-between’ space. The narrative indicated that his senses of identity, agency, and belonging underwent constant change in the 2 + 2 learning process, which shaped his sense of in-betweenness. The exploration of such learning experiences could contribute to the literature on intercultural adjustment and transnational higher education from a student perspective.

“La Migra” in the Classroom: Transfronterizx Students Exploring Mobility in Transnational Higher Education on the US-Mexico Border

Based on an ethnographic study of a pre-engineering freshman course at a large university on the US-Mexico border, I explore how 4 Latinx undergraduate students, 2 of whom crossed the border on a daily basis to pursue higher education (HE), built a Lego robot that they named La Migra (a colloquial term for US Border Patrol). In particular, I demonstrate that the students drew from local authorized border crossing activities to design the robot to accelerate cross border mobility. In using the new mobilities paradigm (Sheller & Urry, 2006; Urry, 2007) and borderwork (Rumford, 2008), I also show that the design of the La Migra robot, rather than a public good, was actually symbolic of the uneven distribution of mobility. In total, findings contribute a particularistic account of the understudied significance of physical border crossing to mobility in the context of transnational HE.

Investigating Malaysian Nurses' perspectives of intercultural teaching in transnational higher education learning environments

BackgroundIn recent years, many ASEAN countries, including Malaysia have embraced Transnational Higher Education (TNHE) post-registration top-up nursing degree programmes. These are bridging programmes that allow registered nurses to upgrade their diploma qualifications to a degree level. PurposeTo investigate the teaching and learning experiences of Malaysian nurses on Transnational Higher Education post-registration top-up degree programmes in Malaysia. DesignHermeneutic phenomenology and the ethnographic principle of cultural interpretation were used to explore the views of eighteen Malaysian nurses from two UK and one Australian TNHE universities (determined by convenience and snowball sampling methods) to ensure data saturation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in English and Bahasa Malaysia (Malaysian language) to enable nurses' voices to define, describe and evaluate their TNHE classroom experiences. Data analysisData were analysed using thematic analysis. FindingsThe nurses' experiences within the short one or 2 weeks TNHE intercultural teaching and learning environment identified four categories: language and teaching and learning issues; TNHE degree requirements, guidance and support; shock and coping strategies and acclimatisation. They suggest there was a conflict between the assumptions and expectations of the TNHE ‘flying faculty’ and nurses' about the programme of study. There were also mismatches between Western and Malaysian pedagogical preferences, guidance and support, and professional values. Implications for education/practiceThere is a need for TNHE ‘flying faculty’ to internationalise the theoretical knowledge to reduce cultural incongruities and dissimilarities. Cultural immersion will stimulate intercultural views and knowledge to equip nurses for promotional and/or global opportunities whilst enabling the ‘flying faculty’ to create new learning environments. The research provides insights to inform TNHE provider institutions to improve teaching and learning to enable nurses to make the theory-practice connection.

A Wake-Up Call? Issues With Plagiarism in Transnational Higher Education

The views on plagiarism of 574 students at four Australian universities operating in Singapore were investigated through a survey and interviews. Analysis of students’ responses to different plagiarism scenarios revealed misconceptions and uncertainties about many aspects of plagiarism. Self-plagiarism and reuse of a friend’s work were acceptable to more than one quarter of the students, and nearly half considered collusion to be a legitimate form of collaboration. One quarter of the students also indicated that they would knowingly plagiarize. This should serve as a wake-up call regarding plagiarism in transnational higher education. Seven measures are recommended to curb plagiarism and foster academic integrity.

Cross-field effect and institutional habitus formation: self-reinforcing inequality in Chinese higher education system

Bourdieu’s concept of field offers an alternative explanation for the inevitable gap between policy initiative and implementation. While the existing literature mostly concentrated on the dichotomy of macro- and micro-politics in enacting education policies, the missing attention to meso-level, local governments as policy interpreters and implementers in some developing countries with a vast territory, China and Russia, for example, has hindered deeper exploration in policy studies. Adopting cross-field effects as the theoretical base and applying Bourdieu's conceptual triad as a whole, rather than considering habitus, practice, or field separately, this study examines Chinese transnational higher education (TNHE) policy enactment by subnational authorities, aiming to: first, contextualize Bourdieu's theoretical and empirical approaches in various political/economic systems while consider the policy practice at meso-level; second, demonstrate the essentiality of conversation rate and standard of capitals in field analysis; and third, based on these analyses, explore the formation of institutional habitus as a way of explaining the perennial inequality in the Chinese higher education (HE) system. The paper concludes with a theoretical reflection that Bourdieu’s ever-developing definition of habitus and the criticism of his unavoidable relapse to objectivism result from the indiscriminate use of individual and institutional habitus.

Transnational higher education

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the extent to which the critical relational variables of university reputation, student trust and student-university identification influence student behaviour towards transnational education partnerships.Design/methodology/approachStudents undertaking British degrees at two transnational partnership locations (Hong Kong, n=203 and Sri Lanka, n=325) completed a quantitative survey questionnaire. A conceptual model was developed and tested using structural equation modelling.FindingsUniversity reputation and student trust were found to be significant predictors of student identification with each partner institution, and student-university identification was a significant predictor of student satisfaction, loyalty and extra-role behaviours towards both the local and foreign educational organisations.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that student relationship management strategies should focus on strengthening the higher education institution’s reputation, and increasing the students’ trust and identification with the institution. Moreover, universities should also assess potential partners for these qualities when entering into transnational education partnerships.Originality/valueDrawing on theories of social and organisational identification, this is the first study to consider student-university identification as the linchpin between the exogenous constructs of reputation and trust, and the endogenous constructs of student satisfaction, loyalty and extra-role behaviours in both the international education and international business literatures.

Transnational degree program franchising and the challenge of commercial franchisees

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the interrelationship of branding practices and legitimacy-building of commercial degree program franchising within transnational higher education (TNHE). It aims to understand how commercial franchisees’ branding practices employ discursive and symbolic strategies for building legitimacy, and how these practices impact both organizational development and stakeholder perception.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study uses document and visual content analysis, supported by discourse analysis, as the methods in analyzing commercial franchisees’ branding practices of their franchised programs. The sample of the study consists of five commercial franchisees offering primarily Western MBA programs in the United Arab Emirates. The data were obtained through franchisees’ websites, marketing materials, student prospectuses, visiting campuses and their marketing events, and through interviews with franchise managers.FindingsThe findings of this study indicate that growing a sustainable brand for a commercial franchisee requires successful building of its legitimacy in the host country. Legitimacy in such arrangement however involves two paradoxes: the “self-promoter’s paradox” where the franchisees often engage in legitimacy-building practices that decrease their legitimacy, and the “legitimacy-borrowing paradox” that happens when the commercial franchisee initially borrows its legitimacy from the franchised program, but simultaneously this borrowing of legitimacy prevents it from becoming a fully legitimate higher education institution.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the research on management of TNHE by exploring the branding practices of franchised programs, which so far has been a neglected area in research. Furthermore, interconnections of legitimacy-building and branding practices are underrepresented within the broader higher education research.

Cultural influences on the design and management of transnational higher education programs in China

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the influence of cultural differences on the design and management of two franchise programs and one joint degree program run by a Chinese university in partnership with a British university and a French university. The cross-cultural challenges and the differences in the strategies taken by the managers in both types of program to deal with such challenges are analyzed. The frameworks for such strategies are also proposed.Design/methodology/approachA case study approach was used for the analysis. Participatory observation and interview were adopted to collect information in combination with the written reports on the programs. The interviewees included managers, faculty members, and students. Thematic analysis was conducted to find out the common themes from the coded data.FindingsFor franchise programs, the British university takes a “collaborating” strategy focusing on globalization, which is combined with the “compromising” strategy of the Chinese partner university focusing on localization. Both parties keep their different styles of management and combine them into one new management mode. By contrast, in the joint degree program, the French management mode can be described as a “collaborating” strategy toward the management of the Chinese students and curriculum, while the Chinese managers are seeking to progressively “accommodate” the needs of the French students.Originality/valueFew studies in the current literature are targeted at the cultural influences on the design and management of transnational higher education (TNHE) programs as well as the proper management strategies to deal with such cultural differences. The result of this study will provide useful advice for researchers and practitioners in cross-cultural management of TNHE programs.

Achieving Legitimacy in Cross-Border Higher Education: Institutional Influences on Chinese International Branch Campuses in South East Asia

All universities must achieve legitimacy, as this is essential to attract students, staff, and resources, including funding. To achieve legitimacy in transnational higher education, universities must conform to the rules and belief systems in the host countries. Adopting a case study approach, this research aims to investigate the different institutional influences on three Chinese international branch campuses (IBCs) that operate in South East Asia. The institutional factors behind the strategies taken in establishing and operating such branch campuses are discussed, as well as the different legitimacy building strategies adopted to counteract the liability of foreignness in the host countries. It was found that legitimacy is established through three modes: legitimacy conformity, selective legitimacy conformity/nonconformity, and legitimacy creation, which are adopted according to the IBC’s dependence on local resources and the strength of the institutional forces in the host country.