The benefits & drawbacks of transnational higher education - Myths and realities - analysis and evidence

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mary Man

The article analyses key debates in transnational higher education (TNHE), outlining widely claimed benefits and drawbacks for home and host stakeholders such as students, governments, and institutions. It defines TNHE and its major delivery modes, then contrasts prevailing myths with emerging evidence from practice. The discussion highlights how recent developments may counter neo-colonialism, tracks changing motives and markets for branch campuses, and evaluates the role of distance, online, and MOOCs. It concludes that many TNHE programs meet acceptable quality levels and that students are generally satisfied with their TNHE experience.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Key debates and definitions of TNHE

Delivery modes and research focus

Claimed benefits and drawbacks of TNHE for home country stakeholders

A U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W The benefits & drawbacks of transnational higher education Myths and realities Stephen Wilkins & Katariina Juusola The British University in Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates The purpose of this article is to analyse some of the key ongoing debates in transnational higher education (TNHE) . First, we discuss aselection of the claimed benefits and drawbacks of TNHE for home and host country stakeholders (students, governments and institutions), and then we suggest alternative realities, for which there appears to be evidence in practice. It is concluded that (1) recent TNHE developments on the provision side act as a counterforce to the spread of neo-colonialism; (2) international branch campus development continues but there is evidence that the forms, motives, and markets of these initiatives are changing; (3) distance/online/MOOC programs do not pose a threat to the sustainability of other forms of TNHE; (4) the majority of TNHE programs are of acceptable quality due to high levels of competition in international higher education markets and increased regulatory demands from quality assurance agencies; and (5) these forces also contribute to students generally being satisfied with their TNHE study experience. Keywords: transnational higher education, TNHE, cross-border education, off-shore education, borderless education Introduction Over the last two decades, transnational higher education (TNHE) has emerged as a major form of internationalisation in higher education institutions. The term ‘TNHE’ refers to all types of higher education study programs or educational services in which the learners are located in a country different from the one where the awarding institution is based (UNESCO/Council of Europe, 2001). In the scholarly literature,TNHE is also known as cross-border, offshore and borderless higher education (Knight, 2016).Together, these four terms have created a new thematic field of research that comprises nearly two thousand contributions, which discuss both the benefits and drawbacks/weaknesses of TNHE (Kosmützky & Putty, 2016) . The main modes of deliveringTNHE are distance/virtual education; franchised or partnership programs; joint or double degree programs; study abroad; and international branch campuses. The majority of research on TNHE focuses on international branch campuses, which are the foreign branches of universities that award degrees of the home institution. Franchising and various forms of partnership/collaboration are arrangements whereby the home university provides the curricula, accredits the qualifications awarded, and takes responsibility for quality assurance but the students are registered with a local institution that delivers the program in the host country (UK HE International Unit,2016).In joint or double degree programs, students are generally enrolled with a local education provider for the first part of the qualification 68 The benefits & drawbacks of transnational higher education Stephen Wilkins & Katariina Juusola vol. 60, no. 2, 2018 A U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W and then at a foreign partner institution for the final part. In a joint degree program, the student receives one qualification that is accredited by both partner institutions, whereas in a double degree program, the student receives two full degrees, one from each partner institution. Online and distance education programs, including massive open online courses (MOOCs) are also nowadays established parts ofTNHE. While TNHE has become a popular and legitimate form of education that has enjoyed well-publicised success stories,it has simultaneously received a lot of criticism. For example, critics have attacked the educational quality and student experience inTNHE (Altbach, 2010), and argued that TNHE is often about soft power manipulation (He & Wilkins, 2018), which can be regarded as modern-day colonialism.

FAQs

What does TNHE mean in this article?

TNHE refers to higher education programs or services where learners study in a country different from the one where the awarding institution is based.

What delivery modes does the article identify for TNHE?

TNHE is delivered through distance/virtual education, franchised or partnership programs, joint or double degree programs, study abroad, and international branch campuses, alongside online and distance formats such as MOOCs.

How does the article address the difference between myths and realities?

It argues that contradictions and myths persist because previous research focused more on home institutions and less on host-country perspectives, so it examines benefits and drawbacks across multiple stakeholder lenses to separate evidence from myth.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mary Man