Content area
Full text
Posted By Chris Mackie On February 9, 2023 @ 3:00 pm In Asia Pacific,Credential Evaluation Issues,Current Issue,Education Policy,Europe,Global Trends,Latest on WENR,Mobility Trends | Comments Disabled
When countries began to close their borders to slow the spread of COVID-19 in 2020, universities had to adjust quickly. Almost overnight, institutions shifted to the virtual classroom, allowing them to reach students anywhere in the world, even those overseas.
This experiment with remote learning gave many colleges and universities their first substantial experience running a transnational education (TNE) program, a type of program in which education is delivered in a country other than that in which the degree is awarded. With the pandemic reshaping the international education landscape, TNE programs could grow increasingly common.
In the United Kingdom, long a TNE pioneer, the popularity of these programs had been growing swiftly even prior to the pandemic. Enrollments were rising especially fast among franchise and validation programs, which allow students to earn a degree awarded by a recognized international college or university while studying entirely at a local institution in their home country. In 2021/22, two-thirds [2] of all students studying in a U.K. TNE program were enrolled in a franchise or validation program.
To their proponents, franchise and validation programs can help reputable higher education institutions reach students who are unable to travel overseas to study. Through partnerships with institutions abroad, universities running these programs can provide the same high-quality, inperson education to students outside the country as they can to students studying on their home campuses. What's more, these programs, like all TNE arrangements, can promise institutions a healthy return on a relatively modest investment.
But franchise and validation programs also come with their own unique risks. In the eyes of their critics, behind their proliferation, the profit motive reigns supreme. The pursuit of profit can exacerbate the many logistical and supervisory challenges that always accompany cross-border initiatives. In extreme cases, this greed can put more than just a single program's quality at risk; it can even threaten the reputations of the participating academic institutions themselves.
This article explores these popular programs, examining their content and structure, their relation to partner institutions in multiple countries, and their implications for international credential evaluators. It also charts the development and...