Transnational Education Remodeled

Transnational education (TNE), interpreted as the mobility of education programs and providers between countries, has dramatically changed in scope and scale during the last decade. New actors, new partnerships, new modes of delivery, and new regulations are emerging. This has resulted in a proliferation of TNE terms and mass confusion in how they are used. The purpose of this article is to develop a common TNE framework of categories and definitions which can be used by both TNE sending and host countries. The framework needs to be robust enough to distinguish between different forms of TNE but flexible enough to be used by a wide range of institutions/countries around the world. Key elements common to twinning, franchise, joint/double/multiple degree programs as well as international branch campuses, cofounded institutions, franchise universities, and distance education are closely examined to ensure that the framework clearly differentiates between collaborative TNE and independent TNE modes of delivery. Much is at stake in terms of quality assurance, enrollment planning, policy/regulatory development, and the monitoring of trends if the proliferation and confusion among TNE terms continue. Different uses of the TNE framework are discussed, including the need for an internationally agreed-upon set of definitions as a precursor to developing an international protocol for worldwide collection of TNE data, similar to what United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) do for international student mobility.