Managing an international branch campus: dispatches from the front line

Professor Nigel HealeyPro-Vice-Chancellor

(International)Nottingham Trent University

1 April 2015

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Structure

• What is transnational education (and why should we care)?

• How big is transnational education?

• What is an international branch campus (IBC)?

• How many IBCs? How many students?

• Research study into managing IBCs: approach

• The results:– The three dimensions of an IBC– The stakeholders of an IBC

• Lessons for UK universities

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What is transnational education?

• TNE is ‘any teaching or learning activity in which the students are in a different country to that in which the institutional providing the education is based’ (Global Alliance for Transnational Education 1997, p.1).

The principle of transnationality

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…and why should we care?

 

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Global tertiary enrolments (m) 51.2 60.3 68.7 81.7 99.9 139.0 178.0

Internationally-mobile (m) 1.1 1.1 1.3 1.7 2.1 3.0 4.1

Internationally mobile as % total

2.1% 1.8% 1.9% 2.1% 2.1% 2.2% 2.3%

Global and internationally-mobile tertiary enrolmentsSource: UNESCO 1998, n.d., OECD 2013

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Types of transnational education

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How big is transnational education?

  2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13

Registered at HEI:            - overseas campus 7,120 9,885 11,410 12,305 15,140 17,525

- distance learning 100,345 112,345 114,985 113,065 116,520 123,635

- other arrangement incl. collaborative provision

59,895 68,595 74,360 86,630 96,060 103,795

Not registered at HEI but studying for HEI’s award:

           

- overseas partner organisation*

29,240 197,185 207,790 291,575 342,910 353,375

- other 70 35 50 125 345 600

Total 196,670 388,045 408,595 503,700 570,925 598,930

Transnational student numbers (headcount) by typeSource: HESA

* Note ‘Oxford Brookes effect’

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What is an international branch campus?

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What is an international branch campus?

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What is an international branch campus?

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What is an international branch campus?

• Observatory on Borderless Higher Education (OBHE) 2012 definition: an IBC is:

• ‘a higher education institution that is located in another country from the institution which either originated it or operates it, with some physical presence in the host country;

• and which awards at least one degree in the host country that is accredited in the country of the originating institution’

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How many IBCs? How many students?

Higher education institution HE aggregate offshore students at overseas campus of reporting HEI

University of Nottingham 9,220Heriot-Watt University 3,735Middlesex University 3,050University College Birmingham 320University of Kent 280London Business School 275University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne 250University College London 220University of Exeter 70University of Wales Trinity Saint David 45University of Wolverhampton 30University of Southampton 20University of Chichester 10Total 17,525

Enrolments at UK international branch campuses by institution, 2012/13Source: HEIDI

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How many IBCs again?  HESA C-BERT OBHEAberystwyth University   √  City University   √ √De Montfort University   √  Glasgow Caledonian University   √ √Heriot-Watt University  √ √ √Leeds Metropolitan University     √London Business School √ √ √Middlesex University √ √ √Queen Margaret University   √  University London College   √ √University of Bolton   √ √University of Bradford   √  University of Central Lancashire   √  University of Chichester √    University College Birmingham √    University College London  √ √ √University of Exeter √ √  University of Kent √    University of Lancaster     √University of Liverpool     √University of London   √  University of Manchester   √ √University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne √ √ √University of Nottingham √ √ √University of Southampton √    University of Strathclyde     √University of Surrey   √ √University of Wales Trinity Saint David √    University of Westminster     √University of Wolverhampton √ √  Total No. of UK universities with IBCs 13 20 17

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The challenge of managing an overseas subsidiary: to localise or not to localise?

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Research study

• Research questions:

1. What are the key dimensions of the IBC that managers feel under pressure to localise?

2. What are the main factors that influence their chosen degree of localisation for each dimension?

3. How do these factors, and so the optimal degree of localisation, change over time?

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Sample set

• Nine IBCs in United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, China

• 14 senior managers

• 5 experts (for background information)

• Interviews carried out in country, April-September 2014

• 90-120 minutes in length, transcribed and coded

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The host markets: UAE

Nationality Male Female Total

Emirati 5.8% 5.7% 11.5%

Expatriate 68.8% 19.8% 88.5%

Total 74.6% 25.4% 100.0%

United Arab Emirate population by nationality and gender, mid-2010

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The host markets: Malaysia

Malay 50.1%

Chinese 22.6%

Indigenous 11.8%

Indian 6.7%,

Other 0.7%

Expatriates 8.2%

Ethnic composition of Malaysian population, 2010

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The markets: China (1)

Per capita GDP (constant prices)

Gross tertiary enrolment rate (% 18-22 yo)

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The markets: China (2)

18-22 year olds (‘000s)

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The results: preliminary observations

• IBCs are amazingly diverse in scale, organisational form

• IBCs are not ‘branch campuses’ as commonly understood – they are private companies/universities in which the UK university often has a minority stake

• Some IBCs (not the ones in the study) are just offices

• IBCs are subject to QAA and regulation by host government

• UK universities often lack administrative expertise to manage an IBC

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The results: what dimensions to localise (1)?

• Academic staff– Local staff– International staff– Seconded staff

• The trade-off of localising staff:– Academic culture– vs– Cost of provision

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The results: what dimensions to localise (2)?

• Curriculum– Content– Pedagogy– Assessment– Internal quality assurance

• The trade-off of localising curriculum:– Global equivalence– vs– Local relevance

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The results: what dimensions to localise (3)?

• Research– Topics studied

• The trade-off of localising research:– International excellence– vs– Local impact

The University of Imperialism

The University of Localisation

The University of Globalisation

Possible models of localisation

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What to localise?

Imperialism Localisation Globalisation

Staff X √ √

Curriculum X √ X

Research X √ √

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The results: what stakeholders influence the degree of localisation?

• Internal stakeholders:– Home university – senior

management and staff– Joint venture partner

• External stakeholders:– Host country – government,

regulator, employers– Competitors– Students

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A framework for IBCs

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Lessons for UK universities from the study

• Prepare and train managers of IBCs

• Rotate academic and professional seconded staff

• Upskill professional services staff at home

• Design systems that can be globalised

• Be prepared for ontological shock!

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Conclusions

• Transnational education is a growth area

• IBCs are the highest profile form of transnational education

• IBCs vary hugely, but all expose UK university to potential financial and reputational risk

• Research suggests that to succeed, IBCs must localise their staff base, curriculum and research

• The degree of localisation depends on the objectives and relative power of the main stakeholders

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Nothing new under the sun: what do these universities have in common?

University of Peradeniya University of the West Indies

University of ZimbabweUniversity of Nottingham

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For more information:

• E-mail: nigel.healey@ntu.ac.uk

• Website: http://nottinghamtrent.academia.edu/NigelHealey

• Website includes conferences presentations, papers and resources on TNE developed for the Higher Education Academy