Will setting up TNE projects in China dilute the direct student recruitment to study in the UK? This is a question that many UK universities consider when engaging TNE in China.
Yes, China is a country that many people in the international sector view as a high-risk country to explore or consider Transnational Education, in the possible three formats allowed by the Chinese Ministry of Education, joint programme, or joint institute or independent campus. The reality is that many UK universities were open-minded and took advantage of the international educational landscape in China to set up their own TNE operations, irrespective of whether the right TNE projects were for them or not. At the moment, there are nearly 80% of UK universities have some sort of joint programmes in China; 40% have one or more joint institutes in China, including the majority of Russell Group universities, in addition to the two branch campuses of Nottingham Ningbo and Xi’an Jiao Tong - Liverpool University.
While some other universities took cautious or even suspicious attitudes towards TNE in China over the last ten years, now it has reached a time that you might have lost the golden opportunity to enter China, as China has now embarked on a journey to shift from quantity to quality, indicated by the small number of TNE approved in the first half 2023. The focus on quality international education is manifested through the reference to ranking, reputation, subject alignment with national strategy and favourable geographic locations.
Different types of TNE in China: Joint Programme, Joint Institute, and Independent campus
These three types of TNE vary greatly in terms of legal status, governance structure, size, shape and finance. With its own legal representative, an independent campus, with a scale of 3,000 students to over 20,000 students, is deemed a university, enjoying similar access and support from the Chinese government, as any other Chinese university. It is governed independently by the funding universities (University in the case of Hainan), following the national educational framework in China, which can be ranked nationally and internationally. International branch campus takes its own unique status, being neither public nor private, just an international campus. Being a university, with a reasonable scale aligned to its own planning, it dictates that it requires its own eco-system of a university, from education service to research and knowledge transfer. The societal recognition of branch campuses, such as Xijiao Liverpool, has really catalysed the growth and reputation of independent campuses nationally.
For both joint institutes (JI, typically 1,200 students) and joint programmes (JP, typically 100 students/intake), I often perceive the UK universities as a service provider in the nature of collaboration where the UK universities deliver the relevant teaching commitment and issue degrees and its associated quality assurance process, the JP and JI legally reside with the partner universities. The primary portfolio of a JP and JI is about education service, teaching and learning. There are many similarities between a JI and a JP in terms of collaborative model, governance structure, student recruitment and journey. However, the primary differences are about the fee structure and potential for growth where the JI enjoys more autonomy in both perspectives.
The four one-third requirements of the teaching commitment apply to everyone at different educational levels, although there are various models to satisfy this, either through global recruitment, flying faculty or combination, or a combination with a third party.
So coming back to the question - Will setting up TNE projects in China dilute the direct student recruitment to study in the UK? Let’s look at some of the numbers from HESA on Chinese students number at a few selected UK universities.
(data extracted from HESA report)
The University of Glasgow is one of the most active TNE players in China with 3 joint institutes with reputable Chinese universities and 5 joint programmes but its Chinese student number has tripled over the last few years. We could argue that being ranked top 100 has played its role in being competitive in China. Other active TNE providers such as Queen Mary, Lancaster, Southampton, and Edinburgh have both nearly doubled their Chinese students’ numbers, despite the lower ranking position of Queen Mary with 3 Joint institutes. Coventry, very active in China, with 1 JI and 6 JP in China has performed extremely well with less competitive global ranking compared to Russell Group universities, but the feedback on the market is that they got the right people with the right support from the UK. Liverpool and Nottingham with their own campuses in China have a mixed trajectory over the years. The only two well-ranked universities that have not done so well in the Chinese market are Surrey and Bath.
Of course, the success of TNE in China depends on various factors, geographic location, institutional partners, partner relations, and reputation and brand in China. Equally, to successfully recruit Chinese students is more than ranking, it requires the right people with the right strategy and support. Overall, it is possible for us to argue the non-existence of a negative correlation of TNE in China and recruiting Chinese students studying in the UK. On the contrary, reputable TNE in China would help maintain and strengthen the brand and reputation of a university which in return helps attract students to study on its UK campuses.
Comments