This section contains a collection of publications produced at the University of Lincoln into Trans-National Education, student international mobility and collaborative on-line international learning.
The intention is to disseminate the findings of this research more widely and to encourage colleagues to contribute to this growing area of expertise at the University of Lincoln.
“Culture is the way in which a group of people solves problems and reconciles dilemmas.” (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, 2008, 6)
This research explored, in-depth, perceptions, challenges and experiences of transnational education (TNE) students on their educational journey whilst undertaking United Kingdom (UK) franchise programmes in Malaysia. There is a relative lack of recognition in published work relating to the TNE student voice and their experiences at undergraduate level. Globalisation, technological advancements and skills development in knowledge economies continue to dramatically change the landscape of higher education (HE). TNE is an important part of international HE throughout the world offering a range of opportunities for both host and sending institutions as well as their students.
The research also aimed to find out why students value studying on a UK franchised programme and what the host and sending institutions can learn from students in order to deliver a high-quality student experience. It is argued that this research is important, because there is need to know more about the quality of the student TNE journey to ensure that it is appropriate and meets the needs of students as well as other stakeholders, such as employers.
The methodology employed was that of qualitative research using thematic analysis drawing on host student focus groups, and host and sending institutions individual staff interviews. Bourdieu’s theoretical concepts of capital, habitus and field (Bourdieu, 1996), were important, in particular, in relation to the discussion and awareness of TNE and were used as a theoretical lens in which to view this research.
The overarching theme that emerged from the findings was that of culture and that cultural influences and differences are interconnected in every feature of TNE. A key theme from this research study highlighted how important the Malaysian family is in the lives of students as they experience their HE journeys. Other themes that emerged from the findings related to learning and teaching, behaviour, and identity. A key finding was that the badge of a Western degree seemed to be the most important thing to many students (and their families) in pursuing their careers and accumulating capital.
A number of recommendations are made from the findings that have emerged from this research and from the research questions in order to help improve the TNE journey of students. The recommendations relate to feedback and student engagement and staff development for those involved in TNE. The recommendations also relate to managers and policy makers from both Malaysia and the UK to help ensure that the management of TNE at host and sending institutions take account of the student voice to ensure that TNE students receive a high-quality student experience.
The research study concludes by suggesting that if the student voice is recognised more and better understood, it could prove invaluable in contributing to the improvement of TNE programmes and the UK home programmes and, therefore, the student experience.
The authors, staff members of the School of Computer Science at the University of Lincoln, established a toolkit for the generation of dual awards in TNE which utilises the principles of Constructive Alignment to support a quality assurance process which clearly demonstrates equivalences in programmes of study at the home and partner institutions. Using the toolkit, which is based on what the authors refer to as Synergistic Constructive Alignment, the partner institutions retain the ability to deliver localised modules and assessments which maximise the potential for enhancing the student experience without impacting upon the coherence of the host programme or on the equivalence of standards across programmes and campuses. The assurance of standards based on Synergistic Constructive Alignment has since been utilised by five other subject areas and the toolkit has been enhanced and enriched by subsequent advancements in softer quality-based practices and activities which have seen the TNE relationship flourish.
Many Universities engage in Transnational Education (TNE) where their programmes are delivered at a branch campus located in an overseas country, or in partnership with a local higher education provider based in another country. There are many drivers for this approach including: the internationalisation of the home curriculum and student experience; the opportunity to promote student mobility through exchange programmes or short study experiences; demographic issues such as diminishing numbers of international students applying to study at the home institution; political factors including changes in immigration laws; financial objectives such as diversification of revenue streams building research or industrial networks; building the University brand overseas.
There are various models for TNE including validated programmes, franchised delivery, joint or dual degrees, dual awards, twinning arrangements.
This paper builds on previous work where one particular model for TNE, namely the dual award, was investigated. In this paper the authors turn their attention to the structural issues in the creation of a dual award. The paper investigates in depth a topic that arose and was touched upon briefly in previous work namely whether a programme of study is more than just the summation of its constituent learning outcomes.
The paper considers a novel implementation of a dual award whereby the curriculum followed by the students is the locally validated programme rather than the curriculum of the home institution. In order to make the award, the international partner curriculum has been mapped closely against that of the home institution. The mapping is carried out at a detailed level in order to establish that both the high level programme outcomes and the lower level module outcomes of the home institution’s programmes are all appropriately addressed by those of the international partner institution’s curriculum.
The analytical approach adopted applies the work carried out on Constructive Alignment by John Biggs to evaluate the extent to which the mapping between curricula is sound and robust enough to ensure that standards at both institutions can be established and verified. Using Biggs approach, the authors put a clear focus on module level outcomes as being the locus of interest. From this point the coverage of programme level outcomes can be established and the application of student assessment can be monitored. By using module level outcomes as the key binding element within one programme, the horizontal relationship between module level outcomes in the home institution’s and the partner’s programmes provides the reassurance of comparability (the parity of standards) in the design of the programmes.
The paper concludes that through the application of constructive alignment a relative judgement can be made to satisfy the quality assurance requirements of both institutions and of external auditors. It goes on to pose an interesting follow-up question in that it may be possible to establish equivalence in standards but that there might be significant differences in the quality of the student experience.
Transnational Education (TNE), i.e. the delivery of programmes and awarding of qualifications by one University at a campus or with a partner institution in a different country, is becoming increasingly popular. Factors affecting this include: changing demographics whereby diminishing numbers of eligible students are applying to study at the home institution; political factors such as Brexit or changes in immigration laws; financial factors such as the desire to increase revenue or to diversify sources of external income; brand building; networking etc.
Typically TNE is delivered at a branch campus of the home university located in the country of delivery, or in partnership with a local higher education provider based in another country. The models for TNE include franchised delivery, validated programmes, joint or dual degrees twinning arrangements.
This paper adopts a case study approach to investigate one particular model for TNE namely the dual degree. The paper considers a novel implementation of a dual degree whereby the curriculum followed by the students is the locally validated programme rather than the curriculum of the home institution. In order to make the award, the international partner curriculum has been mapped closely against that of the home institution. The mapping is carried out at a detailed level in order to establish that both the high level programme outcomes and the lower level module (sometimes called course) outcomes of the home institution’s programmes are all appropriately addressed by those of the international partner institution’s curriculum. Coverage is then established by ensuring that on every piece of assessed work, it is clearly identified which learning outcomes of each institution are being assessed. Application of a mapping matrix, developed at the approval phase, by assessment setter, moderator and external examiner is carried out. On the basis of the correct application of that mapping, the overall coverage of outcomes is ensured and the award of the home institution is conferred on those students who successfully complete the award at the partner institution.
The case study reveals an interesting research question namely whether a programme of study is more than just the summation of its constituent learning outcomes or “is the whole greater than the sum of its parts”? Consideration is made whether there a level of decomposition or deconstruction of a programme that results in the essence of that programme being lost.
The paper concludes that by satisfying the functional constraints of the mapping, in combination with a carefully constructed system of mutual partner support, an appropriate and quality student experience can be achieved that both respects the local curriculum and delivers the home institution’s award.
This paper presents an educational case study of Media Culture 2020, an EU Erasmus Intensive Programme (EU ERASMUS project number 2012-1-FI1-ERA10-09673) that utilised a range of social media platforms and interactive computer software to create open, virtual learning environments where students from different countries and fields could explore and learn together. The multi-disciplinary project featured five universities from across Europe: the University of Vic (Spain), Tampere University of Applied Sciences (Finland), Liepaja University (Latvia), the University of Lincoln (United Kingdom) and HKU Hilversum (Netherlands) – and was designed to develop new pedagogical frameworks that might encourage collaborative approaches to teaching and learning. This paper will focus primarily on the implementation of a number of digital tools during the pre-workshop phase, in addition to highlighting the key educational aspects of the project.
