The UK has over half a million students in transnational education. Living in other countries, they study for degrees and other awards of UK higher education providers. Transnational education brings considerable benefits not only to the higher education sector, but also more broadly for British influence abroad. It widens participation in UK higher education by making it more accessible. And it drives economic growth in the countries where UK providers operate.
We know very little about these students. An aggregate offshore record currently gives overall student numbers for each provider, broken down by location, level of study and type of provision. Reforms to the record, starting in 2026/27, will improve the picture to an extent. It will be replaced in England and Wales with a report based on individual student records, while a more detailed aggregate offshore record will apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Behind the numbers, however, there is a bigger story to be told about students in transnational education: who they are, how they learn and what changes in their lives. We know from occasional student surveys that they are likely to be satisfied with their academic programmes. What is missing is a more systematic approach, which takes into account the full complexity of offshore provision. Higher education providers hold a good deal of relevant information, only a small part of which is publicly available.
This report considers what we know about the student experience of transnational education and makes the case for greater public availability of data. This, in turn, will increase the profile of students and provide assurances about the quality of transnational education. The conclusion makes recommendations in three areas:
- The Office for Students should consult on the best way to provide public information and reassurance about the quality of English transnational education. One possibility is an exercise like the Teaching Excellence Framework, but on a smaller scale and a different cycle.
- There should be wider engagement with the Quality Enhancement of Transnational Education (QE-TNE) scheme. This scheme is run by the Quality Assurance Agency as a membership scheme, funded by providers that subscribe to it. As an ideal, the scheme should be expanded to include all UK transnational education providers, and its reports should be free to access. It will be useful to commission student and graduate surveys in each country reviewed.
- Providers should consider making greater use of external student surveys for transnational education. This will improve the ability of survey providers to draw insights across countries and regions of the world.
These measures will increase the availability of information in a targeted and useful way, as well as unlocking a good deal of the learning that lies within the sector. There are potential gains for accountability, the continuous improvement of academic provision and the global reputation
of UK higher education.
The following is written from my perspective in the development of transnational education at the University of Reading, and from advising on similar projects elsewhere. It draws on conversations with colleagues from other UK providers. The report and its conclusions are limited to transnational education offered by UK higher education providers in countries around the world.