Compared to other major education exporting countries, and most notably Britain and Australia, New Zealand is in an early stage in the development of transnational education. This means that New Zealand providers entering overseas education systems now may encounter more competition than established overseas providers did during when beginning their transnational operations. Fortunately, by learning from the experience of other countries’ providers, New Zealand institutions launching into offshore education now can deliver efficient high quality programs that can compete with established overseas providers, effectively leap-frogging decades of trial and error.

This guide aims to provide a brief introduction to good practice in transnational (or ‘offshore’) education by drawing on the New Zealand and international literature on transnational education, international codes of practice, case studies of large-scale successful overseas programs, and reports of quality assurance bodies. It covers transnational strategy, selecting an offshore partner, drafting a written agreement, curriculum development, teaching and learning materials, supporting teaching staff, and language issues. It provides links to many detailed resources showcasing good practice that can be used by providers in developing their own internal processes for transnational program delivery.

This guide has been designed to be used by academic, teaching, management and administration staff in New Zealand educational institutions which are considering or are already engaged in offshore initiatives. The guide:

• Explains key international standards and guidelines on transnational provision, and their applicability with the NZ and regional context

• Explains relevant NZ standards, regulations, quality assurance requirements and sources of government and industry support

• Provides examples of good practice in transnational delivery

• Provides an overview of the types of processes involved in the development of offshore programs, and directions to practical resources that can assist NZ providers in these processes

• Provides links to key sources so that you can easily obtain more detailed information about the issues addressed in this guide.

Definitions of transnational education sometimes differ slightly from country to country, and in New Zealand the interchangeable term ‘offshore education’ has been used more commonly in the past. The term transnational is preferred here as it is more widely used internationally and is more widely understood in both sending and receiving countries. The specific definition used here is ‘the delivery of New Zealand formal educational qualifications by New Zealand providers outside New Zealand’s shores’ (Catherwood, 2006, p.5). Thus study tours and other short programs for New Zealand students delivered overseas are not included here. It is useful to distinguish

3three main forms of transnational education:

1. International distance education, in which students are supported remotely from the home campus in New Zealand, using a combination of communication tools and sometimes short visits

2. Partner-supported programs, in which the New Zealand provider collaborates with an in-country partner to share the delivery of services to students

3. International branch campus, in which a New Zealand provider establishes an overseas subsidiary to teach students in that country

This guide focuses on the second of these, which is the most common mode of delivery. Much of the guide is also very relevant to forms of distance education that do not involve a local partner, especially the sections dealing with equivalence and teaching. And while there are currently no offshore campuses of New Zealand tertiary education providers, this guide will be of assistance to providers contemplating such an initiative, as the relationships between home campuses and offshore campuses are in many ways similar to partnerships between independent entities.

Within the broad category of ‘partner-supported programs’ there are a wide variety of organisational and pedagogical models, and invariably each transnational initiative is designed to reflect the needs of the institutions and students involved, and the regulatory and commercial environment in the program operates. Therefore this guide does not aim to present a definitive template but instead explains the broad ‘good practice’ principles that have evolved in the field and presents examples of successful approaches that may provide food for thought for those considering implementing new programs and rethinking existing operations.

Author: Christopher Ziguras, Associate Professor of International Studies, RMIT University