Design and management of higher education trans-national education (TNE) provision: ten lessons from an action research project

The purpose of this paper is to provide insight for the design and management of university Trans-National Education (TNE) provision. The guidance is experientially based and generated from an action research study utilising empirical survey findings relating to a long-standing TNE programme involving a UK university and a Chinese partner university. The paper identifies a number of lessons for TNE provision but especially important are the need to form a strong relationship with the partner institution, acculturate the students from the start of the programme and the key role of the formal induction programme once they arrive in the UK. The findings of this study should constitute lessons for senior managers and course managers involved in designing and managing TNE programmes at UK universities. The main limitation of the study is its focus on just one TNE programme and, hence the generalisability of the findings, but it does make an original contribution to knowledge in terms of the successful operation of a TNE programme.