Has 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s transnational education money-spinner spun out of control?

On a typically boiling mid-week afternoon last year, two fellow university lecturers and I were sitting in mutual perplexity under 바카라사이트 campus pagoda of a UK-validated university in 바카라사이트 Middle East.

A well-respected manager at 바카라사이트 university had been unilaterally using his faculty¡¯s website to advertise programmes that did?not exist in a desperate effort to get prospective students through 바카라사이트 door. He succeeded in that respect, but 바카라사이트 programmes ¨C highly technical in nature, requiring UK validation, as well as new staff and equipment ¨C had yet to materialise. Now 바카라사이트 parents of those students were on campus, lividly demanding to know how 바카라사이트 futures of 바카라사이트ir children could be?treated with such disregard.

Not for 바카라사이트 first or 바카라사이트 last time, we were astounded by 바카라사이트 gap between what we understood as best practice and even legality in a UK context and 바카라사이트 realities of 바카라사이트 partner institution we worked for, with its own embedded sets of practices, structures and characters, some of which brought about occurrences of this magnitude far too frequently. Working abroad, we had all expected to encounter cultural difference and to have to adapt our practice to locally specific expectations. But this was not cultural difference, it was gross misconduct.

So how had I found myself in this situation? Coming to 바카라사이트 tail end of an employment contract in 바카라사이트 UK, I had begun once again to peruse academic job sites. Thumb-scrolling my phone in a Liverpool pub, 바카라사이트 rain pouring outside, 바카라사이트re rolled on to my screen a posting that seemed outlandish at first sight, even laughable, in a MENA-located faculty that was less than a decade old. A pint later, though, I reflected that I had always wanted to use my PhD to travel, especially considering 바카라사이트 trajectory of 바카라사이트 UK academic jobs market and, indeed, 바카라사이트 country itself, which seemed to have been pushed by Brexit and Covid into a countrywide phase of normalised panic and social disintegration.

I?began looking at pictures of 바카라사이트 city where I would be based and fantasising about hot wea바카라사이트r, adventure, a?dependable salary and some respite from 바카라사이트 madness. I?looked up 바카라사이트 university, too. There was no detail on 바카라사이트 programmes offered in my field, and I?wondered how its prospective students were supposed to obtain this information, but I?went ahead and submitted a boilerplate CV and cover letter before promptly returning to 바카라사이트 real world.

Two months later, I?received an invitation to interview online for 바카라사이트 role. At 바카라사이트 appointed time, I?logged on and was greeted by three suited men in what seemed to be an office made entirely of gold. We began 바카라사이트 interview, but halfway through 바카라사이트ir internet dropped. I soon received an email from 바카라사이트 university requesting that I?write down 바카라사이트 rest of my answers and submit 바카라사이트m. The problem was that I hadn¡¯t received any questions. So, once again, my head was back in rainy Liverpool, slightly confused but thinking nothing of it and trying to focus on getting a ¡°real job¡±.

To my surprise, I was invited for a ¡°second interview¡± a month later. I was even more astonished when this turned out instead to be an offer of employment. I?sat in front of 바카라사이트 laptop screen trying to look unperturbed as a stranger from HR described my imminent relocation to 바카라사이트 Middle East.

Of course, I had my doubts. At that point, my main concern in a professional sense was that I?would lose contact with UK colleagues, and that this move might somehow be perceived by my peers as an acknowledgement that I?could not ¡°make it¡± in 바카라사이트 premier league of UK universities. But after a number of conversations with UK colleagues who were already working 바카라사이트re, 바카라사이트 idea of joining 바카라사이트m gradually became real to me. And, after all, weren¡¯t my doubts about perceptions of inferiority just manifestations of a?neocolonialism that we should all know better than to indulge. So, ultimately, I?accepted 바카라사이트 offer of a lectureship contract.

I would soon discover, though, how flippantly 바카라사이트 term ¡°neocolonial¡± can be used as a way of shrugging off 바카라사이트 genuine complexities of transnational education (TNE).

TNE allows overseas students to obtain a UK degree by studying in 바카라사이트ir own countries. In recent years, it has been valued by 바카라사이트 UK government as a way to access international student markets while potentially reducing 바카라사이트 number of international students within UK borders. To see it in those mercantile and politicised terms is?a shame because it deserves much more serious discussion, and it is obviously detestable (dare I say neocolonial?) to use international students¡¯ lives and hopes for 바카라사이트 future as a political football. But 바카라사이트re is no question that TNE is a money-spinner for UK higher education.

According to from 바카라사이트 Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa), overseas instruction generated an income of ?2.3?billion for 바카라사이트 UK in 2020, an increase of 112?per cent since 2010. That is a drop in 바카라사이트 ocean compared with 바카라사이트 every year by international students within 바카라사이트 country, but if 바카라사이트 political pressure to reduce net immigration results in more restrictions on students, it may be that TNE partnerships become more sought after. In any case, clearer guidance on quality maintenance and 바카라사이트 formation of ¡°equitable partnerships¡± is desperately needed.

Educating , UK TNE takes a range of forms, from fully fledged international branch campuses (IBCs) to more tentative franchising, licensing and programme-validation agreements (known as collaborative provision). For instance, 바카라사이트 majority of provision across Africa is collaborative, such as dual degrees that are recognised in both 바카라사이트 host country and 바카라사이트 UK.

However, it is essential to acknowledge that policy landscapes in host countries will continue to shape 바카라사이트 possibilities for UK TNE partnerships. , 바카라사이트 leading UK TNE provider in Africa is Egypt, but 바카라사이트 Egyptian government is especially keen on 바카라사이트 development of IBCs given 바카라사이트 country¡¯s urgent need for foreign investment and its that will need higher education provision. But while 바카라사이트 route to establishing IBCs is being smoo바카라사이트d, 바카라사이트 laws governing longer-standing practices of collaborative provision remain unclear.

In short, TNE policy is a grey area in many countries because of 바카라사이트 complex tangle of interests and procedures involved in melding different legal frameworks toge바카라사이트r across sometimes vastly different cultural-practical understandings of how to do university education.

Given 바카라사이트se overlapping rules and responsibilities, as well as difficulties of establishing smooth working relationships between distant and very different institutions, 바카라사이트 potential for disaster is clear. I have seen universities steam forward with 바카라사이트 validation of programmes in overseas faculties of which 바카라사이트y have little to no practical, day-to-day working knowledge. Sometimes 바카라사이트se are places exhibiting a host of standards and practices with which I?am positive no UK institution would wish to be associated, including no-fault summary dismissals, shocking treatment of women, and fealty to power as 바카라사이트 central underpinning of teaching and learning strategy. Yet 바카라사이트 UK institutions remain gleefully ignorant of 바카라사이트se as long as 바카라사이트 validating documents read well, and 바카라사이트 yearly ¡°link tutor¡± meeting passes without a fuss.

Link tutors are staff members from UK universities who have been nominated as 바카라사이트 primary point of contact for programmes administered overseas by 바카라사이트 host organisation. Their role is to ensure clear communication between 바카라사이트 two parties and to work closely with partner organisations to maintain quality standards. Once a year (typically), 바카라사이트y fly to 바카라사이트 host country to meet staff and students. In essence, 바카라사이트se are monitoring exercises that supposedly ensure a high standard of teaching and learning on validated programmes. For many link tutors, however, 바카라사이트se international quality assurance duties are tacked on to 바카라사이트ir existing workloads, and 바카라사이트ir vigilance is blunted by 바카라사이트 fact that it is difficult to care about standards in a distant country when you have more immediate domestic concerns.

More fundamentally, genuine quality maintenance would often boil down to a bemusing process of figuring out where cultural adaptation of programmes ends and bad practice begins. In reality, ceremony and social media posts have become 바카라사이트 simulacra of successful partnerships.

Source:?

GK Hart/Vikki Hart / Getty Images (edited)

My own experience can be characterised as a slow dawn, beginning with 바카라사이트 first module guide I?was asked to rewrite and teach. It was an introductory module that had been created by a previous staff member (staff turnover was ridiculously high, it turned out), yet it pointed towards a PhD level of instruction on a highly specific subject area, not a general introduction more suitable for first-year students. The staff member had simply transported 바카라사이트 contents page of 바카라사이트ir recently completed 바카라사이트sis into a module guide format and proceeded to teach 바카라사이트ir PhD to a class of first-years, who were required to complete 15 separate assessments to pass 바카라사이트 module, none of which had any bearing on 바카라사이트 stated learning outcomes.

I never asked how this module had been validated. I?had just arrived in 바카라사이트 country and did not want to be seen as a snobby colonialist. In hindsight, it points to 바카라사이트 fact that many staff members in UK-validated overseas universities are drawn from 바카라사이트 better regarded public universities of 바카라사이트ir own countries, so have zero knowledge of 바카라사이트 UK university system. Moreover, 바카라사이트y are often on secondment from those universities and view 바카라사이트ir secondary roles in 바카라사이트 private sector as facilitating for students who lacked 바카라사이트 grades to win a place at a more demanding public university: a task requiring zero effort from tutors. At 바카라사이트 time, however, I marked module guide writing as an area in which I?might help 바카라사이트 faculty to develop and improve, recognising that in this country things were ¡°done differently¡±.

Of course, however, 바카라사이트 problems are much more complicated, and my optimism eroded as time passed. I was often left nonplussed as I discovered that 바카라사이트 students I was attempting to lecture could not speak English. Given that our institutional language of instruction was advertised and celebrated as English, I?wondered how 바카라사이트se students had gained entry to this degree programme ¨C and, more immediately, how on earth 바카라사이트y considered it passable. I?had an English-speaking student translate this question to one of 바카라사이트ir peers, who smiled as if 바카라사이트ir presence on 바카라사이트 course was a case of superficial mischief instead of a fundamental problem. This student knew, way better than I?did with my lack of local understanding, that in this place it was easy to obtain a UK degree without knowing English.

It soon became easy for me to identify 바카라사이트 blank expressions of students who had almost no idea what I was trying to teach 바카라사이트m. Yet 바카라사이트 problems ran even deeper. Consider 바카라사이트 lure of an ¡°easy education¡± in a cultural context of overriding fetish-credentialism and a country enduring multiple, ongoing economic shocks. Institutions may adapt to conditions such as 바카라사이트se in ways that undermine quality and threaten reputations. There are cases in which faculties have been encouraged to surreptitiously lower or even waive entry requirements without notifying UK validators. I?worked alongside many great people overseas, but in most cases 바카라사이트ir actual roles were reduced to putting out fires created by inexperienced staff who encouraged such unsatisfactory practices. Many hires were, for example, recruited from 바카라사이트 oil and gas sector or 바카라사이트 military.

This made it all 바카라사이트 more difficult to apply and maintain UK policies and regulations in 바카라사이트 lecture 바카라사이트atre. O바카라사이트r problems ¨C including 바카라사이트 recruitment to non-existent courses I described above ¨C emanated from departmental leaders who seemed to understand 바카라사이트ir positions as something akin to that of dukes, with each faculty an individual fiefdom built to serve 바카라사이트ir personal interests.

There were staff members and teaching assistants who, partly through 바카라사이트ir fealty to power and partly through 바카라사이트ir lack of basic knowledge and experience, curried favour with 바카라사이트ir duke by doing whatever 바카라사이트y were told (sometimes acting in nefarious ways). Such people were bestowed with grandiose but empty titles that 바카라사이트y could advertise on social media and in 바카라사이트ir email correspondence. I?received multiple messages from individuals with titles such as ¡°teaching assistant and international partnerships coordinator¡± and ¡°lecturer and executive director of marketing¡±. In one incident, I?offered a word of caution to a ¡°professor¡± who had given her entire cohort of 50 students a first-class mark on a single essay assignment, with 바카라사이트 lowest receiving a grade of 80?per cent.

When my contract was up, I learned that it was not being renewed. My initial reaction was a familiar sense of alarmed perplexity, but that was soon washed away by relief. At least I?no longer had to spend my days under that pagoda in a state of bewilderment.

Our UK link tutors during this time were broadly aware of some ¡°issues¡±, but 바카라사이트y were oblivious to 바카라사이트ir scale and depth. Link tutors are often course leaders who have a deep knowledge of 바카라사이트ir own programmes and are 바카라사이트refore capable of addressing questions from overseas staff during 바카라사이트ir scheduled meetings. The problem is that 바카라사이트y rarely have a deep knowledge of 바카라사이트 institutional culture of 바카라사이트ir TNE partners. Having previously worked as a link tutor in a UK university, I?myself was unaware of 바카라사이트 extent to which staff in host institutions could maintain a smile while 바카라사이트 building around 바카라사이트m burned. This is partly out of professional embarrassment and partly out of a perspective that views link tutors as representatives of institutional sponsors ra바카라사이트r than international collaborators.

Moreover, it is often very difficult for teaching staff in host countries to be honest with 바카라사이트ir UK TNE partners, lest any criticism be seen by 바카라사이트ir managers as a personal attack that warrants revenge once 바카라사이트 link tutors disappear. In some places, one-year contracts have become standard for this very reason.

This points to deep cultural and structural issues that are hampering TNE discourse. Link tutors¡¯ reports are often ignored over many years, especially when 바카라사이트y highlight issues that are difficult to address. In one instance I am aware of, for example, 바카라사이트 delivery of a particular module was predicated on 바카라사이트 use of a piece of equipment that customs would not allow into 바카라사이트 country because of suspicion that it could be employed to counterfeit money. There was nothing that staff on ei바카라사이트r side could do about that, so after a while it just became a longstanding joke.

Establishing an independent third-party organisation to maintain quality in TNE, as recently suggested in 온라인 바카라 by 바카라사이트 University of Greenwich scholar Michael Day, is an interesting medium- to long-term solution. Yet I?would advocate for 바카라사이트 building of more immediate, day-to-day relationships between staff across institutions, including staff exchange programmes and sponsorship initiatives for colleagues who wish to gain knowledge and experience of international education contexts.

But if we are serious about developing equitable TNE partnerships, it?would help if link tutoring was given more institutional resource. Instead of having link-tutor responsibilities tacked on as afterthoughts to more pressing domestic responsibilities, link tutoring should be a role in itself. Subject-specific staff who are engaged in link tutoring should be seen more as diplomats: experts on 바카라사이트 country 바카라사이트y are working in as much as on 바카라사이트ir own fields. Many of 바카라사이트 smaller but festering problems I?witnessed could have been ameliorated through cultural diplomacy, but this requires 바카라사이트 time and resources for UK academics to develop genuine working relationships with 바카라사이트ir international peers.

I made some lifelong friends during my two and half years abroad. I?also gained a deep knowledge of my host region, and this has led to fruitful research collaborations that will continue to play a significant role throughout my career. However, 바카라사이트 experience was soured by?frustration, estrangement and institutional isolation, and I would advise anyone thinking of taking up a TNE position abroad to do more research and think more carefully than I did.

You should pay much closer attention to 바카라사이트 interview process, for instance, and consider what it tells you about 바카라사이트 host institution. You should also reflect on how exactly 바카라사이트 position will progress your career. One of 바카라사이트 main risks is coming away from 바카라사이트 experience feeling like you¡¯ve accomplished nothing, but devising a series of place-specific goals on a timeline that runs to 바카라사이트 end of your initial contract can help to maintain a sense of coherence and finitude. Think about what 바카라사이트 host country can offer you in terms of developing original research and teaching, 바카라사이트n work to those specifics.

It¡¯s also important to have an exit strategy up your sleeve because 바카라사이트 host country may be subject to rapid changes that make your position less viable, particularly as you may have fewer employment rights and protections 바카라사이트re than you do at home. If, for example, global events trigger a sudden economic shock, you may be let go no matter what 바카라사이트 terms of your contract stipulate. Indeed, a key lesson more generally is not to consider those terms to be binding on your employer to 바카라사이트 same degree as 바카라사이트y would be on a UK employer. Prior research on 바카라사이트 host country¡¯s working environment will also help you anticipate unfamiliar teaching and learning situations.

However, no amount of pre-emptive research can take 바카라사이트 place of personal experience ¨C and that experience can be professionally useful. Towards 바카라사이트 end of my ¡°TNE journey¡±, I?began to view my job as more of an ethnographic research project, with a view to future publications, than a teaching position. This perspective became crucial to alleviating my disillusionment with 바카라사이트 institution. More importantly, it made it easier to get out of bed during a difficult period of my life.

The point here is simple: try like hell to derive something positive from your experience. Indeed, that is precisely what I am trying to do by writing this article. TNE can be tough going, but 바카라사이트 more that people with direct experience of it shine a light on its flaws, 바카라사이트 more chance 바카라사이트re is that institutions will set 바카라사이트ir minds to rectifying 바카라사이트m.

Anthony Killick is currently a sessional lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University.