International branch campuses get too much attention

International branch campuses receive a lot of attention for their motivations, successes and failures. In addition, some recent big-name endeavours like New York University Shanghai and Yale-NUS College in Singapore add to the perception that more institutions are building overseas campuses.

In reality, branch campuses form only a small proportion of the internationalisation activities and models of transnational education engaged in by institutions.

For example the United Kingdom, which has been promoting transnational education as part of its national strategy, reports that only 3% of its 600,000 students studying wholly overseas for a UK qualification in 2012-13 were enrolled in an overseas campus of a UK higher education institution.

In contrast, one out of five students pursued a UK degree through a distance learning programme.

If the goal of the global engagement strategy of a higher education institution is to be truly 'global' and to 'engage' learners from many countries in a cost-effective, controllable and flexible manner, then online and open learning cannot be ignored.

A recent report shows that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, is shaping its internationalisation future around its prior initiative like OpenCourseWare and now edX.

It forecasts a future where education will be unbundled and degrees will be disaggregated "into smaller credential units such as course credentials, sequence credentials, and even badges" with the possibility that "the credentialing entity may be different from the institution that offers the course".

The report adds that the "digital education revolution has the potential to alter the way MIT interacts not only with its on-campus students, but with an entire globe of learners".

Likewise, the University of Pennsylvania is recognising distance learning opportunities by investing more in 'open learning' as a part of its global engagement strategy.

Many more universities in Europe are now getting excited about the new wave of opportunities presented by online learning.

World-class education through online models

Open and distance learning programmes are not new and have existed for decades in a variety of shapes and forms with the aim of serving masses - MOOCs, or massive open online courses, happen to be the latest avatar.

In the last decade or so, some of the big brand institutions like Columbia University and Universitas 21, a consortium of global universities, have attempted a grand vision to deliver world-class education through online models. However, their efforts have had little or no success.

So, how is online learning and its potential for global engagement any different today?

The confluence of three megatrends - advancements in technological capabilities of online learning models, the entry of global brand names like Harvard to the number of institutions who offer MOOCs and the growth of 'glocal' students in emerging markets - is changing the value proposition of online learning for a segment of students and challenging the financial viability of international branch campuses.

While branch campuses require infrastructure-intensive efforts that come with high financial and reputational risks, online learning offers a low-cost, flexible alternative for 'glocal' students to potentially earn a foreign credential - 'glocal' students aspire to earn an international education or experience without having to leave their home or region.

The economics argument

Recently, The Economist argued: "The rise of online instruction will upend the economics of higher education."

It notes that university costs are driven by two big factors: first, the need for physical proximity (infrastructure) offering a high marginal cost of production, and second, the need for labour intensity (teaching) which makes it difficult to raise productivity.

Online education changes the economic equation because the "most salient feature of the online course is its rock-bottom marginal cost: teaching additional students is virtually free".

In addition, from the perspective of a segment of students, low or no cost of courses delivered by star faculty from reputed universities, offers a strong value proposition. This segment of 'glocal' students would even forego a campus-based experience from a lesser-known foreign institution to gain online experience from a reputed institution.

Consider the recent data released by MITx and HarvardX about their reach to and engagement with a large segment of under-served population through MOOCs. More than 5,000 students were registered in HarvardX from Ghana and 28% of registrants from Oman for MITx were female.

This indicates that there is interest from 'glocal' students and as the blend of technology and learning innovation matures, along with the acceptance in the marketplace of employers, there will be higher traction for MOOCs in international markets.

Of course, online learning is not a strategy for all universities.

However, it does offer a competitive value proposition to a segment of 'glocal' students. In addition, there are uncertainties, risks and barriers in integrating online learning models in global engagement strategies.

However, identifying potential and prioritising low-risk experiments will differentiate the leaders from the laggards. Higher education institutions need to assess, prepare and adapt their global engagement strategies in line with the emerging opportunities and challenges presented by megatrends.

What is your strategy for engaging online learning models and 'glocal' students in internationalisation - ignore, collaborate or compete?

Dr Rahul Choudaha is the co-founder and CEO at DrEducation and http://interEDGE.org. He researches, speaks, writes, and consults on international student trends and its implications for institutional strategies and student success. Choudaha holds a doctorate in higher education from the University of Denver. He is reachable at info@DrEducation.com and @DrEducationBlog.

* Photo credit: iStock