523989

research-article2014

JSIXXX10.1177/1028315314523989Journal of Studies in International EducationFang and Wang

Article

Chinese Students Choice

of Transnational Higher
Education in a Globalized
Higher Education Market: A
Case Study of W University

Journal of Studies in International Education

2014, Vol. 18(5) 475494
2014 European Association for
International Education
Reprints and permissions:
sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/1028315314523989
jsi.sagepub.com

Wenhong Fang1 and Shen Wang2

Abstract
This research studies Chinese students choice of transnational higher education in
the context of the higher education market. Through a case study of the students in
the transnational higher education programs of W University, the research finds that
Chinese students choice of transnational higher education is a complicated decisionmaking that is influenced by push factors related to domestic higher education and
overseas higher education, pull factors related to transnational higher education and
students characteristics such as economic condition, academic aptitude, and future
plans. Compared with domestic higher education and overseas higher education,
transnational higher education is a second choice. It is being used by the majority
of students as a tool to regain access to high-quality domestic higher education
institutions and to gain access to overseas higher education. Currently, there exist
information gaps between students and transnational higher education programs,
which prevent students from making an informed decision when they choose a
particular program.
Keywords
choice, students characteristics, pushpull factors, information channels, program
characteristics

1Dalian

University of Foreign Languages, China

Jiaotong University, China

2Shanghai

Corresponding Author:
Wenhong Fang, School of Applied English, Dalian University of Foreign Languages, West Part of Lvshun
South Road, Lvshun, Dalian, China.
Email: galerosita2000@gmail.com

Downloaded from jsi.sagepub.com at University of Leicester Library on May 2, 2015

476

Journal of Studies in International Education 18(5)

Introduction
Transnational higher education, in this research, refers to higher education that
involves the mobility of course content (up to a whole program) and providers across
jurisdictional borders (Fang, 2012). From students perspectives, it refers to higher
education in which students receive foreign or partly foreign education without having
to move abroad. In the language of General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS),
it refers to cross border supply of education service, which does not require the
physical movement of consumers and commercial presence where the service provider establishes or has presence of commercial facilities in another country to render
service (Knight, 2002, p. 5). Transnational higher education in China, in this research,
refers to the cooperation between foreign higher education institutions and Chinese
higher education institutions in establishing programs or institutions to deliver higher
education service within the territory of China mainly to Chinese citizens (State
Council of China, 2003). Cooperation, according to Regulations of the Peoples
Republic of China on Transnational Higher Education in China, refers to contributions from both Chinese and foreign higher education institutions in the forms of capital, land use right, objects, intellectual property rights, and other properties such as
institutional brand and curriculum (State Council of China, 2003). In other words, in
the context of China, an education provision is considered transnational when substantial contributions from both foreign and Chinese sides are involved even if the provision does not award foreign degrees.
The higher education market is becoming increasingly globalized. In addition to
domestic higher education and overseas higher education, students are now provided
with a new higher education option, namely, transnational higher education. Regarding
students choice of domestic higher education and overseas higher education, the exiting literature has produced many explanatory frameworks and influencing factors.
Students choice of transnational higher education has only been researched very limitedly due to the newness of the sector. There has been a few works (Corbeil, 2006;
Mok, 2012; Mok & Xu, 2008; Pyvis & Chapman, 2004; Wilkins, Balakrishnan, &
Huisman, 2012b) exploring the experience of this group of students, in which students motivations to attend transnational higher education provisions were briefly
touched upon. The recent studies of Pyvis and Chapman (2007); Wilkins, Balakrishnan,
and Huisman (2012a); and British Council (2012) examined why students chose transnational higher education with research subjects from Malaysia, the United Arab
Emirates, and the world in general, and found that there existed differences among
students of different nationalities and different times. A close look at the choice of
students in China, one of the most promising markets of transnational higher education (Yang, 2008), is in shortage. A theoretically based analytical framework for students choice of transnational higher education is demanded. This research fills in the
gap by providing a systematic analysis of Chinese students choice of transnational
higher education. Through a case study of the students in the transnational higher education programs of W University (for further details of the university, see General
Situation of W University and Its Programs section), the research aims to generate

Downloaded from jsi.sagepub.com at University of Leicester Library on May 2, 2015

477

Fang and Wang

insights into three questions: (a) Why do Chinese students choose transnational higher
education? (b) How do Chinese students choose a particular transnational higher education program? (c) Do the existing findings apply to Chinese students choice of
transnational higher education?
The research is significant because (a) transnational higher education is fast growing. Different from domestic higher education and overseas higher education, transnational higher education is neither fully national nor international. The increasing
importance of transnational higher education and the differences between transnational higher education and the other two higher education forms demand knowledge
to be produced on students choice of this new education form; (b) this research studies
Chinese students choice of transnational higher education in the context of the higher
education market. The knowledge produced contributes to a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the higher education market in China.

Analytical Framework
To gain a comprehensive look at students choice of transnational higher education,
the researcher reviewed the literature on students choice of domestic higher education
(Hossler, Braxton, & Coopersmith, 1989; Hossler, Schmit, & Vesper, 1999; Jiang,
2010; McDonough, 1997; Zhong & Lu, 1999; etc.) and overseas higher education
(Altbach, 1998; Bodycott, 2009; Chen, 2007; Li & Bray, 2007; T. W. Mazzarol, Choo,
& Nair, 2001; T. Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002; McMahon, 1992; Pimpa, 2005). Based on
the findings of the review, an analytical framework is constructed (see Figure 1).
The analytical framework is composed of two major segments: the choice of transnational higher education and the choice of a particular transnational higher education
program. They are perceived as a successive process. Regarding students choice of
transnational higher education, pushpull theory is used as the theoretical base. Push
pull theory is very often used in the literature on students choice of overseas higher
education. It argues that students choice of overseas higher education results from the
pull factors related to host countries and the push factors related to home countries.
Pull factors are all positive. Push factors are either positive or negative. In the case of
transnational higher education, student mobility across national borders is no longer
necessary. Therefore, the existing pushpull theory needs to be revised, so as to fit into
the situation of transnational higher education. As this research studies students
choice of transnational higher education in the context of the higher education market,
and, in todays higher education market, students have three higher education options:
domestic higher education, overseas higher education, and transnational higher education; the researcher conceptualizes that students choice of transnational higher education results from the pull factors related to transnational higher education and the push
factors related to overseas higher education and domestic higher education. Pull factors are all positive. Push factors could be either positive or negative. As the traditional
pushpull theory has been criticized for neglecting the influence of students characteristics and perceptions on students choice behavior (Li & Bray, 2007; Zheng, 2003),

Downloaded from jsi.sagepub.com at University of Leicester Library on May 2, 2015

478

Journal of Studies in International Education 18(5)

PUSH factors:

Information

Domestic HE

channels

Overseas HE

Choosing
transnational

PULL factors:

HE

Choosing a
transnational
HE program

Program
characteristics

Transnational
HE

Student characteristics

Figure 1. Analytical framework.

the researcher adds a third part, namely, student characteristics, into the analytical
framework.
Regarding students choice of a particular transnational higher education program,
consumer behavior theory is used as the theoretical base. Consumer behavior theory is
widely used in studies on students choice of a higher education institution/program. It
argues that peoples buying behavior is the result of the interaction between environmental factors and buyers mind. Previous research based on the theory shows that the
ultimate choice decision made by students depends on the match of students characteristics (such as their needs, perceptions, academic ability, etc.) with institutions/
programs characteristics (such as tuition, financial aid, location, reputation, etc.) and
the information exchange (such as news, advertising, campus visit, etc.) between the
two parties. Therefore, in the analytical framework developed by the researcher, program characteristics and information channels are conceptualized as factors that influence students choice of a particular transnational higher education program.
As transnational higher education is a relatively new field, the researcher does not
wish to use the existing findings on factors that influence students choice of domestic
higher education and overseas higher education to conceptualize the possible subfactors in the framework. All factors are to be identified in the fieldwork. The existing
findings on factors that influence students to choose transnational higher education are
used as references in the fieldwork.

Context
General Situation of Transnational Higher Education in China
Transnational higher education is fast developing. Regarding the scale of transnational
higher education activities, the World Bank (2007) commented that transnational
higher education had become a significant supplement to study abroad. Observatory
on Borderless Higher Education (OBHE; 2005) suggested that transnational higher
education was beginning to cannibalize trade in the international student market.

Downloaded from jsi.sagepub.com at University of Leicester Library on May 2, 2015

479

Fang and Wang

China is one of the hotbeds for transnational higher education development. In 2005
alone, the number of degree transnational higher education provisions waiting to be
approved by the ministry of education [MoE] reached to 378 (Gao & Gong, 2006). By
June 2011, 624 degree transnational higher education provisions had been published
on the website of the MoE (2011). There are no data on the total number of transnational higher education provisions operating in China. However, it can be easily estimated that the number should be much higher than 624.
Transnational higher education provisions in China concentrate in the eastern
coastal areas (Yang, 2008). They can be divided into many types based on different
standards. The most commonly used and probably the simplest categorization is to
divide transnational higher education provisions into the groups of programs and institutions (Gu, 2009), and then further divide the groups into many subcategories according to the kind of degrees awarded as presented in Table 1. Although there are many
transnational higher education programs in China, the number of transnational higher
education institutions is very small (Gu, 2007). According to Fang (2012), the majority (about 70%) of degree transnational higher education provisions are conducted at
the bachelor level. More than half of degree transnational higher education provisions
award Chinese degrees only. The number of foreign degree provisions is small. The
foreign providers of degree transnational higher education provisions come from
many countries, the top ones being United Kingdom, United States, Russia, and
Australia. The subjects of degree transnational higher education provisions are diverse,
the most popular ones being management, information technology (IT), economics,
and engineering-related subjects (for the meaning of Chinese degree and foreign
degree provisions, see Table 1).

General Situation of W University and Its Programs

W University is a public provincial university. It is located in one of the five subprovincial cities in China.1 The University is composed of 24 schools. Close to 40,000
students are studying on the campus. The number of teachers is more than 2,300. W
University puts great effort in becoming internationalized. There are seven transnational higher education programs in W University. They are jointly owned by W
University and its foreign partners, with W University providing facilities and the
foreign partner universities providing teaching material. Around 3,000 students are
currently studying in these programs. The number of teachers has reached 119. Thirty
of them are foreigners who are mostly sent by the foreign partner universities to the
campus. Most of the Chinese teachers in the programs have study abroad experience,
and, therefore, are able to teach bilingually. A more detailed introduction of the programs is provided in Table 2.

Method
W University is selected as the case for study because of its representativeness and
accessibility. First, W University is a local university. According to the data published

Downloaded from jsi.sagepub.com at University of Leicester Library on May 2, 2015

480

Journal of Studies in International Education 18(5)

Table 1. Categorization of the Transnational Higher Education Provisions in China.

Degree obtainment

Student recruitment

Example

Program
Foreign
Degree
Program

Foreign degrees to
be obtained at the
Chinese campus

Chinese
Degree
Program

Chinese degrees to
be obtained at the
Chinese campus

Double
Degree
Program

Chinese and foreign

degrees to be
obtained at the
Chinese campus

According to the national plan,

taking the national entrance
exam and reaching the score
set by the government are
required.

NonDegree
Program

No degrees to be
obtained at the
Chinese campus

According to the plan of

the program, taking the
national entrance exam and
reaching the score set by the
government are not required

Degree obtainment

According to the plan of

the program, taking the
national entrance exam and
reaching the score set by the
government are not required
According to the national plan,
taking the national entrance
exam and reaching the score
set by the government are
required.

Running mode

Fudan University
and Hong Kong
University MBA
Program
University of
Paisely and
Anshan Normal
University
Computer
Program
Queen Mary
Westfield College
and Beijing
Yodian University
Engineering
Program
University of
Canberra and
Hubei University
English Program
Example

Institution
Independent Foreign degrees,
Registered as a new education
Nottingham Ningbo
Institution Chinese degrees,
institution with a legal
University
double degrees, no
person status; owns its own
degrees
education resources such as
faculty and campus facilities;
very large investment from
Chinese and foreign partner
institutions.
Dependent Foreign degrees,
Registered as a second level
Beihang SinoInstitution Chinese degrees,
institution of a Chinese higher
French
double degrees, no
education institution with no
Engineering
degrees
legal person status, education
School
resources shared with the
Chinese mother higher
education institution, small
amount of investment from
Chinese and foreign partner
institutions

Downloaded from jsi.sagepub.com at University of Leicester Library on May 2, 2015

481

Fang and Wang

Table 2. Characteristics of the Programs in W University.
Name

Foreign partner

Holmes NonDegree
Program
(1997-present)

An institute in
Australia

Tourism Double
Degree Program
(2006-present)

A university in
Austria
(Austria)

Chinese Degree
Program
(2003-present,
including
accounting,
international
trade, business,
English, and
Korean
Programs)

A university in
Korea and a
university in
Australia

Running mode
3+1: Students in this program are out-of-quota
students. They spend their first 3 years of study
in W University. At the end of the third year,
they need to take the ILETS examination. If their
examination results reach the standard set by the
foreign partner institute in Australia, they can go
to the Australia campus to continue their study
and get the degree of the partner institute. If their
examination results do not reach the standard set
by the partner institute in Australia, they need to
retake the examination until they pass. Students in
Holmes Program do not get any qualification from
W University.
4+0: Students in this program are in-quota students.
They can receive double degrees (degrees of W
University and the foreign partner university)
without going abroad. In addition, the foreign
partner university provides students in the program
with internship opportunities in Austria. Students
with top academic performance are able to pursue
master study in the foreign partner university for
free
2+2: Students in this program are in-quota students.
They can receive the degree of W university upon
graduation. If students want to gain the degree of the
foreign partner university (which is not compulsory),
they need to go to the foreign partner university for
the last 2 years of their study.

Note. IELTS = International English Language Testing System.

on MoE website, this kind of universities delivers around 68% of the degree programs
in China (Fang, 2012). Second, the transnational higher education programs in W
University confer three kinds of degrees: double degree, Chinese degree, and nondegree/foreign degree to be conferred after students move to the foreign campus.
Taking W University as the case allows the researcher to generate insights into students in different kinds of programs. Finally, the researcher is able to find connections
in W University, which is very important for fieldwork, especially for fieldwork in
China.
Data collection in W University was conducted in September 2011. Prior to that,
oral informed consents had been obtained from the directors and student interviewees

Downloaded from jsi.sagepub.com at University of Leicester Library on May 2, 2015

482

Journal of Studies in International Education 18(5)

Table 3. An Example Question.

Why didnt you choose to study abroad?
(Tick the number that you think is appropriate. 1 = very unimportant, 2 = unimportant, 3 =
neither important nor important, 4 = important, 5 = very important)
A. Inadequacy of my language ability
B. High financial costs
C. Distance from home
D. Worry over my ability to live independently and adapt to
a new society
E. Difficulty in getting visas
F. Lack of access to a satisfying foreign university
G. Negative views on the employment prospects of degrees
gained abroad
H. Family influence (such as objection from parents)
I. No interest in overseas education
J. Difficulty in getting advanced degrees in foreign countries
K. Lack of access to a foreign university

1
1
1
1

2
2
2
2

3
3
3
3

4
4
4
4

5
5
5
5

1
1
1

2
2
2

3
3
3

4
4
4

5
5
5

1
1
1
1

2
2
2
2

3
3
3
3

4
4
4
4

5
5
5
5

of the programs. To produce a good understanding of students in different kinds of

programs, the researcher divided the target population into three groups: students in
Tourism Double Degree Program, students in Holmes Non-Degree Program, and students in Chinese Degree Program. At the first stage, the researcher conducted individual interviews with 30 students from different population groups. The purposes
were to confirm the analytical framework developed by the researcher and to finalize
the subfactors in the framework. An open-ended and semistructured interview strategy
was adopted. The interviewees were asked to account their families, their high schools,
and their experience from finishing national entrance examination to coming to study
in the transnational higher education programs in A University. Based on the results of
the interviews, the researcher developed a questionnaire that is composed of four segments: personal information, factors that influence students to choose transnational
higher education, factors that influence students to choose a particular transnational
higher education program, and students opinions on transnational higher education in
comparison with domestic and overseas higher education. All questions on the questionnaire are choice questions except for some in the first segment. Questions in the
second and third segments employ a 5-point rating scale where 1 = very unimportant
and 5 = very important. For an example of the questions, see Table 3.
At the second stage, the researcher conducted a large-scale questionnaire survey on
students in different population groups. The purposes were to add breadth to the findings of the interviews and to seek convergence of the results. All questionnaires were
filled in anonymously. As first-year students and a proportion of fourth-year students
were not having class in September, questionnaires were only sent to second-year and
third-year students. Given the small cohorts in Tourism Double Degree Program (90)

Downloaded from jsi.sagepub.com at University of Leicester Library on May 2, 2015

483

Fang and Wang

and Holmes Non-Degree Program (58), questionnaires were sent to every student in
the two programs. The number of students in Chinese Degree Program is very large
(2,050). Questionnaires were only sent to the students in classes randomly chosen by
the researcher. 962 questionnaires were sent out, 831 valid questionnaires were
returned. For Tourism Double Degree Program, the response rate was 98%. For
Holmes Non-Degree Program, the response rate was 91%. For Chinese Degree
Program, the response rate was 85%.

Findings
Factors That Drive Students to Choose Transnational Higher Education
The findings on the students in the transnational higher education programs of W
University verify the analytical framework developed by the researcher. Students are
driven by the pull factors of transnational higher education and the push factors of
domestic higher education and overseas higher education to choose transnational
higher education. The major pull factors of transnational higher education include (a)
foreign culture and foreign teaching methods, (b) advanced foreign knowledge and
concepts, (c) improvement of foreign language ability and cross-culture communication ability, (d) degrees of Chinese partner universities, (e) chances to study abroad, (f)
location of programs, (g) degrees of foreign partner universities, and (h) cultivation of
an international person. Other pull factors include preparation for further study abroad,
labor market oriented majors, easy access and good family background of the students
in programs. The major push factors of domestic higher education include (a) lack of
access to satisfying domestic higher education institutions, (b) lack of access to satisfying major fields, (c) low language training capacity of domestic higher education
institutions, (d) low internationalization levels, and (e) family influence. Other push
factors include low education quality, low competitiveness of degrees in job markets,
lack of suitable major fields, and lack of access to domestic higher education institutions. The major push factors of overseas higher education include (a) high costs and
(b) high requirements on ones language ability. Other push factors include negative
views on employment prospects of degrees gained abroad, family influence, distance
from home, difficulty in getting advanced degrees in foreign countries, worry over
ones ability to live and adapt to a new society, difficulty in getting visas, lack of
access to satisfying foreign education institutions, and lack of access to foreign education institutions. All of the major factors listed above are factors that are rated by more
than 50% of the students in at least one kind of program as important or very
important.
In addition to the push and pull factors presented above, students choice of transnational higher education is also influenced by students characteristics that include
students socio-economic background, students academic ability, and students future
plans (see Table 4). It is found that the majority of the students in the three kinds of
programs share two characteristics: good family economic condition and comparatively low academic performance (in comparison with the students in the regular

Downloaded from jsi.sagepub.com at University of Leicester Library on May 2, 2015

484

Journal of Studies in International Education 18(5)

Table 4. Students Characteristics.

Double degree
Family economic
condition

Father occupation

Academic ability

Future plan

Rich (19.3%)
Upper middle (42%)
Middle (27.3%)
Lower middle (11.4%)
Professionals (43%)
Businessman (36.4%)
Worker and farmer
(20.6%)
First level (3.4%)
Second level (68.2%)
Third level (28.4%)

Chinese degree
Rich (15.8%)
Upper middle (39.5%)
Middle (35.7%)
Lower middle (9%)
Professionals (44.3%)
Businessman (37%)
Worker and farmer
(18.7%)
First level (8.6%)
Second level (63.1%)
Third level (28.3%)

Holmes
Rich (66%)
Upper middle (31.2%)
Middle (2.8%)

Professionals (35.1%)
Businessman (64.1%)

Second level (2.8%)

Third level (27.4%)
Below third level
(69.8%)
Study abroad
Study abroad (20.2%) Study abroad (100%)
(29.4%) through
through programs
through programs
programs (11.3%) by (5.3%) by themselves (100%)
themselves (18.1%)
(14.9%)

Note. Professionals cover the following occupation: public servants, doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers,
military officers, accountants, company employees. Academic ability is categorized according to students
performance in the national higher education entrance exam.

programs of W University). The first characteristics enable them to afford the high fee
of transnational higher education programs. The second characteristics deny them of
access to the regular programs of reputable domestic higher education institutions,
which drives them to choose transnational higher education as a way to regain access
to reputable domestic higher education institutions or to gain access to study abroad.
According to the interviewees,
competition is so hectic nowadays. Gaining the degree of a reputable higher education
institution is very important for our future development. Even though the tuition fee of
the programs is much higher than that of some lower tier domestic institutions that we are
able to gain access to, it is worthwhile to spend the money.

Some interviewees from the Chinese and double degree programs also commented
that most of the students in the programs choose the programs because they want to
get the degree of W University. Only a small number of students choose the programs
because they want to study abroad. The results of the survey prove their statement
(see Figure 2).
Even though no significant statistical relationship has been found between students
characteristics and their rating of the push and pull factors related to transnational
higher education, domestic higher education, and overseas higher education, students
in the three kinds of programs do have different perceptions (see Figures 2-4). Students

Downloaded from jsi.sagepub.com at University of Leicester Library on May 2, 2015

485

Fang and Wang

Figure 2. A comparison of reasons for choosing transnational higher education.

Note. Each bar represents the sum total of the percentages of the students who rate the item as
important or very important.

in Chinese Degree Program and Tourism Double Degree Program share similar characteristics. Their perceptions are likewise, too. Students in Holmes Non-Degree
Program have very different characteristics from students in the other two kinds of
programs. (Their families are much richer. Their academic performance is much lower.
All of them have plans to go abroad; see Table 4.) Their perceptions also diverge a lot
from those of students in the other two kinds of programs. For example, regarding the
pull factors of transnational higher education, factors related to the international aspect
of transnational higher education, such as chances to study abroad, improvement of
foreign language ability, foreign teaching methods, and cultivation of an international

Downloaded from jsi.sagepub.com at University of Leicester Library on May 2, 2015

486

Journal of Studies in International Education 18(5)

Figure 3. A comparison of reasons for not choosing domestic higher education.

Note. Each bar represents the sum total of the percentages of the students who rate the item as
important or very important.

person, are rated by a lot more students in Holmes Non-Degree Program as important
or very important than by the students in the other two kinds of programs. Regarding
the push factors of overseas higher education, the inadequacy of foreign language ability is the factor that receives the widest acknowledgment from the students in Holmes
Program. While for the students in the other two kinds of programs, the higher cost of
overseas higher education is the mostly agreed factor. Regarding the push factors of
domestic higher education, the low language training capacity of domestic higher education institutions, the low internationalization level, the low competitiveness of
domestic degrees in labor markets, and the lack of access to a satisfying domestic
institution are considered by more than half of the students in Holmes Program as
important or very important. While for the students in the other two kinds of programs,
only the lack of access to satisfying domestic higher education institutions and the lack
of access to satisfying major fields receive high acknowledgment. All these differences can be generally traced to the differences in the characteristics of the students in
the three kinds of programs.

Downloaded from jsi.sagepub.com at University of Leicester Library on May 2, 2015

487

Fang and Wang

Figure 4. A comparison of reasons for not choosing overseas higher education.

Note. Each bar represents the sum total of the percentages of the students who rate the item as
important or very important.

Factors That Drive Students to Choose a Particular Transnational

Higher Education Program
The findings on the students in the programs of W University show that students choice
of a particular transnational higher education program is, as conceptualized, influenced
by program characteristics and information channels. The major influencing program
characteristics (rated by more than 50% of students in all programs as influential or
very influential) are as follows: (a) credentials awarded, (b) major fields, (c) entrance
requirements, (d) teachers quality, (e) employment situation of graduates, (f) tuition
fees, (g) course arrangements and learning material, (h) program reputation, (i) facilities and campus environment, (j) accommodation, and (k) ranking of the Chinese partner university. There is no apparent difference among students with different
characteristics, except that students with plans to study abroad rate the flow of study

Downloaded from jsi.sagepub.com at University of Leicester Library on May 2, 2015

488

Journal of Studies in International Education 18(5)

abroad, the percentage of students who studied abroad, and the characteristics of the
foreign partner university (such as the ranking, country, faculty, etc.) more highly than
students with no plans to study abroad. It is found that students in general have less
concern over the characteristics of the foreign partner university than over the characteristics of the Chinese partner university. This could probably be explained by the
findings from the interviews, which show that students mainly judge the quality of a
transnational higher education program based on the reputation of the Chinese partner
university. They believe that universities only cooperate with universities of the same
level. If the Chinese partner university is good, then the foreign partner university
should not be bad. Another finding that could explain the low attention to the foreign
partner university is that many students in the programs do not have the plan to study
abroad. A large proportion of those students who have the plan to study abroad do not
intend to go to the foreign partner university due to the low ranking of the university.
They either want to apply for a foreign university by themselves after they graduate or
to go to the foreign partner university first and then switch to another university later.
The most commonly used information channels (used by more than 50% of students
in all programs) include (a) relatives and friends, (b) official websites of programs, (c)
student recruitment offices, (d) brochures of programs, (e) Tie Ba2 of current students,
(f) QQ groups3 of current students, (g) web forums on transnational higher education,
(h) high school teachers, (i) MoEs monitoring website, and (j) university application
guidebooks. Some students also make use of education departments of local governments, education exhibition fairs, campus visit, mass media, and promotion activities of
programs in high schools. The most influential information channels (rated by more
than 50% of students in all programs as ones from which information is influential or
very influential on students enrollment decisions) are as follows: (a) relatives and
friends, (b) high school teachers, (c) MoEs monitoring website, (d) university application guide books, (e) education departments of local governments, and (f) campus visit.
Tie Ba and QQ groups of current students, student recruitment offices, and official
websites of programs are also influential information sources for many students. There
is no apparent difference among students with different characteristics.
It is found that, currently, there exist information gaps between students and transnational higher education programs. Of the most commonly used information channels, only a few are rated as ones that provide highly influential information on
students enrollment decisions. Many student interviewees also reported that they had
trouble finding information about the programs from the information channels that
they normally rely on. Traditionally, students consult high school teachers, relatives,
friends, governmental websites/departments, and university application guidebooks
for information on domestic institutions. These information channels, after long years
of development, have become very informative and influential or trustworthy information sources. Even though transnational higher education programs are conducted in a
domestic context, information about them is not well distributed to the abovementioned information channels. To find information, students try many other ways
that they may not feel so familiar with or even trustworthy, such as current students

Downloaded from jsi.sagepub.com at University of Leicester Library on May 2, 2015

489

Fang and Wang

Tie Ba, QQ groups, brochures, and so on. As a result, many students feel that they were
not informed enough before they entered the programs.

Students Opinions on Transnational Higher Education in Comparison

With Overseas Higher Education and Domestic Higher Education
During the interviews, many students expressed their opinions on transnational higher
education, domestic higher education, and overseas higher education. It is found that
students in general do not have high opinions on transnational higher education when
comparing it with domestic higher education and overseas high education. Regarding
the advantages and disadvantages of transnational higher education in comparison
with overseas higher education, students think that transnational higher education has
almost no advantage except for low costs. Being able to get two degrees at the same
time is also mentioned by a few students as an advantage of transnational higher education. The disadvantages of transnational higher education (as opposed to overseas
higher education) are reported as (a) low quality of teachers, (b) low ranking of foreign
partner universities, (c) narrow range of major choices, (d) limited improvement of
language ability and limited understanding of foreign culture due to the lack of a complete environment, (e) limited training of ones living and adaptation ability in a new
society, (f) of little help to immigration, and (g) low social recognition.
Regarding the advantages and disadvantages of transnational higher education in
comparison with domestic higher education, students think that, for students who want
to study abroad, transnational higher education has many advantages over domestic
higher education. The teaching material is international. The teachers are international.
The chances and information on study abroad are rich. For students who do not intend
to study abroad, transnational higher education has few advantages except for improving language ability. Compared with domestic higher education, transnational higher
education is expensive and lowly recognized by the society. Transnational higher education has a narrow range of major choices. The learning material and course arrangement in transnational higher education programs are different from those of the regular
programs in domestic higher education institutions, which make it harder for the students in transnational programs to pursue further study in domestic institutions as
opposed to the students in regular programs. The learning material, especially the
teaching content of foreign teachers, is not very much related to the situation in China.
In the questionnaire designed by the researcher, these findings were developed into
questions. The results from the questionnaire survey generally converge with the findings from the interviews.

A Comparison With the Existing Findings

Existing literature (British Council, 2012; Corbeil, 2006; Mok, 2012; Mok & Xu, 2008;
Pyvis & Chapman, 2004, 2007; Wilkins et al., 2012a) on the students in transnational
higher education provisions found the following as reasons for students motivations
for choosing transnational higher education: (a) to save the cost of study abroad; (b) to

Downloaded from jsi.sagepub.com at University of Leicester Library on May 2, 2015

490

Journal of Studies in International Education 18(5)

learn courses that are unavailable in domestic institutions; (c) to learn courses with high
flexibility in time; (d) to experience foreign curricula and teaching styles; (e) to
acquire international perspectives on the theories and practices of one field; (f) to gain
international exposure and realize personal growth such as to become an international
person; (g) to learn courses in foreign/indigenous language while still remain in a familiar cultural, social, and linguistic environment; (h) family/friend influence; (i) to gain
better quality education; (j) to gain high social recognition/status; (k) to gain better
employment prospects; (l) the ease of admission; (m) to stay in a safer environment;
and (n) to study abroad in the future. While the majority of the findings apply to the
situation of the Chinese students in this research, there exist differences.
First, Chinese students in this research think little of the high social recognition
brought by an international education or a foreign degree. On the contrary, low social
recognition is chosen by majority of them as a major disadvantage of transnational
higher education in comparison with overseas and domestic higher education. Second,
as transnational higher education in China is a joint venture between Chinese and foreign higher education institutions, in addition to the obtainment of foreign credentials,
the obtainment of Chinese credentials is also reported as an important motivation.
Third, as transnational higher education programs are normally located in economically well developed big cities and the students in these programs are generally from
economically well endowed families, to study in big cities and to associate with students from good family background become the motivations of some students.
Regarding how students choose a particular transnational education program, previous findings (British Council, 2012; Pyvis & Chapman, 2004) in general comply
with the findings in this research, with program/institution characteristics, such as
reputation, cost, syllabus, mode of delivery, resources, major fields, and country origin, as the major influencing factors. Chinese students in this research, however, are
different from students in other countries in that they care a lot about the characteristics of the Chinese partner university, sometimes even more than that of the foreign
partner university. In the recently released Student Insight Hot Topics Portrait of a
Transnational Education Student (British Council, 2012), a student attitude change
toward the ranking/reputation of awarding institutions is reported. The findings of this
research show that the reputation/ranking of awarding institutions is still of high priority to students.
Regarding the disadvantages of transnational higher education in comparison with
overseas and domestic higher education, previous literature (Corbeil, 2006; Mok,
2012; Wilkins et al., 2012a, 2012b) reported the following: (a) reputation of home
provisions outshining branch provisions, (b) degrees gained in offshore provisions
being not equal to degrees gained at home campus, (c) no independent experience
away from family, (d) not being a real thing/study in the west, (e) fees being higher
than those of domestic institutions, (f) cultural clashes and difficulty in understanding
policies and procedures, (g) relevance of teaching to local context, (h) quality of teachers, and (i) quality of facilities. The findings of this research show that students in
China have more concerns, for example, social recognition issue and further study
issue. Wilkins et al. (2012b), in their study on students in the United Arab Emirates,

Downloaded from jsi.sagepub.com at University of Leicester Library on May 2, 2015

491

Fang and Wang

commented that their findings refuted the expectation that student satisfaction at
branch campuses would be lower than at home campuses given that the total product
offerings of branch campuses rarely come close to those of home campuses. The findings of this research indicate that student satisfaction can be an issue in offshore delivery as many students in the research expressed their low opinions on transnational
higher education in comparison with overseas higher education.

Conclusion
This research generates two important findings on students choice of transnational
higher education. First, students choice of transnational higher education is driven by
the push factors of domestic and overseas higher education, the pull factors of transnational higher education and the characteristics of students. Information channels and
program characteristics, especially the characteristics of the Chinese partner university,
influence students choice of a particular transnational higher education program.
Second, compared with domestic higher education and overseas higher education,
transnational higher education is a second choice. Even though transnational higher
education has many positive factors that attract students, students in general have low
opinions on transnational higher education. They would like to choose domestic higher
education or overseas higher education if they could. Transnational higher education is
being used by the majority of students as a tool to regain access to high-quality domestic higher education institutions and to gain access to overseas higher education. As a
very large percentage of published transnational higher education provisions award
Chinese and double degrees (Fang, 2012), and, according to the results of the research,
the chief motive of the students in the Chinese degree and double degree programs is to
get the degree of the Chinese partner institution, the researcher estimates that transnational higher education is currently being more used as a tool to gain access to highquality domestic higher education institutions than to overseas higher education. As
stated before, students have three options in todays higher education market, namely,
domestic higher education, transnational higher education, and overseas higher education. In other words, todays higher education market can be divided into three market
sectors: domestic higher education, transnational higher education, and overseas higher
education. The findings of this research indicate that the transnational higher education
market sector in China is an inter-sector between the domestic higher education market
sector and the overseas higher education market sector. Its role is supplementary rather
than substitutive. At the present stage, it is more of a supplement to the domestic higher
education market sector than to the overseas higher education market sector.
The research also brings three issues to our attention: (a) the unequal distribution of
higher education opportunities: Higher educations role in social stratification is
widely acknowledged. Transnational higher education programs charge high fees.
Students in transnational higher education programs are mostly economically well
endowed. The existence of transnational higher education programs, in a sense, offers
students with adequate financial resources the opportunities to pay their ways up the
social ladder. It engenders an unequal distribution of education resources among

Downloaded from jsi.sagepub.com at University of Leicester Library on May 2, 2015

492

Journal of Studies in International Education 18(5)

students of different social classes which eventually contributes to the ongoing social
stratification in China; (b) information gaps between students and programs: As transnational higher education in China is a new phenomenon, information collection on
transnational higher education programs is difficult. Many students are not able to gain
enough information when they decide on a particular program to go. The existence of
information gaps between students and education programs is not good for the healthy
development of transnational higher education. It not only creates loopholes for some
immoral education providers but also negatively affects the efficiency of student
recruitment; (c) the sustainability of transnational higher education: Students low
opinions on transnational higher education in comparison with domestic higher education and overseas higher education put the sustainability of transnational higher education in question. Currently, transnational higher education is mainly used as a tool to
regain access to high-quality domestic higher education institutions and to gain access
to overseas higher education. With the fast development of economy and higher education in China, the ability of students to access domestic higher education and overseas higher education will increase. How much longer can transnational higher
education prosper? Will it become a short lived phenomenon?
Transnational higher education in China is still in its infancy. There are many possibilities for future changes. How much it will change and toward which direction it
will change depend on stakeholders such as governments, students, and institutions.
This research provides a systematic analysis of the students in the transnational higher
education programs of W University. The findings of the research have meaningful
implications for governments as well as higher education institutions. As a study on
the undergraduate students of one local university, the findings of the research cannot
be generalized to all Chinese students views about all transnational education. Further
research is needed on the students at other levels of education and in other types of
transnational higher education provisions such as branch campuses and programs in
cooperation with very reputable foreign education institutions.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship,
and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of
this article.

Notes
1. Subprovincial cities: Cities whose economic activities are directly guided by the central
government. The existing subprovincial cities are all economically advanced big cities in
the east part of China.
2. Tie Ba: Online message board.
3. QQ groups: QQ is the most popular instant messaging software service in China. QQ
groups allow people to talk to several people at once.

Downloaded from jsi.sagepub.com at University of Leicester Library on May 2, 2015

493

Fang and Wang

References

Altbach, P. G. (1998). The foreign students dilemma. In P. G. Altbach (Ed.), Comparative

higher education: Knowledge, the university, and development (pp. 225-246). Hong Kong:
Comparative Education Research Centre, the University of Hong Kong.
Bodycott, P. (2009). Choosing a higher education study abroad destination: What mainland
Chinese parents and students rate as important. Journal of Research in International
Education, 8, 349-373.
British Council. (2012). Student insight hot topics Portrait of a transnational education student.
London, England: Author.
Chen, L. H. (2007). Choosing Canadian graduate schools from afar: East Asian students perspectives. Higher Education, 54, 759-780.
Corbeil, A. (2006). The experiences of international students in transnational higher education programs in Singapore (Unpublished masters thesis). University of Toronto, Ontario,
Canada.
Fang, W. (2012). The development of transnational higher education in China: A comparative
study of research universities and teaching universities. Journal of Studies in International
Education, 16, 5-23.
Gao, F., & Gong, S. (2006). Sino-foreign joint ventures: A national, regional and institutional
analysis. Retrieved from http://www.obhe.ac.uk/documents/view_details?id=32
Gu, J. (2007). Development of transnational higher education: Concepts and strategies.
Shanghai, China: Xuelin Publisher.
Gu, J. (2009). Transnational education: Current developments and policy implications. Frontiers
of Education in China, 4, 624-649.
Hossler, D., Braxton, J. M., & Coopersmith, G. (1989). Understanding student college choice.
In J. Smart (Ed.), Higher education handbook of theory and research (Vol. 5, pp. 231-288).
New York, NY: Agathon Press.
Hossler, D., Schmit, J. L., & Vesper, N. (1999). Going to college: How social, economic, and
educational factors influence the decisions students make. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins
University Press.
Jiang, F. (2010). A study on high school graduates college choice behavior (Unpublished masters thesis). East China Normal University, Shanghai.
Knight, J. (2002). Trade in higher education services: The implication of GATS. London,
England: Observatory on Borderless Higher Education.
Li, M., & Bray, M. (2007). Cross border flows of students for higher education: Push-pull
factors and motivations of mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong and Macau. Higher
Education, 53, 791-818.
Mazzarol, T., & Soutar, G. N. (2002). Push-pull factors influencing international student destination choice. International Journal of Educational Management, 16(2), 82-90.
Mazzarol, T. W., Choo, S., & Nair, V. S. (2001). Australia an Indian postgraduate science and
technology market: Examining why Indian students choose to study in countries other than
Australia. Canberra, Australia: Department of Employment, Training and Youth Affairs.
McDonough, P. M. (1997). Choosing colleges: How social class and schools structure opportunity. New York: State University of New York Press.
McMahon, M. E. (1992). Higher education in a world market: An historical look at the global
context of international study. Higher Education, 24, 465-482.
Ministry of Education. (2011). The list of approved degree transnational higher education programs and institutions. Retrieved from http://www.crs.jsj.edu.cn/index.php/default/index/
sort/1006

Downloaded from jsi.sagepub.com at University of Leicester Library on May 2, 2015

494

Journal of Studies in International Education 18(5)

Mok, K. (2012).The rise of transnational higher education in Asia: Student mobility and studying experiences in Singapore and Malaysia. Higher Education Policy, 25, 225-241.
Mok, K., & Xu, X. (2008). When China opens to the world: A study of transnational higher
education in Zhejiang, China. Asia Pacific Education Review, 9, 393-408.
Observatory on Borderless Higher Education. (2005). Australia considers a national quality strategy for transnational higher educationWill this leave the competition behind?
Available from www.obhe.ac.uk
Pimpa, N. (2005). Marketing Australian universities to Thai students. Journal of Studies in
International Education, 9, 137-146.
Pyvis, D., & Chapman, A. (2004). Student experiences of offshore higher education: Issues for
quality. Retrieved from http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/3418736
Pyvis, D., & Chapman, A. (2007). Why university students choose an international education:
A case study in Malaysia. International Journal of Educational Development, 27, 235-246.
State Council of China. (2003). Regulations of the Peoples Republic of China on transnational
education. Retrieved from http://www.crs.jsj.edu.cn/index.php/default/news/index/2
Wilkins, S., Balakrishnan, M. S., & Huisman, J. (2012a). Student choice in higher education:
Motivations for choosing to study at an international branch campus. Journal of Studies in
International Education, 16, 413-433.
Wilkins, S., Balakrishnan, M. S., & Huisman, J. (2012b). Student satisfaction and student perceptions of quality at international branch campuses in the United Arab Emirates. Journal
of Higher Education Policy and Management, 34, 543-556.
World Bank. (2007). Trends in international trade in higher education: Implications and
options for developing countries. Retrieved from http://siteresources.worldbank.org/
EDUCATION/Resources/278200-1099079877269/547664-1099079956815/WPS6_Intl_
trade_higherEdu.pdf
Yang, R. (2008). Transnational higher education in China: Contexts, characteristics and concerns. Australian Journal of Education, 52, 272-286.
Zheng, X. H. (2003). An analysis on study abroad of graduate and undergraduate in Tsinghua
University. In L. Tian (Ed.), Research on Chinas foreign cultural exchange in higher education (pp. 199-237). Beijing, China: Minzu Press.
Zhong, Y. P., & Lu, G. S. (1999). Factor that influence students choice of higher education
institutions: Under the condition of high tuition fee. Journal of Higher Education, 20(2),
34-45.

Author Biographies
Wenhong Fang is a lecturer (international relations and policy) at Dalian University of Foreign
Languages, China. She got her PhD degree in Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies, Waseda
University, Japan. Her research interests include: educational mobility in Asia-Pacific area,
international trade in education and international labor mobility.
Shen Wang is a post-doctoral fellow (international and public affairs) at Shanghai Jiaotong
University. She got her PhD degree in Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies, Waseda
University, Japan. Her research focuses on ESD and education programs of international
organizations.

Downloaded from jsi.sagepub.com at University of Leicester Library on May 2, 2015