Globalisation has meant greater opportunities and flexibility for students, who can choose from a rapidly expanding array of offshore providers. Now academics and policy-makers are starting to explore some of the implications of 'borderless' education.

By Josie Gibson

Dr Chris Ziguras believes Australian policies towards transnational providers have been ad hoc.

Strong economic growth and a growing population make Southeast Asia a magnet to offshore education providers. More and more, young Asians are able to take advantage of affordable education programs from nations such as Australia, the UK and the US without leaving their own turf.

Now that flexible learning has become a given, however, researchers are moving to the next step: assessing the implications of transnational education for both providers and host countries. What content do students learn in 'internationalised' programs, for instance, and what should they learn? And how do host communities debate such issues?

While there is a growing body of literature on international students in Australia and other countries, very little has been published on teaching or studying in offshore programs, according to Dr Chris Ziguras, a researcher in Monash University's Centre for Research in International Education. In a two-year project, he is examining how Malaysia and Singapore are handling the advent of global education. A particular focus is Australian and British business and nursing courses offered in both countries.

The two neighbouring countries offer interesting contrasts and similarities. "There is more literature on Malaysia than Singapore," Dr Ziguras says. "The Malaysian government moved to encourage transnational education in the mid-1990s and since then there's been much discussion of these programs. In Singapore, however, there appears to be more ambivalence and less public discussion or research on the subject."

In the past few years, Malaysia has allowed local private universities and foreign institutions to set up shop. So far, one British and three Australian institutions - including Monash - have taken up the offer. Kuala Lumpur aims to become a net exporter of education by 2020. The Singapore government recently supported the establishment of a new university, the Singapore Management University, a publicly funded private institution with a transnational curriculum developed by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Initial research by Dr Ziguras and Monash colleague Dr Grant McBurnie on the regulation of transnational education in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Australia has revealed diverse concerns among host governments and markedly different approaches to the issue of regulation.

"While Hong Kong and Malaysia both have large numbers of transnational courses, Hong Kong takes a relatively free-market approach and seeks only to ensure minimum standards and adequate information for consumers," Dr Ziguras says. "The Malaysian government is concerned about the broader impact of transnational courses and has legislated to ensure they meet Malaysia's national needs."

Australian policies toward transnational providers have been ad hoc, and dependent on particular state governments, he says. "Australia is now developing a national approach, which will regulate both foreign institutions seeking to set up in Australia and Australian institutions operating offshore."

Dr Ziguras' two-year study involves interviews with policy-makers, foreign education providers and marketers, teaching staff and students.

"Globalisation raises a range of questions about the nature and impact of transnational education," he says. "Hopefully, our research will help provide some urgently needed answers."

		For more information about Dr Ziguras' trans- national education study, email christopher.ziguras@education.monash.edu.au