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Council of Europe/UNESCO
Working party on Transnational Education

Introduction to the topic

Results of the working group:

Code of Good Practice in provision of transnational education
Explanatory memorandum to the Code of Good Practice

Illustrated presentation of the topic of TE, definitions and the Code 
          (presented at  Bologna process seminar on Transnational Education  in Malmö and
           ACE session on Transnational education at EAIE Leipzig conference, 2000).

See also:
L.A. Wilson and L.Vlasceanu: "Transnational Education and Recognition of Qualifications"
(in "Internationalization of Higher Education: an Institutional Perspective", Bucharest, UNESCO-CEPES, 2000. p. 75-85)

 Introduction to the topic

Transnational education is a relatively new and rapidly expanding development. It is defined as all types of higher education study programmes, or sets of courses of study, or educational services (including those of distance education) in which the learners are located in a country different from the one where the awarding institution is based. Such programmes may belong to the education system of a state different from the state in which it operates, or may operate independently of any national education system.

Development of transnational education has its positive and negative aspects. On the one hand, when high quality education becomes available on a transnational basis, it is a good option for the learners and a challenge for the national systems to become more flexible and to develop faster. In addition, education provision via Internet, for which no national borders exist, is likely to expand very rapidly, especially within the context of LLL. On the other hand, quite a few countries, Parties to the Convention report a growing number of institutions/programmes of unknown quality operating transnationally in their territories. It is reported that quite often the provision of transnational programmes lacks any transparency and that it is very difficult to obtain any information. At the same time, there sometimes is evidence available, that transnational institutions/programmes may have substantially lower access requirements, or issue “easy” qualifications.

The need to address the issue of transnational education was raised by both sides of this development.

The Lisbon Convention, in principle, applies to the recognition of foreign qualifications or qualifications conferred “in another Party”, and it as such is not directly applicable to the qualifications delivered through transnational education. The issue regarding recognition of qualifications delivered transnationally by institutions that belong (in the full sense) to a national education system of another Party of the Convention is the easier part of the problem and can be partly solved within the framework of the Convention. Apart from that, there is an additional question regarding recognition of qualifications awarded by those programmes/institutions, which, in fact, do not belong to any national system.

In order to find solutions for the recognition of TE qualification, an ENIC working party on Transnational Education was set up which elaborated the Code of Good Practice and its Explanatory memorandum to the Code) in the Provision of Transnational Education.

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