New publication: Exporting status differences? The stratification of British transnational higher education

A new article by IER’s Dr Sangwoo Lee and Dr Eva Hartmann (University of Cambridge) examines how institutional hierarchies within UK higher education are reproduced through transnational education (TNE).

Using panel data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency covering 178 UK universities between 2014/15 and 2023/24, the study shows that institutional status is a significant predictor of how universities engage in TNE.

Elite universities are less likely to participate in large-scale collaborative or franchised provision, while post-92 universities dominate this fastest-growing area of TNE activity. The findings suggest that TNE exports not only British degrees, but also the status distinctions embedded within the UK higher education system.

The paper contributes to emerging critical perspectives on the internationalisation of higher education and highlights the need to consider how power, reputation and hierarchy shape the global circulation of UK qualifications.

Read more in the author’s commentary in the University World News.