Transnational Education in the 21st Century and Its Quality Assurance from a German Perspective

Abstract

Since the nineties of the twentieth century, transnational education (TNE) has gained in importance. While Great Britain and Australia were pioneers in this field, the last decade has seen a relevant increase in corresponding offers in continental European countries. In Germany, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) began in 2001 with the systematic promotion of TNE. More than 31,000 students have been enrolled in TNE programmes involving German higher education institutions in 2017. In their 2013 internationalisation strategy, the federal and state science ministers have identified the establishment of offers of transnational education as a priority. This means that the issue of quality assurance in TNE is also attracting increasing attention in Germany. The aim of this chapter is to describe, in the first instance, how German higher education is delivered abroad. The chapter will focus on the export of German higher education as Germany is a significant provider of TNE. The chapter will give an overview of the national legal framework and regulations governing the quality assurance of such cross-border provision and elaborate on the obstacles and challenges for TNE and its quality assurance (QA).