Transnational education ¨C which includes ventures such as branch campuses, joint degrees and the validation of overseas courses - has been promoted by the universities and science minister David Willetts.

UK universities had established 25 branch campuses by 2012, according to the Observatory on Borderless ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ, in countries including China, the United Arab Emirates, India and Malaysia.

In 2010-11 there were 291,595 students studying overseas on programmes validated by UK institutions.

But so far there has been ¡°little national data¡± produced on whether such ventures benefit host countries economically or whether the quality of higher education is boosted, according to the pilot British Council study, released today.

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One of the study¡¯s leaders, Jane Knight, an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto, said it was important to establish an ¡°evidence base¡± before ¡°claims about the benefits¡± of transnational education were aired.

However, based on interviews with students, graduates and experts in ten host countries, who were not necessarily on UK programmes, ¡°the overall impression is one of growth and a relatively positive perception¡± about transnational education, the report, Preliminary Findings from Research Project on the Impact of TNE on Host Countries, says.

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The courses were ¡°generally meeting skills gaps¡± of host countries ¡°particularly at master¡¯s level¡±, it says.

¡°The strongest contribution of TNE is the potential for capacity building at the institutional/program level in terms of quality assurance processes, teaching methods, program management, and distance education,¡± the report argues.

Yet it found evidence that transnational education was ¡°exacerbating brain drain and in some case not meeting technical and science skills gaps¡±.

The report also cited concerns about ¡°Western-centric programs¡± on offer.

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Professor Knight said that she said been ¡°a little bit dismayed¡± by the lack of policies and frameworks to accommodate foreign universities in the countries surveyed.

In addition, respondents had been ¡°disappointed¡± that the collaborations had not enhanced research activity more, she said.

Furthermore, only one in four of the students surveyed had actually gone to study abroad during their course, a figure she was ¡°very surprised¡± at.

She also argued that the idea that branch campuses were set up to make money for the home university was a ¡°myth¡±, citing an anonymous example of one campus that had been open for 14 years, but had yet to turn a profit.

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david.matthews@tsleducation.com