The Transformation of Quality Management in Chinese Transnational Higher Education: Implications of Integrating Students into the System

Abstract

This paper aims to develop a new model that promotes the managerial transformation of transnational higher education (TNHE) in China by defining and discussing the roles of students. In the context of the commoditization of higher education, this study conducted interviews with 15 students from two TNHE universities in China to identify their opinions on TNHE quality management and their perceptions of their roles in the quality management process. Based on the empirical results, the paper clearly shows that students realize they are customers in their interactions with universities and are concerned about quality management. However, they believe their voices are negligible. Therefore, we propose a theoretical model that incorporates students into different operational and strategic levels of governance, proposing that students, as stakeholders, should play a greater role in the governance of TNHE. As a conceptual framework, the model can be used by managers at home and host institutions to improve managerial efficacy in TNHE while meeting stakeholders' broader objectives regarding educational quality.  

Document Type: Original article

Cited as:

iang, A., & Ke, G. G. (2025). The transformation of quality management in Chinese transnational higher education: Implications of integrating students into the system. Education and Lifelong Development Research, 2(2): 63-73. https://doi.org/10.46690/elder.2025.02.02

References

Baldridge, J. V. (1974, January). Political and structural protection of educational innovations. In What do research findings say about getting innova-tions into schools: A symposium. Philadelphia: Research for Better Schools.

Barnett, R. (2011). The marketised university: defending the indefensible. The Marketisation of Higher Education and the Student as Consumer, 39-51.

Bergan, S. (2010). Speaking across borders: The role of higher education in furthering intercultural dialogue. Strasbourg Cedex: Council of Europe Publishing, 69-85.

Bolton, D., and R Nie. (2010). “Creating Value in Transnational Higher Education: The Role of Stakeholder Management.” Academy of Management Learning & Education, 9 (4): 701-14.

Brookes, M., & Becket, N. (2007). Quality management in higher education: A review of international issues and practice. International Journal of Quality Standards, 1(1), 85-121.

Buchanan, J. M., Buchanan, J. M., & Tullock, G. (1965). The calculus of consent: Logical

foundations of constitutional democracy (Vol. 100). University of Michigan press.

Chong, S. (2014). Academic quality management in teacher education: a Singapore perspective. Quality Assurance in Education, 22(1), 53-64.

Coffelt, T. (2017). Confidentiality and anonymity of participants. In The Sage Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods (Vol. 4, pp. 228-230). SAGE Publications, Inc.

Crabtree, B. F., & Miller, W. L. (1992). Doing qualitative research. In Annual North American Primary Care Research Group Meeting, 19th, May, 1989, Quebec, PQ, Canada. Sage Publications, Inc.

Creswell, J. W., Hanson, W. E., Clark Plano, V. L., & Morales, A. (2007). Qualitative research designs: Selection and implementation. The Counseling Psychologist, 35(2), 236-264.

Downes, M. (2017). University scandal, reputation and governance. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 13(1), 1-20.

Elliott, K. M., & Healy, M. A. (2001). Key factors influencing student satisfaction related to recruitment and retention. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 10(4), 1-11.

Ferrero-Ferrero, I., Fernández-Izquierdo, M. Á., Muñoz-Torres, M. J., & Bellés-Colomer, L. (2018). Stakeholder engagement in sustainability reporting in higher education: An analysis of key internal stakeholders’ expectations. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 19(2), 313-336.

Finnie, R., & Usher, A. (2005). Measuring the quality of post-secondary education: Concepts, current practices and a strategic plan. Ottawa: CPRN= RCRPP.

Freeman, R. E. (2010). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Cambridge university press.

Gao, S. S., & Zhang, J. J. (2006). Stakeholder engagement, social auditing and corporate sustainability. Business Process Management Journal. 12(6), 722-740.

Ginns, P., Prosser, M., & Barrie, S. (2007). Students’ perceptions of teaching quality in higher education: The perspective of currently enrolled students. Studies in Higher Education, 32(5), 603-615.

Huang, F. (2003). Transnational higher education: A perspective from China. Higher Education Research & Development, 22(2), 193-203.

ICEF Monitor. (2018, July). China announces the closure of more than 200 TNE programmes.

Ke, G. (2024). Quality of transnational higher education: from the perspective of students. Education and Lifelong Development Research, 1(3), 115-124.

Kettunen, J. (2015). Stakeholder relationships in higher education. Tertiary Education and Management, 21, 56-65.

Knight, J. (2007). Cross-border Higher Education: Issues and Implications for Quality Assurance and Accreditation. In GUNI Series on the Social Commitment of Universities 2: Higher Education in the World (2007), Accreditation for Quality Assurance – What is at Stake?, 134–46. New York, NY: Palgrave/MacMillan.

Kvale, S. (1996). The 1,000-page question. Qualitative inquiry, 2(3), 275-284.

Levine, S. H. (1997). Querying on quality: assessing the assessment of student satisfaction. American University.

Lizzio, A., Wilson, K., & Simons, R. (2002). University students' perceptions of the learning environment and academic outcomes: implications for theory and practice. Studies in Higher Education, 27(1), 27-52.

Maguad, B. A., & Krone, R. M. (2012). Managing for Quality in Higher Education: A systems perspective. Ventus Publishing, Los Angeles, CA.

McBurnie, G., & Ziguras, C. (2009). Trends and future scenarios in programme and institution mobility across borders. Higher Education to 2030 Volume 2: Globalization, 89-108.

Mertens, D. M. (2010). Philosophy in mixed methods teaching: The transformative paradigm as illustration. International Journal of Multiple Research Approaches, 4(1), 9-18.

Min, S., Khoon, C. C., & Tan, B. L. (2012). Motives, expectations, perceptions and satisfaction of international students pursuing private higher education in Singapore. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 4(6), 122.

Ministry of Education. (2021, August). The Ministry of Education continues to support the use of Sino-foreign cooperation in running schools to alleviate the difficulties of our students studying abroad under the influence of the pandemic. (in Chinese)

Mok, K. H., & Xu, X. (2008). When China opens to the world: A study of transnational higher education in Zhejiang, China. Asia Pacific Education Review, 9, 393-408.

Mok, K.H. & Liu, J. (2007). Transnational higher education in Mainland China: from state welfare to marketization and privatization. Social Security Studies, 2, 124-142.

Mok, K. H. (2009). Globalisation and higher education restructuring in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mainland China. In The Routledge international handbook of higher education (pp. 285-296). Routledge.

Mok, K. H., & Han, X. (2017) Higher education governance and policy in China: managing decentralization and transnationalism, Policy and Society, 36(1): 34-48.

Moraru, L. (2012). Academic internal stakeholder condition: a comparative approach. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 69, 54-72.

Nan, N. (2017). The teaching quality evaluation of Sino-foreign cooperative university-based om student satisfaction-Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University case. MPhil Thesis. (in Chinese)

Nijhuis, J. (2006). Learning strategies, student’s characteristics and their perceptions of the learning environment an integrated study among business students. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Universiteit Maastricht.

Nunan, D. (1988). Syllabus design. Oxford University Press.

Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the commons: The evolution of institutions for collective

action. Cambridge university press

Sapri, M., Kaka, A., & Finch, E. (2009). Factors that influence student’s level of satisfaction with regards to higher educational facilities services. Malaysian Journal of Real Estate, 4(1), 34-51.

Sarrico, C. S., Rosa, M. J., Teixeira, P. N., & Cardoso, M. F. (2010). Assessing quality and evaluating performance in higher education: Worlds apart or complementary views? Minerva, 48, 35-54.

Sharp, K. (2017). The distinction between academic standards and quality: implications for transnational higher education. Quality in Higher Education, 23(2), 138-152.

Si, H., & Lim, M. A. (2023). Neo-tributary geopolitics in transnational higher education (TNHE): A regional analysis of Sino-foreign higher education partnerships. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 21(2), 266-277.

Smith, K. (2010). Assuring quality in transnational higher education: A matter of collaboration or control? Studies in Higher Education, 35(7), 793-806.

Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2011). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data. sage.

Stensaker, B., & Matear, S. (2024). Student involvement in quality assurance: Perspectives and practices towards persistent partnerships. Quality in Higher Education, 1-15.

Telford, R., & Masson, R. (2005). The congruence of quality values in higher education. Quality Assurance in Education, 13(2), 107-119.

Tilak, J. B. (2008). Higher education: A public good or a commodity for trade? Commitment to higher education or commitment of higher education to trade. Prospects, 38, 449-466.

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. (2017). QUALITY IN ACTION (A review of our year 2016-17). 

Tsiligiris, V., & Hill, C. (2021). A prospective model for aligning educational quality and student experience in international higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 46(2), 228-244.

Wallace, M., & Dunn, L. (Eds.). (2013). Teaching in transnational higher education: enhancing learning for offshore international students. Routledge.

Wilkins, S., & Juusola, K. (2018). The benefits and drawbacks of transnational higher education: Myths and realities. Australian Universities’ Review, The, 60(2), 68-76.

Yip, C., Han, N. L. R., & Sng, B. L. (2016). Legal and ethical issues in research. Indian Journal of Anaesthesia, 60(9), 684-688.

Zhang, X. M. & Li, Y. D. (2019). Construction and operation of the Sino-foreign cooperative education certification system. Higher Education Press. (in Chinese)

Zhang, Y., Zhao, K., & Weng, Y. (2025). Toward a more inclusive conceptualization of internationalization of higher education: The Chinese students’ perspectives. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 1-9.

Zhang, Y., Mok, K. H., Gao, X., & Zhang, Q. (2024). Understanding the Chinese− Foreign cooperation in running schools: from the perspective of loose coupling theory. Journal of Asian Public Policy, 1-20.

Ziguras, C., & McBurnie, G. (2011). Transnational higher education in the AsiaPacific region: From distance education to the branch campus. In: S. Marginson, S. Kaur & E. Sawir (Eds.), Higher education in the Asia-Pacific: Strategic responses to globalization (pp. 105-122). Netherlands: Springer.