Exporting status differences? The stratification of British transnational higher education

Literature on transnational education (TNE) has grown rapidly, yet the power relations underpinning this form of internationalisation, as well as the increasing diversification of TNE provision, remain underexplored. Our study connects these dimensions using panel data covering 178 British universities (2014/15–2023/24). We demonstrate that institutional status within the highly stratified British higher education sector is significant in predicting TNE format choice and degree level provision. Elite universities tend to exhibit lower engagement in mass-market collaborative/franchised arrangements, whereas post-92 universities dominate this fastest-growing segment. Our findings reveal that TNE exports not only British degrees but British institutional hierarchies.