Cross-border education
Cross-border education is the movement of people, knowledge programs providers and curriculum across national or regional jurisdictional borders. It also refers to dual and joint degree programs, branch campuses, and virtual, on-line education. It is a division of "internationalization of higher education" and can be linked to development cooperation projects, academic exchange programs and commercial initiatives. Cross-border tertiary (higher) education. Cross-border higher education has emerged to become a very complex phenomenon and has grown at an extraordinary pace. The last two decades have seen a significant growth in the mobility of higher education  programs and providers through physical and virtual modes of delivery. This presents many new opportunities such as improved access to higher education, strategic alliances between countries and regions, as well as the expansion of human resource and institutional capacity. May students in cross-border education are "glocal students" who seek global education at local cost. Provider and receiver country. The "provider country" is the source country of the program, qualification or other intellectual property (e.g. component of a course of study) that is delivered in another country. The "receiver country" is the host country to which the programme, qualification or  other intellectual property sourced overseas is delivered. Forms. Cross-border education or Transnational education comes in a variety of forms ranging from twinning programs, branch campuses, joint and dual degrees and online education. The steps involved in setting up cross-border education include: Approaches to cross-border higher education. There are four approaches employed in cross-border education. They are -- Challenges. One of the biggest challenges of cross-border education is striking a balance between quality and access. Given the diversity of regulatory environment, it is often difficult to assure quality at the same time protect students' interests. The increasing  movement of education between countries means education is becoming increasingly “globalized”. As a consequence, educational products have been regarded as a trade commodity. It has become increasingly tied to the market and consumer demand, as well as to the need to make financial returns for providers. When consumer demand and the need to make financial returns become factors in influencing the offer of educational provision, it can create tension with other priorities such as academic standards, autonomy and integrity. This tension can, in turn, give rise to problems with quality and consumer protection issues such as: Diploma mills and poor -quality programs. One big problem that can arise is the proliferation of the so-called "diploma mills." These establishments offer qualifications for little or no study, at a price. Often the qualifications "bought" at a diploma mill are of little or no value to the students. Another are poor-quality programs resulting from institutional failures which can have huge impacts on the reputation and value of a country's education system.