The UK Strategy for Outward Mobility aims to increase the proportion of UK-domiciled students participating in a UK higher education (HE) mobility programme. It includes a research programme to enhance understanding of the impact of overseas study and work placements on student experience, academic attainment, employment outcomes and personal development. The UK Higher Education International Unit and the British Council commissioned this research into UK-domiciled students’ perspectives on the outcomes of outward mobility as part of a UK undergraduate degree.

The research aimed to: „
• Increase understanding of UK-domiciled students’ perceptions of the benefits of outward mobility and barriers to participation in mobility programmes. „
• Increase understanding of what factors influence the decision making process of UK-domiciled students when considering outward mobility „
• Provide evidence for UK higher education institutions (HEIs) and policymakers who are developing and implementing initiatives to increase the number of students accessing international opportunities.

The findings are based on an online survey of 2842 undergraduate students in 37 higher education institutions, and focus groups in eight of these institutions. It included UK-domiciled students who had been abroad, who were considering going abroad and who had considered going abroad and decided not to.

The students surveyed nearly all perceived a positive link between mobility programmes of one year or less and academic, career and personal development. Developing independence and intercultural understanding, and an increased likelihood of working abroad long term were the most commonly reported realised benefits. Few long term negative impacts were reported.

Very short mobility periods resulted in similar impacts to longer periods of mobility, suggesting that it is the experience of being abroad rather than the activity undertaken that is critical. Almost all students who had been mobile wanted to experience further mobility. Funding very short visits such as summer schools and ‘taster’ visits could lead to increased participation in longer programmes as they offer similar impact to longer term mobility. Partial funding for mobility periods could have a significant influence on participation.

Students’ motivations for participation in mobility are mostly consistent across study abroad, work experience and volunteering. The principal motivations were a desire for enjoyable and interesting experiences, to broaden horizons, and to enhance employability and career prospects. Other commonly reported motivations include developing intercultural awareness, independence and self-confidence, enhancing degree outcome and for some, improving language skills. The motivations cited were largely consistent whether the mobility period was a few weeks or a full academic year.

Key factors for students in deciding whether to go abroad were the availability of funding and total cost of the experience, personal safety and security, reputation or perceived quality of host and location. Duration and language requirements were also considerations for some students.

Internationalisation and employability development are important themes for UK higher education (HE) and the Higher Education Academy (HEA). One aspect of many UK HE institutions’ internationalisation strategies has been to increase the number and range of UK programmes delivered ‘offshore’ as transnational education (TNE) – through overseas partner institutions, international branch campuses or distance learning. There has been increasing attention within the UK HE sector to enhancing the employability of students, either as development embedded in the curriculum or in other ways, and assessing its effectiveness, most prominently in the form of measuring its impact on the employment outcomes of graduates.

There is a quality assurance requirement for institutions providing TNE programmes that they offer the learning and development, academically and through other experiences, that is comparable to those within their UK programmes. This means that any enhancement of employability within a UK programme should also be provided in the equivalent TNE programme. This research was commissioned to discover the extent to which this is the case. It was investigated through an international literature review, a call for evidence from UK higher education institutions (HEIs) of examples of such activity, and participant perspectives through TNE alumni (who had studied first degree and taught postgraduate programmes).

Previous reviews indicate that there is little evidence of the incorporation of generic employability skills as graduate outcomes, in international HE or TNE. Our review reveals a paucity of literature relating to:
• graduate outcomes from international education and TNE in particular;
• support for enhanced employability, and specifically the incorporation of employability development in the curriculum, in TNE programmes.

This confirms the distinct research gap as far as outcomes of TNE are concerned and, more specifically, the need to assess the development of generic, transferable employability skills in TNE programmes. We also contend that the distinction between employment skills and employability skills is as important in TNE as it is for other forms of provision, perhaps even more so in some country contexts where TNE is designed to address key skills gaps. Employment skills relate to qualifications and credentials for specific jobs or professions, while employability indicates transferable skills which are not job-specific but support employment generally.

The existing literature and our primary research indicate complex variations in how the value of TNE programmes is perceived and how this relates to the motivations of those studying TNE programmes. Generally, it is clear that overseas study tends to be seen as the ‘gold standard’ by employers, and to some extent societally, and TNE study is commonly seen as a ‘second best’ option. On the other hand, there are strong variations, geographically, in perceptions of its value relative to types of local provision, and some variations in relation to the value of different countries’ TNE provision, meaning that each country context may need to be considered separately. A further implication of this is that despite current perceptions that may suggest otherwise, it cannot simply be assumed that an overseas TNE qualification carries any inherent ‘employability’ beyond what it provides in practice.

When it comes to the motivations of TNE students, the relatively limited literature suggests that these are largely career-focused or employment-focused, either ‘positional’ (more directly workrelated or job-related) or more ‘transformative’ (more developmental personally). Interviews with the alumni confirmed this range, although relatively few had studied in order to acquire specific short-term employment outcomes. Rather, they viewed studying via TNE as part of a wider approach to progressing their career, either in their current role or in another sector or profession. Few understood the difference between employability and employment, and many believed there was no need to develop greater employability than would be afforded to them by achieving the qualification. On the basis of these alumni (who mostly graduated 3-5 years ago), this suggests that TNE students at that time had a much less nuanced view of employability than comparable UK students.