Is it fully On or partly Off? The Case of Fully-Online Provision of Transnational Education

Abstract

With rapid expansion of the transnational education market, more and more universities join the ranks of transnational education providers, or expand their transnational education offerings. Many of those providers regard online provision of their programs as an economic alternative to face-to-face teaching. Do the transnational students support this view? This paper discusses the prospects of fully-online provision of education programs in one of the most important transnational markets: Hong Kong. The paper also reports on a study of the perceptions of transnational students in Hong Kong on the importance of face-to-face interaction in their courses. The paper concludes by considering the future of fully-online education in the transnational context.