Jisc: digital equity in transnational education, and what to capture in student feedback

Updated Sep 07, 2026

Jisc’s 18 February 2026 article on digital equity in transnational education was written by Elizabeth Newall, its senior sector specialist in digital transformation. It draws on research conducted with 19 UK higher education providers, involving more than 5,000 student and staff participants in over 30 countries. Jisc article.

What the research highlights

Jisc identifies four areas of digital challenge: connectivity and devices, access to digital resources, cultural differences in technology use for learning, and students’ and staff members’ digital skills. Participants also raised curriculum localisation, generative AI, UK academic expectations and appropriate digital support.

The article describes a second TNE report published in October 2025. It also says that Jisc was working with 11 UK providers during 2026 to use their data for improvement. Formal digital-resource planning and monitoring had emerged as a priority among leaders in that programme. These statements describe Jisc’s research and follow-up at the time of publication; they are not measurements of every TNE setting. Research and follow-up sections.

Questions for partner provision

Our practical suggestion is to review the digital experience with students and staff in each delivery setting. Ask which resources they need, whether those resources are available locally, where support is provided and what happens when access fails. Avoid assuming that a platform available in the UK offers the same experience elsewhere.

When analysing feedback, retain the location and delivery context where it is appropriate and safe to do so. Check differences in question wording, language, collection method and sample size before comparing groups. A shared theme may justify a joint response, while a location-specific barrier may need a local owner.

Agree with partners who will investigate an issue and how students will hear about the response. Comment analysis can organise reported experiences; it cannot on its own show which intervention caused an improvement or whether the sample represents all learners.

For a starting point on these handling and interpretation choices, see the student comment analysis governance checklist.

Correction, 7 September 2026: replaced unsupported survey and focus-group counts with the scale stated in Jisc’s article, corrected the source URL, and removed an unverified quotation attributed to James Clay. The article’s named author is Elizabeth Newall.