An analysis of Australian online third-party arrangements: past, current and future

ABSTRACTThis paper is a retrospective look at the last ten years of development in online third-party arrangements within the Australian higher education sector. A total of 42 higher education providers are reviewed. The analysis initially focuses on the state of online third-party arrangements in Australian higher education. It then investigates the current scale of partnership arrangements these universities have with third-party companies that offer education technology platforms to deliver online courses. The analysis indicates that online third-party arrangements are likely to grow in post COVID-19 context. However, despite the scale of the activities, this paper reveals that better data collection and reporting are needed to inform third-party education delivery at the national level. The paper highlights the need for universities to set and monitor standards for the courses delivered in an online third-party arrangement.KEYWORDS: Third-party arrangementonlineEdtechpartnershipoffshore Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationNotes on contributorsMahsood ShahMahsood Shah is the Professor and a Dean at Swinburne University of Technology. Prior to joining Swinburne University of Technology, Mahsood led learning and teaching at several Australian universities, and international engagement in one role.Fion Choon Boey LimFion Choon Boey Lim is currently an Associate Professor in General Management and Deputy Associate Dean (International Education) at UTS Business School. Her recent role as the Director of UTS Learning Centre (SILC) has seen her managing more than 1000 students studying in Shanghai.