It has over 16,000 students on its campus at Guildford and one substantial offshore presence in China, the Surrey International Institute (SII).
[6][7] One key feature of the international strategy of the University of Surrey is to focus on building academic networks and partnerships.
The wording of the strategy declares one of its three key aims as being, ‘to give the university substantial international reach through strategic partnerships with quality institutions’.
As a highly trusted expert in international higher education quality assurance, QAA is determined to protect the interests of all students working towards a UK HE qualification - wherever in the world they are studying.
A 2007 report entitled 'British Universities in China: The Reality Beyond the Rhetoric - An Agora Discussion Paper' (a British think-tank for higher education), Edited by Anna Fazackerley, cautioned British universities that they must acquire a more thorough understanding of Chinese higher education policy if they were to succeed in building successful strategic alliances over the long-term.
Governance structure comprises a joint management committee (JMC) that oversees the operation run by its appointed executive group (EG).
A Surrey senior member of staff is appointed by the JMC as the chair of executive Group in charge of the operation of the joint venture.
SII achieved top level in the MoE audit review in China-Foreign Cooperation Running Schools in Year 2011.
[3] In 2012, the UK Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) undertook its second review of higher education delivered in mainland China, carried out from 26 November to 7 December 2012 by a QAA team comprising four members of staff and five peer reviewers.
The TNE China 2012 review was centred on a series of desk-based studies looking at institutional procedures for the management of academic quality and standards and the way they operated.
It is envisaged that these studies will cover a large proportion of the UK higher education institutions' activity in mainland China.