Four ways in
The form you choose decides which regulator you answer to
A branch campus, a franchised programme and a validated award are not variations of one arrangement — they sit under different legal instruments and different approval bodies. Pick the wrong one early and the approval path changes underneath you.
- 34
Branch campus
You hold the premises and the licence. Two regulators are in play at once: the host authority that licenses the campus, and your home regulator, whose obligations follow you offshore.
United Arab Emirates 23 · Malaysia 11
- 146
Joint institution
A standing entity co-established with a local institution. The heaviest approval load of the four, and the hardest to unwind — but it is the form that carries its own enrolment identity.
Mainland China 146
- 1,010
Joint programme
One approved award, run inside a local partner's existing licence. Lighter to establish than an institution, but the approval attaches to that specific programme — a second discipline means a second application.
Mainland China 1,010
- 1,040
Delivered award
Your award, taught locally by a registered operator. Regulation attaches to the course and its advertising rather than to a campus — which is why this form dominates the registers in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Hong Kong SAR 723 · Singapore 317