Higher Education has long been an international sector. Students migrate to other countries in search of international qualifications or different learning experiences and there is a growing trend of Universities setting up campuses in other countries to serve those needs. At the same time, we have faced the challenge of Brexit and seen the rise of metrics and ever more regulation and governance in the UK context through institutions such as the Quality Assurance Agency, Office for Students, Advance HE and Ofsted. Complying with such governance when operating across borders and while also maintaining institutional integrity and regulatory requirements at home campuses can be a challenge for international institutions, and especially for senior leadership and practitioners involved.

We explore here the challenge of senior leadership and a long-term partnership in achieving just that for two French higher education providers who were seeking accreditation, quality assurance and/or British degree awarding powers for their London campuses through Office for Students membership. Once these ambitions had been set, there was a need to establish policies and processes, to enhance teaching and learning practices, and to interrogate, protect and challenge academic cultural mindsets. The ultimate intention of all this was to achieve balanced solutions and collective commitment to regulatory expectations that served the needs of both French and British academic cultures at the same time as preserving the identity and ethos of individual institutions.

In this paper we focus on both the challenge and opportunity of crossing borders, both international and institutional borders, but also personal and professional borders. We will share our experiences of undertaking such a project and reflect on mutual learning from our long-term collaboration as the internal Director of Teaching and Learning and an External Consultant who together collaborated from insider and outsider perspectives towards a shared goal of quality and governance while undertaking significantly different roles.

Keywords: Higher Education, Governance, Quality Assurance, International, crossing borders, insider and outsider perspectives, academic cultures.