Abstract
This article examines the risks of transnational education in Kazakhstan, focusing on the opening and operation of international branch campuses. A literature review is provided with references to recent English-language sources (with at least 20% from Scopus/Web of Science publications in the last 10 years). Various forms of transnational education are considered including foreign branch campuses, franchised programs, joint faculties/institutes, etc. and specific risks for each type are described with examples. An expert risk assessment table is presented, in which types of transnational education are compared against categories of risk (with scores from 0 to 10). The Discussion highlights both traditional risk mitigation strategies and unconventional solutions. International trends are taken into account, such as stricter visa rules for international students in the USA, Canada, and the UK, and the resulting opportunities for Kazakhstan to attract a redistributed share of global student flows. The methodology (conceptual analysis, a case study of Kazakhstan, and secondary analysis of expert opinions and regulatory documents) is briefly outlined. In conclusion, practical recommendations are formulated for universities and educational authorities.