International branch campuses: over-exposed?

 Are there too many branch campus headlines? Not quite. A recent piece in University World News suggested that there was just too much attention given to international branch campuses rather than other forms of international activity: International branch campuses receive a lot of attention for their motivations, successes and failures. In addition, some recent big-name …

More interest in branch campuses

Immigration constraints prompt overseas interests Out-law.com has an interesting piece on institutional ambitions overseas: In research carried out by Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, 67% of surveyed universities said that Government policy on immigration and fees made them more likely to establish an overseas presence. The internationalisation of higher education is not, of course, …

On the size of branch campuses

Biggest isn't always best but it does tell you something Looking at the latest University of Nottingham student statistics and the most recently published HESA data it struck me that Nottingham is now the UK's largest campus university (ie if we exclude the Open University). However, it is important to understand that two of our …

Is London the new UAE?

More branch campuses opening in the city But most of them belong to UK universities, not overseas institutions. According to last year's OBHE report there are six international branch campuses in London (four from US universities and one each from Malaysia and Iran). There are many more offices and outposts too. However, the growth seems …

The Imperfect University: The End of Internationalisation?

Is it the end for internationalization? No. It’s not a bubble. It’s not bursting. A recent Chronicle blog suggested that, in common with some other higher education activities, internationalization was a bubble and about to burst. It isn’t. International student recruitment patterns continue to evolve, some branch campuses are less successful than others and the …

Unwanted branch campuses

An unwelcome higher education arrival. University World News reports on French unhappiness at a Portuguese interloper: Portugal’s private University Fernando Pessoa, or UFP, is planning to set up a second branch in France – despite a complaint filed last year by French Higher Education Minister Geneviève Fioraso that installation of its first university centre in …

New Branch Campuses in China

Some new Branch Campuses on the way The University of Nottingham admitted its first students in China back in 2004, establishing the first Sino-Foreign University in China and then opening its campus, pictured above, in Ningbo in 2006. There are now over 5,500 students following University of Nottingham degrees at the University of Nottingham Ningbo …

From National to Global Universities

A nice piece from David Wheeler in the Chronicle of Higher Education on some of the challenges for universities in going global: Universities, like companies, may need to make the transformation from being a national brand to being a global one. Siemens, once thought of as a German company, now says that it is “a …

International branch campuses- some surprising developments

Some new and rather surprising branch campus developments The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education's new report on international branch campuses (IBCs), entitled ‘International Branch Campuses: Data and Developments’, was released on 12 January and is covered in a previous post. The report included a list of 37 planned branch campuses, most of which are due …

A slow down in branch campus developments?

Perhaps, but there's still a lot going on The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education, OBHE, has published its fourth report on international branch campuses. The OBHE definition of a branch campus, which has broadened since the previous report, is this: a higher education institution that is located in another country from the institution which either …

Branch campuses: cut or grow?

Contrasting views of the right direction for internationalisation A recent piece in the Times Higher covered a report from the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education on what looks like something of a retrenchment in institutions' international activities: Opened with great fanfare in the 1990s and 2000s, international branch campuses such as Suffolk's - which Du …

Are US universities retreating from international ventures?

It seems there is a "new caution" for US universities overseas Seattle P-I has a piece on what looks like a slowdown in the international activities of US universities: High-profile and expensive failures of Middle East branch campuses run by Michigan State and George Mason were a wake-up call. Suffolk University recently closed a campus …

The Branch Campus Bubble?

Do branch campuses have a future? A thoughtful piece by Philip Altbach this for Inside Higher Ed on the sustainability or otherwise of branch campuses. An earlier post on this topic covered similar ground with both pieces asking questions about how many such ventures would ultimately succeed. Branch campuses seem to be the flavor of …

How Much Do Branch Campuses Really Matter?

So, do branch campuses really matter? The Chronicle of Higher Education carries an interesting piece on branch campuses by Ben Wildavsky: What should we make of the news this week that Michigan State is closing its Dubai campus? In my view, not too much. If one satellite campus’s demise meant that others were bound to …