The findings of the latest report from the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education (OBHE) published on January 12, indicate that British universities are in the forefront of growth, nearly doubling their number of outposts to 25 in the past two years.
The OBHE report was published even as the University of Central Lancashire (Uclan) announced plans to become the first UK institution to open a campus in Thailand. The universities of Reading and Lancaster also recently announced offshoots in Malaysia and China respectively. Uclan aims to open its venture, in which it will invest £7.5 million (Rs.59.3 crore) in 2014 and to build enrolment to 5,000 within ten years.
International Branch Campuses: Data and Developments, written by OBHE director William Lawton and research analyst Alex Katsomitros, updates its last such study of September 2009. The 200 branch campuses identified globally represent an increase of 23 percent on the number cited in the previous report. However, the new analysis revises the definition of a branch campus — for example, excluding those offering only pre-degree-level courses — making direct comparisons with the 2009 figures difficult.
The report provides a list of 37 branch campuses (13 from the US) planned by universities and scheduled to open this year or 2013. Fees data was collected from 154 branch campuses, with the undergraduate mean average for 2010-11 being $13,800 (Rs.7 lakh) and the median average of $9,700 (Rs.5 lakh) casting “doubt on any notion that study at branch campuses represents a cheap alternative”.
For universities, the benefits of branches include “greater access to an expanding student market, especially in Asia where demand... is expected to continue to outstrip supply for another 20 years”, the report says. For many governments, especially in Asia and Africa, hosting campuses is “preferable to the outward migration of young people”.
US universities still account for the greatest number of campuses abroad (78). While the United Arab Emirates continues to host the largest number (37), the report notes that there are no new branches planned there. “The centre of gravity is clearly shifting eastwards from the Gulf,” it states. The report adds that this movement shows the respon-siveness of Western institutions to China’s “determination to act on the world stage in higher education — a determination backed up with state funding”.
(Excerpted and adapted from Times Higher Education)