Student experience at international branch campuses

Abstract

Many higher education institutions now have offshore campuses in foreign countries. To attract students in the host country, these international branch campuses typically rely on the parent institution and home country higher education system reputations. Institutions that operate international branch campuses typically claim that the student experience at the offshore campus replicates the onshore home campus experience. Such claims are made even though the majority of offshore campuses lack the scale or financial strength needed to invest in physical infrastructure and resources. This article is a consideration of the extent to which claims of replicability may be true. It is concluded that although institution claims of replicability between onshore and offshore student experience may be somewhat fanciful, it may be reasonable to judge the offshore experience as largely comparable, particularly at the larger branch campuses.