Page 107 - Movers, Shapers, and Everything in Between: Influencers of the International Student Experience

Several interviewees pointed out that the switch to online learning may have had the ancillary effect of ‘levelling the playing field’ between IBCs and home campuses, in terms of the academic experience. One IBC head noted that the move to online learning “helped standardize the academic experience, ensuring that campuses are operating as an integrated institution.” Another interviewee mused that “Before [the pandemic], faculty on the home campus viewed our existence with indifference.” Another said “Now, lightbulbs are going off in Australia, realizing we have a big resource in Malaysia. The campus is not seen as an outpost, but as a group of [a number of] collaborators that can help respond to this crisis.” One university responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by launching an online student community with virtual events open to students from all campuses, which “gave a sense of coherence to the student experiences across campuses,” according to one student.
A recurring theme was that the COVID-19 pandemic has helped shift from an academic model based on duplication to one based on collaboration. “[The COVID-19 pandemic] has brought up how we can use our resources in the most efficient way,” said one IBC head. “It’s moved us from the traditional IBC model of ‘how can we duplicate?’ to what I am working toward, which is a collaborative model, in other words, ‘how can we teach the best Bachelor of Science in a global classroom?’” Another IBC leader explained, “It simply doesn’t make sense to have me teaching microeconomics in Malaysia online and you teaching microeconomics in Australia online. Why don’t you teach weeks one to seven and I teach weeks eight to thirteen to a combined class? Then we start looking at what I call a global classroom.”
diSCuSSion
Results speak to the profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on both the academic experience at IBCs and the relationship between the IBC and the home campus. It is notable that interviewees, including students, believed that their institution did a good job at moving online. This is supported by recent studies indicating that university students generally feel their institution was successful in the switch to online and blended learning: for example, a study by the Irish Higher
5
Effects of COVID-19 on IBCs
105