Page 75 - Movers, Shapers, and Everything in Between: Influencers of the International Student Experience

introduCtion
International branch campuses (IBCs) can be a complex and high- risk form of transnational education, at times requiring large upfront investment with no guarantee of success (Healey, 2018; Garrett et al., 2017). Despite this, the number of branch campuses worldwide continues to increase, with 263 campuses identified in the most recent IBC report by the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education (OBHE) and the Cross-Border Education Research Team (C-BERT). The report, and this study, define an IBC as “an entity that is owned, at least in part, by a foreign education provider; operated in the name of the foreign education provider; and provides an entire academic program, substantially on site, leading to a degree awarded by the foreign education provider” (Garrett et al., 2017, p. 6).
IBC expansion has taken place around the world: the OBHE/C-BERT reports that in 2017 there were 77 countries that hosted IBCs, and in that year alone IBCs opened in Mexico, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sierra Leone, Malta, the United Kingdom (UK), Qatar, South Korea, and China. Though founding institutions of IBCs can be found in 33 counties, the majority come from a small set of countries. Seventy-three percent of the 263 IBCs come from institutions based in the United States (US), UK, Russia, France, and Australia. Furthermore, around half of the IBCs currently under development worldwide come from institutions based in the US and UK (Garrett et al., 2017).
Institutions that seek to open IBCs do so for a variety of reasons, however most come under four primary rationales: internationalization, revenue, status enhancement, and existing connections (Garrett et al., 2016). Some use IBCs as a strategy to grow and diversify international student enrollment (McBurnie & Ziguras, 2007; Ziguras & McBurnie, 2015; McNamara & Knight, 2014). Host countries, likewise, have many reasons for opening their doors to IBCs. The governments of countries that host IBCs often do so to prevent ‘brain drain’, in which students and academics pursue opportunities outside their countries (Ziguras & Gribble, 2015; McBurnie & Ziguras, 2007). Host countries may also have economic incentives, anticipating a potential boost to the
4
Satisfaction at IBCs and Home Campuses
73