tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/globalisation-of-higher-education-series-21449/articlesGlobalisation of higher education series – The Conversation2015-10-29T14:44:51Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/495362015-10-29T14:44:51Z2015-10-29T14:44:51ZNavigating globalised higher education: there’s more than one route to excellence<p><em>The Conversation’s international teams are collaborating on a series of articles about the Globalisation of Higher Education, examining how universities are changing in an increasingly globalised world. Read more <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/globalisation-of-higher-education-series">here</a>.</em></p>
<p>In his 1975 novel <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/aug/10/changing-places-by-david-lodge-the-campus-novel-in-full-flight"><em>Changing Places</em></a>, British novelist David Lodge satirised the lifestyle of two literature professors who crisscross the planet, trading a rainy English campus for a sunny California university, and vice versa. Along the way, many other things are exchanged as well, including affairs of the heart. </p>
<p>While scholars working today don’t enjoy the same benefits – luxury hotels and business-class flights, in particular – they might recognise that they still live in Lodge’s small world. Since the mid-1970s, transportation and communication advances have made the planet steadily smaller and the number of international students has soared in turn. In Lodge’s novels, universities seemed changeless, while four decades later they are fully engaged in internationalisation. </p>
<p>In the post-Cold War era, academic relationships are becoming richer and more complex. Students in the Global South, eager to participate in the knowledge economy – and receive some of its benefits – are driving much of the increased demand for education at all levels. That future profits and solutions to pressing global problems are to be found in advanced research makes international collaboration indispensable. </p>
<p>As a <a href="http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/highereducation/ehea2010/stakeholderseua_EN.asp?">recent report</a> from the European University Association shows, internationalisation is a strategic priority for many universities and they’re working to put themselves on the world map. When striking out for new lands, however, familiar rules no longer apply and new guidelines must be established to increase the chance of profits, or at least minimise potential losses.</p>
<h2>Red herrings</h2>
<p>Whatever the size of the university, narratives about making students “global citizens” are becoming more commonplace. What this precisely means is unclear, making it indispensable for us to better understand these narratives, the associated strategies, and so some misleading assumptions on which they are grounded.</p>
<p>The first of these red herrings is the idea that higher-education institutions are part of a homogeneous universe, whose members are equivalent to each other – that they provide the same kind of service (education), perform similar activities (teaching, publishing research), and all call themselves universities. World rankings reinforce this idea, and while <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/university-rankings">much can be said</a> about them, the most important point is that they fail to recognise diversity. Universities can have a wide range of structures, objectives and funding schemes, in addition to an innumerable number of other differences. They are not like hotels that can be rated with stars to help travellers looking for accommodations. </p>
<p>The second misleading assumption stems from this faulty notion of a flat academic world. Universities and other higher-education institutions have entered the realm of “best practices”, an ideology that began to spread several decades ago in business and then local government. There might be, for example, new ways of financing research, promoting the dissemination of results, improving campus life, or creating alumni networks. While this is laudable in theory, in international academic gatherings one is often struck by the fact that everyone seems to do the same thing at the same time. </p>
<p>Some critics have pointed out that such “best practices” are often justified by efficiency alone, with little regard for their social and political meanings or implications. Although universities can certainly learn a lot from each other, each one should devise its strategy and choose its course in accordance with its identity, means and expectations of its students and staff. To endlessly replicate “successful models” is not advisable.</p>
<h2>Rule of marteloio</h2>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99575/original/image-20151025-27619-10bp92o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99575/original/image-20151025-27619-10bp92o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99575/original/image-20151025-27619-10bp92o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99575/original/image-20151025-27619-10bp92o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99575/original/image-20151025-27619-10bp92o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=760&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99575/original/image-20151025-27619-10bp92o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=760&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99575/original/image-20151025-27619-10bp92o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=760&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Tondo e quadro, 1436.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_marteloio#/media/File:Tondo_e_quadro_%28Bianco,_1436%29.jpg">Andrea Bianco</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>In the mid-1400s, when sailors had no instruments to determine their position with accuracy, they used a navigational technique known as the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNFnOdbcNcU">rule of marteloio</a> to determine routes from harbour to harbour. Today, similar routes are being drawn between universities, creating global networks. Some are venerable, such as the <a href="http://vatican.com/articles/info/the_pontifical_universities-a31">Pontifical universities</a> of the Roman Catholic Church, while others are newer, including the <a href="http://www.wun.ac.uk/">Worldwide Universities Network</a>, with its strong emphasis on research. Others are commercial, like<a href="http://www.laureate.net/"> Laureate International Universities</a>, a group that claims almost 90 member institutions.</p>
<p>As with all networks, they can be instruments of inclusion as well as exclusion. Global universities are recognisable because they belong to or lead global networks, while smaller institutions from less visible countries strive to become members of these clubs. Although some major networks include partners from developing countries, there is still a huge gap in terms of participation between North and South. </p>
<h2>Treasure islands</h2>
<p>The internationalisation of universities raises an old problem: the ability to connect to global dynamics without losing diversity. Some aspects of global science, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/nobel-prize">Nobel prizes</a>, tend to promote a “winner-takes-all” system. Higher education institutions should take a critical distance from this tendency and embrace their diversity – there is more than one Treasure Island for science. Internationalisation is not about going to places similar to our own country or institution. Instead, students and scholars can find stimulating environments and academic conditions that can challenge what they take for granted. </p>
<p>We generally assume that higher education and innovation go hand in hand, but we do not know how innovation comes about. Research is often devoted to dissemination, financing, or public policy, but there is less evidence on why an innovation occurs. The only reasonable assumption is that it happens in adverse conditions, when we have to overcome a problem. That’s why it’s important to put students and scholars in challenging, diverse situations and help them learn different ways of thinking. From my point of view, facilitating access and promoting diversity should be the compass of all internationalisation strategies. So, anchors aweigh, and let’s sail.</p>
<p><em>This article was originally published in <a href="https://theconversation.com/de-la-navigation-academique-dans-les-eaux-internationales-4-49537">French</a></em>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/49536/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sébastien Velut has received financing from ANR and works for Université Sorbonne Paris Cité. </span></em></p>Globalisation has become a strategic priority for many universities, but learning to navigate in international waters doesn’t come easy.Sébastien Velut, Professeur de géographie, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris 3 Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/462892015-10-19T05:12:55Z2015-10-19T05:12:55ZUniversities that set up branch campuses in other countries are not colonisers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96838/original/image-20150930-5809-8jwiua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The University of Nottingham has spread its wings to Malaysia. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/60625416@N06/5527362395/sizes/l">catmonkey2011/www.flickr.com</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The Conversation’s international teams are collaborating on a series of articles about the Globalisation of Higher Education, examining how universities are changing in an increasingly globalised world. Read the rest of the articles in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/globalisation-of-higher-education-series">series here</a>.</em></p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/branching-out-why-universities-open-international-campuses-despite-little-reward-46129">growth of international branch campuses</a> set up by universities in other countries is the most concrete evidence of how higher education has become a global business. </p>
<p>As of August 2015, there were 229 international branch campuses around the world with another 22 in development, <a href="http://www.globalhighered.org/branchcampuses.php">according to</a> the Cross-Border Education Research Team (C-BERT) at SUNY Albany, which monitors their spread. The US and the UK are the largest “exporters” of international branch campuses, with 50 and 27 respectively. But Russia, with 13 campuses in countries such as Belarus, Albania and Azerbaijan, has now overtaken Australia’s 11. </p>
<p>Some developing countries, notably India, have also entered the market – SP Jain has campuses in Dubai, Singapore and Sydney – while Malaysia’s Limkokwing University has opened in London.</p>
<p>It is tempting to see these branch campuses as the educational equivalent of the globalisation of business, with powerful universities establishing networks of subsidiary campuses. Given the growing demand for higher education, which has seen global enrolments <a href="http://data.uis.unesco.org">quadruple from 50m to 198m</a> since 1980, the implication is that the number of these campuses will continue to climb.</p>
<h2>How the business works</h2>
<p>Before jumping to this conclusion, it is helpful to understand how international branch campuses are set up and the alignment of interests that are driving their growth. These campuses generally have two defining characteristics: they trade under the “brand name” of the home university (University of Wollongong in Dubai or UNLV Singapore); and they teach and award the qualifications of the home university.</p>
<p>But there are some secondary characteristics which are less well-known. They are incorporated as private education companies, in which the home university has an equity stake. Branch campuses also normally have local partners, often commercial property companies (in China, for example, a local majority partner is mandated by legislation), and they are registered as private education providers under the jurisdiction of the host ministry of education.</p>
<p>Branch campuses overseas have been often derided as colonial outposts of the home university, representing the “<a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Mcdonaldization_of_Higher_Education.html?id=BS8bwfsmXEkC">McDonaldization of higher education</a>”. But the reality is that most campuses are legally established as private universities in the host countries, controlled by local majority shareholders. Most of the <a href="http://jsi.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/08/25/1028315315602928.abstract">staff are employed by the local entity</a>, not the home university, and are hired locally.</p>
<p>The campus functions under the watchful eye of the host ministry of education, which can variously require the teaching of specific courses (such as <a href="http://www.moe.edu.cn/publicfiles/business/htmlfiles/moe/moe_2803/200905/48454.html">cultural courses in China</a>) and set tuition fees and enrolment quotas, such <a href="http://www.agc.gov.my/Akta/Vol.%2012/Act%20555%20-%20Private%20Higher%20Educational%20Institutions%20Act%201996.pdf">as in Malaysia</a>.</p>
<h2>No cash cow</h2>
<p>For the home university, the cost of setting up an international branch campus is generally much lower than commonly supposed. This is partly because the university has local joint venture partners to share setup costs, but mainly because the campus is incorporated as a legal entity. With the backing of its local shareholders, the campus can raise capital on its own account to buy land, build the campus and fund its operating costs until it breaks even.</p>
<p>On the downside, these financial arrangements mean that there is no “pot of gold” for the home university. It may take a number of years for enrolments to build to the level where the campus is breaking even and, thereafter, the bulk of any profits will go to servicing the campus’s debt. Any residual profit will be split between the shareholders, with capital controls and other restrictions often limiting the ability of the home university to repatriate their minority share.</p>
<p>All this begs the obvious question: why have so many universities opened campuses overseas? Making easy money is not the motivation. In general, the growth has been driven by universities seeking to build their global brands, and so attracting international students and staff. But the more important player in the mix is the host government.</p>
<h2>Friends in high places</h2>
<p>Higher education remains a highly regulated, politicised sector and international branch campuses exist because they serve the interests of the host governments. In some countries, <a href="http://uaecd.org/higher-education">notably the United Arab Emirates</a>, branch campuses provide education to the children of a majority expatriate population barred from tuition-free Emirati universities. In China, branch campuses transfer educational technology and teaching skills to the Chinese higher education system, which the government hopes will help to improve quality overall.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96839/original/image-20150930-5790-zuvna3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96839/original/image-20150930-5790-zuvna3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96839/original/image-20150930-5790-zuvna3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96839/original/image-20150930-5790-zuvna3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96839/original/image-20150930-5790-zuvna3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96839/original/image-20150930-5790-zuvna3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96839/original/image-20150930-5790-zuvna3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Former first minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, opens the Heriot-Watt campus in Dubai in 2011.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/scottishgovernment/6308639970/sizes/l">Scottish Government</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
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<p>Seen in this light, branch campuses are not a manifestation of a relentless globalisation of higher education, but a transitory alignment of motivations: universities seeking to build their brands by extending their global reach and host governments seeking to accelerate the development of their higher education systems.</p>
<p>It is difficult to predict how long this trend will continue, but the experience of the British Commonwealth suggests a downturn will come as the higher education systems of host countries mature. Remember, the Universities of the West Indies, Colombo and Zimbabwe all began life as remote branches of the University of London, teaching an academic syllabus devised and examined in Russell Square. They subsequently developed their own identities and academic cultures, cutting the ties with London as they grew up to become proud, autonomous institutions of higher learning.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46289/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nigel Healey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Both universities and their host countries have a stake in the success of overseas campuses.Nigel Healey, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International) and Head of College of Business, Law and Social Sciences, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/469202015-10-16T09:57:57Z2015-10-16T09:57:57ZOn global campuses, academic freedom has its limits<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96512/original/image-20150928-30970-bjue5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Can global campuses promise the same academic freedom?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/liz/6314937/in/photolist-8Suuxc-8WL1jK-8WL1BH-kADnA-pZo63R-9GUBLH-ynaZ-9DJQmz-ynde-8qdikG-yndY-ynem-yncm-yng2-yncJ-ynbZ-ynbm-yneT-8XCMJo-j4oL6y-pH3Nm3-pH24Rn-pZvZny-p3DubT-k6v7T3-dsYon6-9eXNo2-9f2hPy-9f2hPQ-9f2hPJ-dv2B6F-6TwPQJ-9eXNj4-9eXNak-9eXNcK-9eXNeB-9eXNgi-9f1W9S-9f1WeJ-7LmPMt-dv8btj-2dJPPy-cnNgms">Liz Lawley</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The Conversation’s international teams are collaborating on a series of articles about the Globalisation of Higher Education, examining how universities are changing in an increasingly globalised world. This is the second article in the series. Read more <a href="https://theconversation.com/search?q=globalisation+of+higher+education+series">here</a>.</em></p>
<p>Last spring, a New York University professor was <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/17/nyregion/nyu-professor-is-barred-from-the-united-arab-emirates.html">prevented</a> from traveling to the United Arab Emirates to conduct research. The UAE government did not like his criticisms of the use of migrant labor in the Emirates. </p>
<p>The fact that this academic scholarship was politically unacceptable to the Emirati leadership may not be surprising. But what is important here is that NYU has a branch campus in Abu Dhabi. The university <a href="http://nyuad.nyu.edu/en/about/faqs.html">promises</a> that academic freedom will be protected there in exactly the same way that it is in New York City. </p>
<p>It turns out, though, that protection has its limits. As an NYU spokesperson later <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/17/nyregion/nyu-professor-is-barred-from-the-united-arab-emirates.html">said</a>, “it is the government that controls visa and immigration policy, and not the university.”</p>
<p>As a faculty member in the United States, I am free to write and speak about any topic. But outside of the US, local laws and cultural prohibitions create a different situation. Plus, governments can use the visa process to keep out people with disruptive ideas. Under these circumstances, academic freedom simply cannot provide the same protections to faculty. </p>
<h2>History of academic freedom</h2>
<p>Academic freedom has its origins in the 19th-century German universities, where the freedom to teach <a href="http://www.ditext.com/searle/campus/6.html">(Lehrfreiheit) and study (Lernfreiheit)</a> were considered <a href="http://cup.columbia.edu/book/academic-freedom-in-the-age-of-the-university/9780231085120">fundamental</a> to the research ambitions of the faculty. </p>
<p>The concept was initially codified in the United States in the early 20th century as a formal rejection of wealthy industrialist control of university activities. In 1900, a faculty member at Stanford University was <a href="http://www.aaup.org/about/history/aaup-archives">fired</a> for criticizing railroad labor practices. Several faculty members resigned in protest and began organizing the American Association of University Professors to investigate similar firings of other faculty. </p>
<p>In 1940, the <a href="http://www.aaup.org/report/1940-statement-principles-academic-freedom-and-tenure">Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure</a> of the American Association of University Professors and the Association of American Colleges and Universities provided the modern framework for academic freedom that universities – including NYU – still use today. </p>
<p>By these standards academic freedom is considered “fundamental to the advancement of truth.” Therefore, faculty should not be constrained in their ability to examine and explain their subjects. </p>
<h2>Freedom within borders</h2>
<p>As universities become more and more engaged in international activities, the blanket protections of academic freedom are increasingly difficult for institutions to guarantee.</p>
<p>This is particularly the case for <a href="http://theconversation.com/is-todays-university-the-new-multinational-corporation-40681">institutions</a> that have opened branch campuses and other foreign higher education outposts. These locations are often established at the invitation and encouragement of local leaders, and many are financially supported with subsidies from the foreign government. </p>
<p>Sometimes this support comes with restrictions as to what subjects can be taught at the outpost or specifications on the students it can enroll. In essence, foreign higher education outposts have less autonomy compared to the home location as a consequence of these partnerships.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96515/original/image-20150928-30974-ccihzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96515/original/image-20150928-30974-ccihzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96515/original/image-20150928-30974-ccihzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96515/original/image-20150928-30974-ccihzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96515/original/image-20150928-30974-ccihzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96515/original/image-20150928-30974-ccihzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96515/original/image-20150928-30974-ccihzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Chinese government has banned discussions of some sensitive subjects.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rlerdorf/508620686/in/photolist-LWPdb-gWAGRo-jb153-e6tUMK-h9fQmZ-h9evaX-6VUmd2-h9fREF-4QFt72-aPHBxe-h9eFuJ-h9eBAo-aENj3Q-pvak44-m47sn-m47u1-vvqQdz-jLBNbc-muo9o6-9TnBXc-iJGcM-MXVMP-67eFn-pNksTp-e3fwNw-e39QYR-h4soXS-e3fwEE-e39RsM-5uDM8Y-7k8a7r-rqPto-aFtpne-8KZ8J8-cuye1N-aFtpdT-9SEiHH-qW5FL-cuyfJ3-9FYAR2-MXJCQ-m47wW-78VhRk-6BWvz-MXJTC-78Fy9n-MXUgt-MXKQ5-MXJr7-MXUsi">Rasmus Lerdorf</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>The potential threat to academic freedom for international higher education is clear in countries with authoritarian governments. According to data compiled by my research group at Albany, <a href="http://globalhighered.org/">the Cross Border Education Research Team</a>, the top countries to host foreign branch campus are United Arab Emirates (with 32 campuses), China (28), Singapore (13), Qatar (11) and Malaysia (9). All of these countries have governments that control dissent and have policies restricting freedom of speech and freedom of the press.</p>
<h2>Restrictions in many countries</h2>
<p>We’ve already seen what the UAE’s response has been to a critical academic voice. But what about the others?</p>
<p>Chinese-sponsored Confucian institutes, which are culture and language centers hosted by universities outside of China, have been <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-confucius-institute-hearing-met-20141204-story.html">criticized</a> for avoiding controversial subjects like the <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/cron/">Tiananmen Square protests of 1989</a>. The government has also reportedly banned classroom discussion within China of sensitive <a href="http://chronicle.com/article/China-Bans-7-Topics-in/139407/">subjects</a> such as <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/chinese-communist-party-magazine-blasts-university-professors-spreading-western-1794018">mistakes made by the Communist Party</a> and the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/20/world/asia/chinas-new-leadership-takes-hard-line-in-secret-memo.html">wealth of its leadership</a>. </p>
<p>Most branch campuses in China have a senior administrator who represents the Communist Party, and <a href="http://www.nj.com/education/2015/07/kean-wenzhou-china_ad_says_communist_party_members.html">preferences</a> are given to party members in some hiring decisions.</p>
<p>Singapore has been <a href="http://chronicle.com/article/Yale-Faculty-Registers-Concern/131448/">criticized</a> by academics for its laws against homosexuality and restrictions on public demonstrations. Similar charges apply to Malaysia and Qatar. Malaysia sedition law has just been <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-13/opposition-says-authorities-using-sedition-act-to-stem-criticism/6693210">strengthened</a> to counter growing protests over government corruption. </p>
<p>Qatar’s strict censorship laws create circumstances where necessary teaching materials <a href="http://www.northwestern.edu/faculty-senate/from-the-president/commentary/Report%20on%20Northwestern%20University,%20Qatar.html">cannot be officially obtained</a>, and <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/21/us-qatar-poet-court-idUSBRE99K0LM20131021">criticism of the ruling family</a> carries a steep sentence.</p>
<h2>Freedom within campus gates</h2>
<p>Nevertheless, international campuses usually have broad assurances from the host governments that academic freedom will be respected.</p>
<p>The reality of academic freedom in international education is actually somewhere in between the extremes of government control and the full ability of universities to protect their institutional autonomy. </p>
<p>My research team has visited over 50 branch campuses in countries around the world, including UAE, China, Singapore, Malaysia and Qatar. We found little evidence for restrictions on academic freedom on the campuses themselves.</p>
<p>Rather, we typically find an academic community that is allowed to debate topics that might be off-limits elsewhere in the country.</p>
<p>This academic freedom, however, ends at the campus gate. A free-wheeling discussion in the classroom cannot continue in a coffee shop. A publication meant for students’ eyes is not meant to be seen by the broader public.</p>
<h2>Scholarship should not be controversial</h2>
<p>Additionally, certain subjects are not even part of the curriculum, which is problematic. </p>
<p>We know of no scholar of queer studies, for example, teaching in Malaysia or Singapore. The most common subject in international education is business, which doesn’t usually pose a challenge to the existing social and political order. </p>
<p>And faculty we interview usually say the subject of academic freedom simply never comes up – they never run up against a problem, because like most faculty, their scholarship and teaching is simply not that controversial.</p>
<p>Moreover, people working and studying overseas recognize that there are different cultural mores that should be respected. Most, like taking off your shoes before entering a home, are accommodated with little affront to deeply held academic values. </p>
<p>Even ones that would be considered out of place at home, like gender-segregated learning environments, can be addressed without needing to reject the tradition it comes from.</p>
<p>But others truly are a bridge too far. </p>
<p>As campuses expand and establish a global presence, I believe, explicit restrictions on academic freedom should be vociferously challenged. And home campus administrators should not get complacent in the assurances from their hosts about the academic freedom they will enjoy.</p>
<p>It is clear that there are limits to academic freedom in international higher education. But that doesn’t mean that all engagement has to stop.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46920/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Kinser does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As universities set up campuses globally, the blanket protections of academic freedom are becoming increasingly difficult to guarantee.Kevin Kinser, Associate Professor of Education, University at Albany, State University of New YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/467212015-10-14T08:52:05Z2015-10-14T08:52:05ZUS losing its dominance in global higher education market<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96518/original/image-20150928-30974-aieby3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Growing numbers of US students are going abroad to study.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/britishcouncilrus/15495347511/in/photolist-pBgGXZ-513MZ2-517YMy-517ZDE-517ZbY-513Mok-9SWo4d-9SWdYm-9SWpSy-9SWcyq-9STAvB-9SWmxb-9SWjL1-9STni8-9SWiaG-9SThQ4-9SWoYA-9STwTa-9SWbes-9STvKk-9STk4P-9STD1F-9SWdm3-9STurX-9STCpV-9STzrR-9SWcVY-9STwmB-9STBGx-9SWgHh-9STuec-9STqLn-9SWrgC-9STp2K-9SWaZQ-9STAXx-9STtA8-9SWrQj-9SWkpQ-9SWdao-9STqjH-9STkDx-9STru4-9STw4T-9STopt-9SWtgf-9SWffm-9SWf4E-9STn4K-9STx8F">British Council Russia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The Conversation’s international teams are collaborating on a series of articles about the Globalisation of Higher Education, examining how universities are changing in an increasingly globalised world. This is the third article in the series. Read more <a href="https://theconversation.com/search?q=globalisation+of+higher+education+series">here</a>.</em></p>
<p>Students have come back to college. But not all to the United States. </p>
<p>The idea that a student would study in another country is not a new concept. The media frequently <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/03/world/americas/helping-foreign-students-thrive-on-us-campuses.html?_r=0">reports</a> on the number of international students studying in the United States. And that is exactly how we tend to think about it – students from other countries coming to the United States. </p>
<p>Yet, a growing number of US students are now looking overseas for their college degree. Germany alone, with its essentially free higher education system, <a href="http://www.marketplace.org/topics/education/learning-curve/american-students-head-germany-free-college">is drawing</a> a fair number of prospective US college students. Some 4,660 US students were enrolled in German universities last year – a number that has increased by 20% in three years.</p>
<p>While the number of US students attending college in Germany remains very small relative to the some 21 million individuals pursuing a post-secondary education, it represents two important shifts in the international student market: a rapidly increasing global market for international students and a growing number of US students looking to earn degrees overseas.</p>
<p>As a researcher of international education, a key concern for me is understanding the ways in which the changing global economy is reshaping educational opportunities and potentially how the US dominance in the international education market is being threatened.</p>
<h2>US students studying abroad</h2>
<p>There is no central source that tracks the total number of US students enrolled in foreign institutions. </p>
<p>There is also no international repository of enrollment trends worldwide. In the US, the <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/about/">federal government</a> tracks enrollments in domestic higher education institutions. In addition, the <a href="http://www.iie.org">Institute of International Education (IIE)‘s</a> annual Open Doors <a href="http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors">report</a> gathers data about American students at US colleges studying abroad for academic credit. </p>
<p>In fact, there were about 290,000 students studying abroad for academic credit, but not a full degree, in the 2012 academic year, more than double the number who studied abroad 15 years earlier. However, these numbers do not include students pursuing a full degree from an overseas institution, as they are not tracked by the US government.</p>
<p>But based on national data sets, IIE’s Project Atlas has put together a patchwork picture about students pursuing college degrees elsewhere. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96519/original/image-20150928-31012-1o3grer.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96519/original/image-20150928-31012-1o3grer.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96519/original/image-20150928-31012-1o3grer.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96519/original/image-20150928-31012-1o3grer.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96519/original/image-20150928-31012-1o3grer.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96519/original/image-20150928-31012-1o3grer.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96519/original/image-20150928-31012-1o3grer.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The UK has been the leading destination for US students.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/shaneglobal/5191520225/in/photolist-8UKU6p-9NKn2C-7GX4d5-7GT9cR-7GX4z1-fhw9Z-BRvkd-9wYujT-bVQEjT-cdcWKs-bVQE54-bVQDvr-9EPEiy-6SJBQJ-MXR8r-cdcX7q-cdcTus-9QQHKa-t2Pknu-6VFiKP-bVQCNF-cdcVHf-bVQDLK-bVQBQg-cdcTjj-bVQCUD-9raNuK-7mKPba-cdcUgU-cdcVZ7-cdcUxE-cdcTPS-cdcU73-cdcWBb-bVQCCx-5dvDbX-9xZX36-amVf6u-p2sHXE-9xNdzU-bVQAQp-cdcU2G-bVQCJ2-4XvbV8-9JA49n-9JCSW1-9JCSaj-gbGy1Y-gbGxNy-gbGywN">Shane Global</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>According to a <a href="http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Project-Atlas">Project Atlas</a> <a href="http://www.iie.org/%7E/media/Files/Corporate/Publications/US-Students-in-Overseas-Degree-Programs.ashx?la=en">report</a> (the most recent aggregated data on this issue), there were more than 43,000 US students enrolled in degree programs in foreign countries in 2010 (this is in addition to the number of students studying abroad not for a degree). However, it should be noted that <a href="http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Project-Atlas">Project Atlas</a>, has data only from the IIE’s 13 partnering nations. So these data may actually undercount the number of students enrolled in such programs.</p>
<p>Even so, based on these data, we can confidently say that the United Kingdom was the leading destination for US students. Most US students (72%) in this data set head to anglophone countries. Master’s degree programs are the most popular option (followed by undergraduate programs and then doctoral).</p>
<p>Recent <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32821678?ocid=socialflow_twitter">reports</a>, such as those about Germany, suggest that the number of students pursuing a degree outside of their home country, including students moving outside of the US, is growing rapidly. But, in order to gather information about US citizens who pursue degrees elsewhere, that information must be gathered from those nations.</p>
<h2>Growing competition for international students</h2>
<p>The fact is that today, there is a large market for students in higher education.</p>
<p>In 2000, according to UNESCO’s <a href="http://www.oecd.org/education/eag.htm">Education at a Glance</a>, there were only 2.1 million students studying abroad in both short-term and full-degree programs. Today, there are roughly 4.5 million. </p>
<p>And, the competition for those students has become quite fierce. Today, <a href="https://www.nuffic.nl/en/library/international-student-recruitment.pdf">countries</a> like China, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand, Argentina, Brazil and Chile, who once primarily sent students abroad, have enacted policies and strategies to actively recruit international students. </p>
<p>In fact, according to <a href="http://globalhighered.org/edhubs.php">our research</a>, places like Singapore, Malaysia and United Arab Emirates want to become regional educational hubs – serving students from their neighboring countries.</p>
<p>With this increase, the market for international students has also become quite volatile in the last decade. Many of the earlier entrants to this market are losing share.</p>
<p>For instance, even though the <a href="http://www.oecd.org/education/eag.htm">total number</a> of international students studying in the US continues to grow, the US market share has dropped from 23% in 2000 to 16% in 2012. Countries such as Germany, France, South Africa and Belgium have also lost about 5% market share collectively, with Germany and France having the largest remaining share of the group at about 6% each. </p>
<p>At the same time, places like China, Canada, the United Kingdom, Russia, Korea and New Zealand each picked up larger proportion of the market, with the United Kingdom and Russia both gaining two points of the market and the others a little less. In fact, at 13% of the market share and growing, the United Kingdom may be on track to overtake the US’ market lead. </p>
<h2>Opening up borders</h2>
<p>In such a market, some countries are taking advantage of their language of instruction which can offer a competitive advantage, while others are offering low-cost or even free tuition.</p>
<p>So, nations whose language of instruction is widely spoken elsewhere, such as English, French and Spanish, are becoming leading receivers of international students. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96524/original/image-20150928-30993-19z8m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96524/original/image-20150928-30993-19z8m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96524/original/image-20150928-30993-19z8m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96524/original/image-20150928-30993-19z8m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96524/original/image-20150928-30993-19z8m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96524/original/image-20150928-30993-19z8m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96524/original/image-20150928-30993-19z8m6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some countries are providing nearly free education for international students.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wellingtoncollege/9126451198/in/photolist-eUtrYS-eUhySB-eUtRKQ-eUtREw-eUhyf2-eUtRvq-eUhfn6-eUh9zV-eUtBqN-eUhxVK-eUtQg3-eUtscj-eUttAY-eUhieX-eUtWEf-eUhj5H-eUhek4-eUtTYd-eUhvjP-eUtzQC-eUtyxm-eUtFn7-eUtE3y-eUhaH8-eUtuS1-eUhwZF-eUhyb4-eUtFzJ-eUtsEN-eUhjdM-eUtEPC-eUtzeG-eUtrUW-eUtFrA-eUtXaU-eUtPFA-eUtCKA-eUh9Re-eUh4GZ-eUhwmT-eUhA2P-eUh7Bz-eUtVeL-eUtQkW-eUhuVP-eUtWuw-eUh5ZD-eUtBmq-eUtEWW-eUhfrM">Wellington College</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some countries, such as Austria, France, Germany and Norway, are providing <a href="http://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/studying-abroad/where-can-you-study-abroad-free">de facto free</a> education for all students, including those from foreign countries. </p>
<p>This low cost of education can help countries attract students already looking to go abroad as well as elicit attention from students looking for alternatives to the high costs of higher education in their own countries.</p>
<p>Countries are getting much savvier about their efforts to recruit foreign students – adopting more student-friendly immigration policies, offering financial incentives and even setting national strategic recruitment goals. </p>
<p>The German government, for instance, has a goal of attracting 350,000 international students by 2020. To do so, Germany is <a href="https://www.study-in.de/en/discover-germany/ten-reasons-for-germany_27121.php">actively recruiting</a> students and lowering barriers to entry. </p>
<p>Today, an increasing number of degree programs offered in Germany are in English and searchable through a <a href="https://www.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programs/en/">national database</a>. They have even amended their laws to make it easier for international students <a href="https://www.daad.de/deutschland/in-deutschland/arbeit/en/9148-earning-money/">to work</a> while going to school. The German academic exchange service, <a href="https://www.daad.de/en/">DAAD</a>, also provides <a href="https://www.daad.de/deutschland/stipendium/datenbank/en/21148-scholarship-database/?status=&origin=&subjectGrps=&daad=&q=&page=1&back=1">scholarships</a> to offset the cost of other academic and living expense.</p>
<h2>Competing for brain power</h2>
<p>Attracting international students, then, is not just about bringing in tuition dollars. Countries offering free or reduced tuition are often seeking to rebuild national workforce as their domestic population ages and younger talent pools shrink. </p>
<p>So, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden are now <a href="http://www.svr-migration.de/en/publications/train-and-retain/">developing study-to-work pathways</a> and “train and retain policies” to encourage international students to transition into the workplace. </p>
<p>Some of these efforts are paying off. Students are not only choosing to study abroad; many are also staying abroad after they graduate. </p>
<p>For example, a <a href="http://www.studentworldonline.com/article/half-of-germany-s-international-students-will-stay-after-graduation/203/">survey</a> of more than 11,000 international students in Germany found that three in 10 plan to stay in Germany permanently after their studies and four in 10 plan to stay for at least 10 years. </p>
<h2>A globally competitive market</h2>
<p>The increasing number of students pursuing their college years in a foreign country is symptomatic of two important trends. </p>
<p>First, it reflects a rapidly changing world economy, where it is not only the workforce opportunities that are global, but also the educational experiences that prepare students for those opportunities. </p>
<p>As a result, more and more students from both developed and developing countries are looking beyond their national borders for their collegiate experience. </p>
<p>Second, as economies become more knowledge-based, the competition for brains is heating up. </p>
<p>The US has long dominated this market. But as more nations have seen international students as part of their strategic interests, the US market has begun to shrink significantly. </p>
<p>Without a similar strategic national interest, will the US’ dominance fall all together?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46721/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Lane receives funding from the International Lawyers and Economists against Poverty (I-LEAP) to study the intersection of international education and international trade. He is also a senior fellow with the Rockefeller Institute of Government (State University of New York).</span></em></p>In recent years, a large market in higher education has emerged. From 2.1 million students studying abroad in 2001, the number has gone up to roughly 4.5 million. How is the US faring?Jason E. Lane, Associate Professor of Education Policy & Co-Director of the Cross-Border Education Research Team, University at Albany, State University of New YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/484192015-10-13T05:21:10Z2015-10-13T05:21:10ZTen sure ways countries can turn away international students<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/97933/original/image-20151009-9150-35o0er.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How not to make them feel welcome. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">International students via Lucky Business/www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The Conversation’s international teams are collaborating on a series of articles about the Globalisation of Higher Education, examining how universities are changing in an increasingly globalised world. This is the second article in the series. Read more <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/globalisation-of-higher-education">here</a>.</em></p>
<p>The pursuit of global mobility in a world divided up into nations invokes a fundamental dilemma. Free passage without harassment is a right we routinely expect to exercise whenever we travel abroad. Yet the right of people within a country to determine who enters their nation is enshrined in law. This unresolvable tension between sovereignty and mobility catches international students in its grip. </p>
<p>More than <a href="http://www.oecd.org/edu/Education-at-a-Glance-2014.pdf">4.5m students cross borders</a> every year for educational purposes, mostly entering English-speaking countries, Western Europe, China, Japan and Russia. The great majority of these students return home when their education ends, though <a href="https://theconversation.com/hard-evidence-how-many-foreign-students-stay-in-the-uk-45506">some become skilled migrants</a> to the country of education, or other countries. Nations compete for international students – every country wants high-quality research students and some make a profit from international undergraduate and masters-level students. In the UK, for example, <a href="http://blog.universitiesuk.ac.uk/2014/04/04/study-highlights-value-of-international-students-to-the-uk/">Universities UK reported</a> that international students spent £4.4 billion on fees and accommodation in 2011-12. </p>
<p>However, education policy is all too often in tension with migration policy. The United States (after September 11, 2001), Australia (in 2010-2011) and the United Kingdom (now) have all slowed down their student intake because of security concerns, or local opposition to migration. In each case numbers fell sharply and stayed down. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98060/original/image-20151012-17809-1r58gmo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98060/original/image-20151012-17809-1r58gmo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98060/original/image-20151012-17809-1r58gmo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98060/original/image-20151012-17809-1r58gmo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98060/original/image-20151012-17809-1r58gmo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98060/original/image-20151012-17809-1r58gmo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98060/original/image-20151012-17809-1r58gmo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98060/original/image-20151012-17809-1r58gmo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Change in number of foreign students.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.appgmigration.org.uk/sites/default/files/APPG_PSW_Inquiry_Report-FINAL.pdf">UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Migration</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What not to do</h2>
<p>The past two decades of experience in international student policy suggests a checklist of ten things that a nation can do to ensure that it becomes as uncompetitive as possible in international education, and drives down foreign student numbers:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Make your visas more expensive than the competition. Currently, <a href="http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/highereducation/Documents/2014/InternationalStudentsInHigherEducation.pdf">UK visas</a> are at the top end of costs among the principal education exporting countries. It <a href="https://www.gov.uk/tier-4-general-visa">costs £322</a> to apply for a Tier 4 (General) student visa from outside the UK. </p></li>
<li><p>Slow down the time for visa processing, so education agents push families to choose competitor countries. This happened in Australia in 2011 in relation to Chinese students – families went to the US. The visa rules were relaxed and <a href="http://monitor.icef.com/2014/03/australia-reverses-three-year-enrolment-decline-commencements-up-sharply-in-2013/">the numbers picked up</a> again. </p></li>
<li><p>Ensure that universities and colleges not only charge high tuition fees, but require families to bank a full year of living cost support for several months before enrolment begins, as the UK does at present.</p></li>
<li><p>Use a discriminatory policy against students from major countries such as India or China, or better still, whole regions such as the Middle East. Subject those students, and not others, to extra checks at entry and extra reporting requirements. Ask their universities to spy on them and regularly report to immigration authorities – as <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/student-privacy-and-patriot-act/">with the Patriot Act</a> under George W Bush in the US, and as the UK does in relation to <a href="https://theconversation.com/university-lecturers-must-remain-educators-not-border-guards-23948">non-EU students at present</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>Allow the local media to mount sustained attacks on international students as a group for destroying the national way of life, or triggering an urban crime wave, or consuming fast foods with strange smells in city precincts, or being dangerous drivers. <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0511741197">This happened in New Zealand</a> 12 years ago and the Chinese government advised families not to send their student children to New Zealand. Numbers dropped like a stone.</p></li>
<li><p>Restrict work rights during study and, better still, impose a blanket ban on international students working during vacations, so students cannot earn the money they need to cover their fees and living costs. Both the UK and Australia limit working time. The UK is <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/foreign-students-will-be-banned-from-working-in-the-uk-and-forced-to-leave-as-soon-as-they-finish-10385232.html">planning to introduce this</a> for international students from outside the EU. </p></li>
<li><p>Send lightning raids into workplaces in case international students are working more than their maximum weekly hours – and deport them on the spot if they do. Australia <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0511741197">used to do</a> this. </p></li>
<li><p>Make it <a href="http://www.barclays.co.uk/Helpsupport/Identificationforstudentbankaccounts/P1242557966021">hard</a> for international students to open a bank account without a place of residence and impossible to rent an apartment without a bank account – which happens in the UK. Do the same with mobile phone contracts. </p></li>
<li><p>Make it expensive to be covered by medical insurance (as <a href="http://www.privatehealth.gov.au/healthinsurance/overseas/oshc.htm">it is in Australia</a>), visit a doctor or access hospitals and other emergency services. </p></li>
<li><p>Restrict the rights of students to stay and work once they have graduated. This is crucial, as students who want to migrate need work rights to build the bridge to migration, and others need work to pay back their loans. The UK used to encourage students to work for two years after graduation, but in 2012 the policy changed so that a graduate had just four months to get a job worth £24,000 or more a year in their field of training. The number of visas given to former students in the <a href="http://www.appgmigration.org.uk/sites/default/files/APPG_PSW_Inquiry_Report-FINAL.pdf">UK declined</a> from a peak of 43,319 in 2011, to 557 in 2013. </p></li>
</ol>
<h2>The worst possible timing</h2>
<p>The UK is now planning to force graduates to leave the UK before applying for graduate jobs, which <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/foreign-students-will-be-banned-from-working-in-the-uk-and-forced-to-leave-as-soon-as-they-finish-10385232.html">will make it even harder</a> for them to stay. Highly skilled graduates will go elsewhere.</p>
<p>International students are the collateral damage of migration politics. Cutting temporary migration by students is the easiest way to reduce the number of people coming in to a country, even though most students never become permanent migrants. </p>
<p>In the UK it will probably get worse before it gets better. The home secretary, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/06/theresa-may-speech-new-low-politics-migration">Theresa May, says that high migration</a> is a threat to national cohesion and higher education institutions must be prepared for a drop in international student numbers. But if the UK government follows May down the migration-bashing route and bears down harder on international student entry and graduate work rights, that is not a recipe for a wobble in the market, but the ongoing loss of a chunk of market share. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0511741197">Evidence</a> from the US in the wake of the 2001 Patriot Act, and Australia after its slowing of visas and noncompetitive work rights in 2010-2011 suggest that when student numbers fall, the downturn lasts for years, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-attracts-chinese-students-to-aussie-universities-46748">lingers even</a> after policies reverse again. </p>
<p>But the major problem for the UK is the timing. Different countries have to face popular resistance to migration, but those moments do not always coincide. While the UK government is talking about massive cuts to migration, it so happens that the US, Canada, Australia, China, Japan and Germany are stepping up efforts to attract international students. Growth is surging in the US and Australia. Both countries have learned from past mistakes and are being careful to avoid the ten “dont’s” on this list.</p>
<p><em>UPDATE: Point seven in this article incorrectly said students were raided for working more than their minimum working hours. It was updated to read their maximum working hours.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/48419/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Marginson receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council to support the ESRC/HEFCE Centre for Global Higher Education.</span></em></p>A checklist of how countries can be as uncompetitive as possible in attracting overseas students.Simon Marginson, Professor of International Higher Education, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/461292015-10-11T19:28:29Z2015-10-11T19:28:29ZBranching out: why universities open international campuses despite little reward<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91860/original/image-20150814-11476-aeowtq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">International campuses have rarely been roaring successes, so why do universities continue to branch out?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/downloading_tips.mhtml?code=&id=87781027&size=huge&image_format=jpg&method=download&super_url=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTQzOTU1MzQ3MywiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfODc3ODEwMjciLCJrIjoicGhvdG8vODc3ODEwMjcvaHVnZS5qcGciLCJtIjoiMSIsImQiOiJzaHV0dGVyc3RvY2stbWVkaWEifSwiRUg0bDNXY3lZY2g2RUpSUUd6NG9uOStsVmxBIl0%2Fshutterstock_87781027.jpg&racksite_id=ny&chosen_subscription=redownload_standard&license=standard&src=g7EOhtJ8wTd565Y-vNp65Q-1-2&el_order_id=">from www.shutterstock.com.au</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The Conversation’s international teams are collaborating on a series of articles about the Globalisation of Higher Education, examining how universities are changing in an increasingly globalised world. This is the first article in the series.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>International branch campuses are one of the biggest reputational and financial risks universities take. They are typically established distant from the home campus’ supervision, in an environment as well as a country that is foreign, and they rarely repatriate great financial or academic riches to their home campus. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.globalhighered.org/index.php">At least 31 international branch campuses have failed.</a> Some have failed spectacularly, financially, academically or both, often to the considerable embarrassment of their sponsoring university.</p>
<p>Yet there are around 233 international branch campuses. Universities have established an average of 13 international branch campuses annually over the last few years and <a href="http://www.globalhighered.org/index.php">there are plans for at least 23 more</a>.</p>
<p>This is not counting the operations of private for-profit institutions. There are, for example, 80 <a href="http://www.laureate.net/AboutLaureate">Laureate international universities</a> in 28 countries and 54 campuses of the <a href="http://www.sae.edu/about-us">SAE Institute</a> in 26 countries.</p>
<p>Why are universities establishing more international branch campuses and what are their prospects for success?</p>
<h2>$ € £ R</h2>
<p>An obvious motive for establishing an international branch campus is to increase revenue. In a 2012 report on <a href="http://www.obhe.ac.uk/documents/view_details?id=894">data and developments of international branch campuses</a>, about 60 campuses – 30% of the 200 surveyed – received some financial support from their host country. </p>
<p>Such support may be in the form of a substantial grant of cash or land, or tax breaks. </p>
<p>Even so, some universities that received grants of tens of millions of dollars <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225772127_The_brand_name_research_university_goes_global">have closed their international branch campuses</a> after a few years because they could not attract enough students to cover their running costs, among other reasons.</p>
<p>Of the 233 operating international branch campuses listed on the website of the <a href="http://www.globalhighered.org/branchcampuses.php">Cross-Border Education Research Team</a> of the State University of New York at Albany, the team was able to collect enrolment figures for 94 campuses. </p>
<p>The median enrolment of these campuses was only 500 students, despite the fact that their median age is 10 years. Campuses with such modest enrolments are unlikely to generate much revenue, let alone a surplus to repatriate to their home campus.</p>
<p>A report on the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transnational-education-value-to-the-uk">value of transnational education</a> estimated that in 2012-13 the total gross revenue for UK international branch campuses was approximately £140 million (US$219 million). This was roughly only 3% of universities’ revenue from all international education.</p>
<p>The report said only relatively small sums are remitted to UK universities from their international branch campuses. This may be because these campuses generate little surplus, are established with partners that absorb much of any surplus, or because of host governments’ restrictions on repatriating profits.</p>
<h2>Internationalisation</h2>
<p>Many universities establish branch campuses as an extension of their internationalisation strategy. They perhaps started by enrolling international students on their home campus, perhaps initially to increase revenue as much as for any other reason.</p>
<p>But as these enrolments grow and the university becomes more familiar with international education and its multiple benefits, some universities extend their international engagement to offer programs jointly with international partners, and then offer programs abroad in their own right, although often still in partnership with an international institution.</p>
<h2>Prestige</h2>
<p>Non-profit universities are status-seeking organisations and another motive for establishing international branch campuses is to <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263688917_Prestige-oriented_market_entry_strategy_the_case_of_Australian_universities">enhance their prestige</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91867/original/image-20150814-11479-olxxkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91867/original/image-20150814-11479-olxxkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91867/original/image-20150814-11479-olxxkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91867/original/image-20150814-11479-olxxkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91867/original/image-20150814-11479-olxxkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91867/original/image-20150814-11479-olxxkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91867/original/image-20150814-11479-olxxkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">International campuses enhance prestige.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.obhe.ac.uk/documents/view_details?id=894">survey of universities with international branch campuses</a>, one of the “main drivers” was “prestige: visibility as an international institution with global ambitions”. Perhaps some senior university staff also seek to <a href="https://theconversation.edu.au/article-40681">emulate multinational corporations</a>.</p>
<h2>Prospects</h2>
<p>Reports about international branch campuses alternate between boom and bust, often in the same year. One reason may be that such campuses take a long time to plan and establish and often longer to build their success.</p>
<p>Much scholarly writing and analysis is <a href="http://www.bc.edu/research/cihe/cbhe.html">sceptical</a>, if not <a href="http://academiccouncil.duke.edu/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/Agora-China-Report1.pdf">critical</a>, of these branch campuses. <a href="https://htmldbprod.bc.edu/pls/htmldb/f?p=2290:4:0::NO:RP,4:P0_CONTENT_ID:110101">One study observes</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Branch campuses are sprouting around the world, like mushrooms after a heavy rain. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, the author argues:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Many of the growing mushrooms may only hold a limited life span and a few might be poisonous.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another paper examines the reasons <a href="http://vbn.aau.dk/en/publications/deinternationalization-of-universities-an-exploratory-study(5fe2062a-0b2d-4e45-acad-093cbbd87fef).html">international branch campuses fail</a>. It notes low student enrolments are often due to wrong assumptions about the host market’s student demand, its amount and level of secondary education, proficiency in English and capacity or willingness to pay high fees. </p>
<p>Some branch campuses failed because they did not adapt their curriculum to local conditions, or because home campus staff weren’t sufficiently adaptable. Others enter markets as they reach saturation and some planners’ cash-flow projections weren’t robust.</p>
<p>The authors also note a tension over the branch campus identity. In the host country, prospective students, their parents, governments and other interest groups expect a branch campus that carries the name of the home university to have <a href="https://theconversation.edu.au/article-23200">many of that university’s characteristics</a>. </p>
<p>Yet this contrasts with the need for the branch campus to adapt to local conditions and the often much lower revenue available to branch campuses from tuition fees, government funding, research grants, industry support, consultancies and other sources.</p>
<p>This is related to the core issue of the <a href="http://www.obhe.ac.uk/documents/view_details?id=934">extent to which the branch campus should be integrated</a> with the home campus or have devolved core functions such as staffing, finance, quality assurance, electronic communications and the library.</p>
<p>Universities with strong international campuses are the <a href="https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/about/facts/studentpopulation20132014.aspx">University of Nottingham</a> whose Ningbo campus has 5,500 students and whose Malaysia campus has 4,500 students, the University of Liverpool whose <a href="http://www.liv.ac.uk/about/">joint campus</a> with Xi’an Jiaotong University has 7,400 students, RMIT University whose <a href="http://mams.rmit.edu.au/ylqnr3jjhso3.pdf">Vietnam campus</a> has 6,838 students and Monash University whose <a href="http://www.monash.edu/about/who/glance">Malaysia campus</a> has 6,757 students.</p>
<p>Each of these universities has a high proportion of international students enrolled at their home campus and has had a long, deep, broad and well-informed internationalisation strategy.</p>
<h2>Missed opportunity?</h2>
<p>Most international branch campuses are established in low-wage countries by universities in high-wage countries. There therefore seem to be opportunities to extend internationalisation and at least cover, if not save, costs by transferring labour-intensive central services to branch campuses. </p>
<p>But I have found no report of this being tried by a university, despite <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offshoring">offshoring</a> being common in many sophisticated services such as <a href="http://legalcareers.about.com/od/jobmarket/a/Offshoring.htm">law</a>.</p>
<p>Many branch campuses are in a different time zone from the home campus, so establishing help desks in both the home and offshore campus would enable a university to offer students and staff support over extended hours.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46129/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gavin Moodie is an adjunct professor at RMIT University which has two campuses in Vietnam, a centre in Spain and which closed a campus in Malaysia.</span></em></p>Why are universities establishing more international branch campuses and what are their prospects for success?Gavin Moodie, Adjunct professor, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.