International Branch Campus (IBC)
International branch campuses (IBCs) have emerged as a distinctive aspect of the internationalization strategies of governments and higher education institutions. These entities captured a great deal of attention during the 2000s as institutions rushed to set up shop--particularly in certain Middle Eastern and Asian countries--anticipating some mix of recruitment, revenue, research and branding gains. Some of these adventures ended in well publicized failures and others have become very successful. Today, we count 249 branches operating around the world with around twenty believed to be in development.
The definition embodies four criteria that we use to identify IBCs. First, a foreign higher education provider has to have invested in the establishment of the IBC, and taken on the obligation of making it financially viable (via tuition, host country grants, contracts, home campus subsidies, etc.). Second, the connection to the foreign provider is acknowledged by a shared name or other explicit representation of its responsibility for the IBC’s academic program. Third, the IBC offers a complete academic program using onsite faculty in a physical location. And fourth, a degree 3 is awarded to IBC students by the foreign provider for the course of study completed at the IBC.
OVERALL
Net IBCs. At the end of 2015, the number of international branch campuses worldwide hit 249, up 26% since the end of 2010 when taking into account IBCs that closed or changed status in that time.
Steady Growth. In absolute terms, growth is steady: from 2011-2015, 66 IBCs were founded, compared to 67 from 2006-2010.. In relative terms, as the base number has increased, the growth rate is down. From 2006-2010, the number of IBCs grew 45%.
Students. At the end of 2015, an estimated 180,000 students worldwide were enrolled in IBCs as defined in this report.New Countries. Six new home countries, nine new host countries, and six countries newly engaged as both host and home appeared from 2011-2015. New home countries include Belgium, Estonia, Japan, South Korea, Turkey and Taiwan. Since 2011, nine countries have become new hosts to IBCs: Cyprus, Egypt, Finland, Ghana, India, Malta, Nicaragua, Rwanda, and Saudi Arabia.
Developing Countries. Developing countries continue to become both home and host of IBCs, though there remains very little activity in Africa and South America: from 2011-2015, only four new IBCs were developed in Africa outside of the MENA region and just one in South America.
Future. Branch campuses constitute a small portion of cross-border higher education (CBHE), but continue to grow in number. Though only four campuses were confirmed to have opened in 2015, this apparent slowdown is due, at least in part, to a lag in visibility and reporting. There are around twenty IBCs currently under development, suggesting ongoing growth.
HOME COUNTRIES
Top Home Countries. IBCs come from 33 different home countries, an 18% increase from 28 home countries at the end of 2010. The top five home countries, in terms of number of IBCs, are the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, and Australia. Together, these countries account for 181 branch campuses, or 73% of total IBCs.
US & Europe. Growth continues to be largely driven by providers based in the United States and Europe. Of the IBCs currently under development worldwide, around half are planned by institutions based in the US and UK.
HOST COUNTRIES:
Top Host Countries. IBCs are hosted by 76 countries, a 10% increase from 69 countries at the start of 2011. The top five host countries are China (32), the United Arab Emirates (31), Singapore (12), Malaysia (12), and Qatar (11), which together host 98 IBCs, or 39% of the world’s total. China has overtaken UAE as the top host country.
Trends. The number of IBCs continues to increase, with concentrated growth in China, Malaysia, Mauritius and South Korea from 2011-2015 and slowed growth in UAE.
