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Offshore programmes
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Linking up with overseas universities and/or opening international campuses is a growing trend for universities worldwide. Many report an increased internationalisation of all their campuses as a result as well as a raising of their international profile. Bethan Norris reports.
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In order to maintain profile in the growing international business climate, many universities are looking at enhancing their international reach. Opening overseas campuses or offering qualifications at foreign universities are increasingly popular ways of doing this and universities report increased enrolments as a result, as well as many other benefits. “Having an international presence is increasingly important for any school that aspires to be one of the world’s best,” says William Kooser, Associate Dean at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business in Chicago, IL, USA. “Our international campuses allow us to have closer relationships with the corporate community, allow us to keep abreast of key international issues and help us develop visibility and influence throughout the world.”
There is growing interest among international students for gaining a foreign higher education qualification, yet the high costs involved in studying overseas are prohibitive for many. Providing tuition in a student’s own country is a logical next step for many universities to take.
Certain universities report that this is an established venture. Viv Carter at the International Office at Southern Cross University in East Lismore, NSW, Australia, says that the university first started offering offshore programmes in 1994 when it started an MBA programme in Malaysia. “Currently we offer programmes in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Port Moresby, Auckland and Hawaii,” she says. “The university is committed to becoming an international university and wishes to engage with the global community. This is critical in ensuring our programmes remain relevant and informed by our global interaction.”
For other universities, global expansion is a relatively new achievement. Jason Chu, Chief Operating Officer of Digipen Institute of Technology Singapore, an offshore campus of Digipen Institute of Technology in Seattle, WA, USA, says, “We have just opened our first international branch campus in Singapore and will be matriculating the first cohort in September 2008. The advantages of having an overseas campus are many. One is to allow the exchange of students and faculty between the two campuses and another is to introduce the different cultures between the east and west, which is very important in the creative industries.”
Digipen Singapore currently offers students two degree programmes, a BSc in Real-Time Interactive Simulation and a BFA in Production Animation, and the specialist nature of these courses highlights a trend for universities to tailor their products to directly tap into the needs of its host countries. Chu says that there is huge demand for skilled software engineers in the computer/video game industry, particularly in Asia. “Singapore is the best location in Southeast Asia for our campus, due to the fact that Singapore is an English speaking country, has a very high level of respect of intellectual property and the Singapore government is committed to fostering the growth of the industry.”
The University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) in NV, USA, is another university that is targeting a growing demand in Asia for its specialist courses by opening a campus in Singapore. Andy Nazarechuk, Dean of UNLV Singapore, says that the campus has been open since 2006. “A UNLV Hotel degree is highly regarded in the USA and around the world,” he adds. “Tourism in Asia is growing and there are many opportunities for an educated graduate to start their hospitality careers. Additionally, setting up a campus in Singapore allows students at our main campus to come to Singapore for a summer course, full semester or longer.”
Encouraging international exchange is a benefit of offshore course provision that many universities mention as a particular plus point. Carter relates that “many students start their programmes offshore and then complete them in Australia” although she does point out that a high number of students studying outside Australia are studying part-time and therefore remain at home for the duration of their degree.
Shorter student exchanges are also possible across campuses if the course content remains the same in different locations. Jap Jayatilaka, Marketing Manager at the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD), an offshore campus of the University of Wollongong in Australia (UOWA), says that the campus in Dubai adds to the cultural diversity of the Australian campus. “Students may enrol at either UOWD or UOWA and take subjects at the other institution as an exchange student,” he explains.
Lecturers can also benefit as most overseas campuses rely on their own staff to provide the teaching. Groupe Essec in France opened a Singapore campus in 2006 and Béatrice de Luget-Meillassoux, Director of Press Relations, says, “This campus gives opportunities to professors to do research on specific topics related to Asia.”
The types of courses on offer as an offshore option vary – some institutions offer a wide variety while others stick to one or two subject areas. The popularity of programmes depends on the location although business studies and MBA courses are popular worldwide. Alan Tobi from the International Office at the University of Huddersfield in the UK, which delivers programmes in Jordan, Greece, Singapore, India and China, says, “Most popular are Business Studies, Hospitality Management and Logistics.”
Enrolment growth
The universities who took part in this feature all report that they have no trouble finding students to enrol on their offshore programmes and demand often outstrips supply, showing that this sector is likely to expand further. “Our programmes are exceedingly popular,” says William Kooser, Associate Dean at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. “We continue to receive record number of applications and the demand for MBA education seems to be strong worldwide.”
Andy Nazarechuk, Dean of the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) Singapore William F Hurrah College of Hotel Administration, agrees that demand has been growing since their Singapore campus opened. “We currently have 130 undergraduate students and are scheduled to reach 200 student by the end of this year,” he reports, while Viv Carter, Director of the International Office at Southern Cross University in Australia, adds, “We have around 1500 student enrolled in overseas locations which is about 10 per cent of the university’s student population.”
This high demand for offshore programmes perhaps explains why universities have little need for hard sell recruitment tactics. “We use most of the traditional recruitment methods – advertising, direct mail, information sessions, online and web-based marketing,” says Kooser, “but the most successful recruitment tool is word-of-mouth recommendation from our current students and alumni. They know the programme best and have the best idea of the type of student who will be successful in it.”
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