Cross-Border Higher Education: The Expansion of International Branch Campuses

Abstract

The international expansion of higher education has intensified in recent decades with a rapidly growing number of international branch campuses appearing on the scene. This study investigates the economic, cultural and institutional, and educational determinants of transnational higher education on both the extensive margin (number of international branch campuses), and the intensive margin (the total number of educational programmes offered). Using the gravity equation, we applied fixed-effect empirical methods to a panel dataset that combined and extended the raw data from campuses and master’s programmes in 33 source countries and 76 host countries in the period from 1948 to 2016. Estimates reveal that although cultural, economic and institutional ties foster cross-border educational relationships, their effect differs significantly from one margin to another. The study highlights the relevance of globalisation, research activities, and aggregate demand in international higher education.

Bibliometric Analysis on Legislation to Improve Higher Education Governance Capacity

“…Internationalization and Cross-Border Education [10]: Laws may address international collaboration, including the recognition of degrees earned abroad and the establishment of branch campuses or joint academic programs. International agreements and conventions can also shape higher education governance across borders.…”

The paradoxes of developing European transnational campuses in China and Egypt

“…An extensive cooperation of western universities with local institutions in the Asia-Pacific region begun in the late 1980s. Following the initial cooperation, new forms have become more visible since the 1990s (initially in Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong), as local institutions were unable to satisfy the increasing demand for higher education, and private providers partnered with foreign universities to present new offerings that could appeal to local students fluent in English (Paniagua et al, 2022).…”