Business Schools and International Branch Campuses

By Colin Nelson*

Globalization is all the rage in higher education these days. Among the many different means by which higher education institutions may seek to broaden their global footprint, however, none is as attention-getting, resource-intensive, or demonstrative of commitment to globalization as the establishment of an international branch campus (IBC).

According to the latest report from the Observatory for Borderless Higher Education (OBHE), the number of IBCs around the world continues to grow, though the pace of institutions establishing IBCs has slowed somewhat from where it was earlier this century. OBHE has identified 200 IBCs worldwide as of the end of 2011, with at least 37 more under development.

Business schools in particular have been leaders in the field of the globalization of higher education, since the practice of management has historically been an internationalized enterprise, and only continues to grow more so. Therefore, it stands to reason that business schools would also be at the forefront of the IBC trend. One of the questions asked of AACSB member schools who participate in the Collaborations Survey is whether or not their school maintains a campus in one or more of the major world regions outside their home region:

Table 1. International Branch Campuses of AACSB Member Schools

Reporting Schools:			Number with Presence in:
Primary Campus Regions	Total Reporting Schools	Reported Multiple Campuses	Africa	Asia	Europe	Latin America and Caribbean	Northern America	Oceania
Eastern Asia	19	1	1	-	0	0	0	0
Western Asia: Middle East	5	2	1	-	2	1	2	2
South-Eastern Asia	7	0	0	-	0	0	0	0
Southern Asia	5	0	0	-	0	0	0	0
Eastern Europe	6	0	0	0	-	0	0	0
Middle Europe	25	3	1	2	-	1	0	0
Northern Europe	20	6	1	6	-	0	0	0
Southern Europe	5	0	0	0	-	0	0	0
Australia and New Zealand	8	1	0	1	0	0	0	-
Central America	3	1	0	1	1	-	1	0
Northern America	193	34	2	18	27	10	-	4
South America	12	1	0	0	0	-	1	0

Source:AACSB Collaborations Survey 2010-11. Note: This chart is corrected for mistakes in reporting, and null responses were considered negative. AACSB's World Region Classification System, which is based on that of the United Nations, explicitly makes no official endorsements regarding the countries and territories listed, either geographically or politically.

Out of the 309 AACSB member schools that reported data on the latest iteration of the survey, 49 reported at least one campus outside their home region. Of these, 15 reported having a campus in multiple regions outside their home region. Taking these data in conjunction with those of the OBHE, AACSB member schools account for at least 43% of all currently extant IBCs in the world!

This percentage is likely even higher, given that only 309 AACSB members (out of our current total of 1271), have so far reported their data to the Collaborations Survey. A number of those who have not are known to have one or more IBCs.

It is important to note, however, that establishing IBCs is not necessarily the best approach to embracing globalization. There are a whole host of factors to be considered before establishing, and while operating, an IBC, in order to ensure that a school is taking into account what is best for its stakeholders, particularly with regard to maintaining equivalent quality. As we here at AACSB took pains to point out in the case studies within our recent report, Globalization of Management Education,  no one approach to addressing the issues surrounding globalization is best (or even feasible) for all schools.

Nevertheless, with more and more of our members beginning to establish IBCs of their own, maintaining quality management education across international campus networks will necessarily become increasingly important for AACSB.

*Edited May 3, 2012: An earlier version of this post gave the total number of business schools contributing data to the Collaborations Survey as 308, rather than the accurate total of 309.

Comments

[Hawi Moore]

Very informative. Thanks for sharing

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Expansion of an institution doesn't necessarily mean improvement. I think before expanding there must be some sort of internal audit before even thinking of an expansion.

[Brisbane Bookkeepers]

It's fascinating to see that Northern America has the highest number of results in total reporting schools. Therefore, I conclude that they believe in embracing IBC will give stability in economy.

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