Branch Campuses and the Mirage of Demand

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Faced with declining domestic enrollments, political tensions, and financial pressures, U.S. universities are increasingly reconsidering international branch campuses (IBCs) as strategic diversifications and safeguards against uncertainty at home. Examples like Georgetown University in Qatar and Illinois Institute of Technology in Mumbai highlight renewed interest in global expansion. However, South Korea’s Incheon Global Campus (IGC) exemplifies the complexity behind these ambitions. Initially expected to attract large student numbers from Asia, IGC has significantly underperformed enrollment expectations, especially among international students. Its struggles underscore that geographic proximity alone does not ensure student demand, challenging assumptions of automatic enrollment and highlighting the importance of understanding local markets deeply.

The IGC experience demonstrates that English-medium instruction (EMI), although seemingly advantageous, can paradoxically restrict rather than expand enrollment, deterring students seeking local language immersion or direct access to local job markets. Furthermore, American universities often overestimate the international strength of their institutional brands, as illustrated by limited recognition for campuses like SUNY Korea and George Mason Korea in Asia. Geopolitical tensions, notably the 2017 THAAD missile dispute, have also adversely impacted enrollment, revealing that international campuses are not immune from global politics. These factors collectively highlight the vulnerabilities of IBCs when confronted by local market realities, cultural preferences, and political frictions.

For U.S. universities, IGC's journey serves as a critical lesson, emphasizing that international campuses must be strategically grounded rather than simply aspirational. Institutional survival and global expansion depend on detailed market analyses, nuanced branding, locally relevant curricula, and flexible strategies attuned to local aspirations and constraints. Rather than viewing overseas campuses merely as outposts of prestige, institutions must recognize that genuine success requires humility, careful planning, cultural integration, and adaptability to dynamic geopolitical and educational landscapes. Transnational education remains viable, but only through a realistic approach that builds relevance and meaningful connections within local contexts.


This is a summary of an article published on the Society for Research into Higher Education blog in July 2025. To read the original article, please visit: https://srheblog.com/2025/07/04/branch-campuses-and-the-mirage-of-demand/.

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