Around the globe, it seems that the internationalization of higher education and economic competitiveness strategies are merging. In fact, many nations have now developed competitiveness strategies that include investment in both domestic and foreign educational institutions. As we read the latest report by the Observatory for Borderless Higher Education (OBHE) on international branch campuses (IBCs), we were struck by how rapidly IBCs seem to have emerged as tools for institutions to pursue internationalization and nations to enhance economic competitiveness.

First, we should note the status of IBCs appears to be strong. The OBHE authors suggest there are about 200 such institutions currently operating in 67 different countries. The number of such institutions appears to be growing at a fairly rapid rate, even with the publicity generated by several famous failures in recent…

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What, exactly, is an international branch campus (IBC)? These entities have received a great deal of media attention over the last decade, and have been the subject of four Observatory for Borderless Higher Education (OBHE) reports since 2002. Indeed, IBCs now have a cult following of proponents, critics, and curiosity seekers. The attention being given to this particular set of institutions, however, seems to be masking a broader recognition of the changing nature of multinational educational organizations.

This issue is apparent in the new OBHE report documenting the range and scope of IBCs globally (the report is available on the group’s Web site, accessible only to members or for a fee). It is by far the most comprehensive report of their four reports on the subject, with much descriptive data and documentation on the campuses and their operations that were more lightly address…

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