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[kschoepp]

In today's The National http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090226/NATIONAL/302411756/1040 they are reporting the GMU is closing. This appears to be an exemplar of what can go wrong with branch campuses abroad.

[sciencephd]

It's an interesting article, but it sounds as though the problems were quite specific to this particular university-government contract.

[kschoepp]

Closure is confirmed: http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090227/NATIONAL/449800739/1010 .

Though they point out a contractual dispute is the key issue, this is part and parcel of the arrangement they entered into. They have never achieved the type of student numbers to be sustainable, and now a number of students who thought they were getting a George Mason degree will be abandoned in all likelyhood. An offer to transfer to the US will probably not be possible for many.

When GMU opened in Ras Al Khaimah eyebrows were raised and questions asked- only 3 years later and the concerns have been justified. Sad for the students in particular.

[eddean]

As I recall, GMU made a number of mistakes. One was selecting a site without water, another was in the selection of campus leaders, and so on. It seems that many universities are doing well in the UAE thus this may be more a GMU problem.

[genevoise]

I got the impression that GM hadn't really thought the whole process through very well. I feel sorry for the students who thought they would a US education and now are more or less being left to fend for themselves.