The Institutional Sustainability of International Branch Campuses: An Analysis of South Korea’s Incheon Global Campus

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Introduction

International branch campuses (IBCs), despite being a relatively new phenomenon within the higher education landscape, have grown at an exponential rate over the past 20 years. In 2000, there were 72 IBCs operating globally:[1] by 2023, that number had grown to 333 across 39 ‘home’ countries and 83 ‘host’ countries.[2]

Some countries have envisioned becoming transnational ‘education hubs’ to act as centers for student recruitment, of which South Korea’s Incheon Global Campus (IGC) is an example, as a project established by the Korean government with an investment of USD 1 billion[4] in a country facing a sharp decline in its school-age population.

This study aims to build upon previous research by analyzing the extent to which the IGC follows common institutional traits found in other successful and mature IBCs and analyze its long-term sustainability and limitations as an ‘education hub.’

Literature Review

There are a number of motivations for host countries to welcome and invite IBCs:

increase their higher education capacity;

address job market skill shortages;

reduce ‘brain drain’; and

foster innovation and knowledge creation.[1]

While research on factors that contribute to long-term IBC success and sustainability remains limited,[2] government support – both in the political and financial sense – consistently ranks as one of the most important factors in IBC establishment.[3][5]

Successful ventures take place in favorable political environments: illiberal conditions are likely to undermine academic freedom and autonomy, such as faculty appointments and freedom of expression,[6] while short-sighted and unstable partnerships have led to IBC withdrawals and closures.[7]

Korea is a relative newcomer to the IBC space: driven by the desires to boost the national economy and reduce its educational trade deficit, its Special Act on Designation and Management of Free Economic Zones, passed in 2003, acts as its basis for IBC development through support from central and local governments.[8]

However, despite IGC’s ambitious goal to become the “best global education hub in the world,”[4] some critics have pointed toward its high tuition rates and failure to meet quotas,[9] in addition to low international enrollment – 7.9% versus an anticipated 40% – and lack of administration and supervision over its IBCs.[10]

Methods

This research uses historical data from International School Information (www.isi.go.kr), an online database operated by the Korean Ministry of Education and National Research Foundation. In accordance with the Act On Special Cases Concerning The Disclosure Of Information By Education-related Institutions, higher education institutions, including IBCs, are required to report information which include student enrollment data and financial statements. Based off information available on ISI from 2013 to 2023, key factors related to institutional sustainability were selected for analysis.

Findings

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The Incheon Global Campus is institutionally sustainable, both in terms of student enrollment and financials.

15%

5-Year Average Enrollment Growth (2018-2023)

84%

Enrollment quota filled (Sep 2023)

80%

Tuition as part of revenue (2023)

Incheon Global Campus Total Student Enrollment and Revenue Sources

💹

IBCs are distinguished by their home campuses in their distribution of expenses.

Total Expenses of Incheon Global Campus Spent Per Enrollment

Comparison of Expenditures between IGC and U.S. Postsecondary Institutions, Fiscal Year 2020-21[11]

Conclusion

South Korea’s Incheon Global Campus as an education hub has matured at an institutional level, nearing current enrollment quotas and seeing a sustained growth in total revenue generation. In the short term, institutions must work with the Korean Ministry of Education to increase their quotas, but a thorough reassessment of policies will be required to drastically increase international enrollment, such as the separation or elimination of quotas for international students.

In addition, institutions have shown their willingness to diversify their revenue streams away from student tuition, which will require a significant rechanneling of its expenses toward research. In doing so, careful analyses and planning will be required to continue supporting its existing student body at an adequate level.

References

1 Wilkins, S. (2021). Two decades of international branch campus development, 2000–2020: A review. International Journal of Educational Management, 35(1), 311–326. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-08-2020-0409

2 Cross-Border Education Research Team (2023, April). C-BERT International Campus Listing. [Data originally collected by Kevin Kinser and Jason E. Lane]. Available: http://cbert.org/intl-campus/ Oxford, OH: Author.

3 Garrett, R., Kinser, K., Lane, J., & Merola, R. (2017). International Branch Campuses: Success Factors of Mature IBCs. OBHE/C-BERT.

4 About IGC. (n.d.). Incheon Global Campus. Retrieved April 23, 2024, from https://igc.or.kr/en/igc01.do

5 Girdzijauskaite, E., Radzeviciene, A., Jakubavicius, A., & Banaitis, A. (2019). International Branch Campuses as an Entry Mode to the Foreign Education Market. Administrative Sciences, 9(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci9020044

6 Ross, A. (2022, April 28). Is the Offshore-Campus Boom Over? The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/is-the-offshore-campus-boom-over

7 Stripling, J. (2009, February 26). Gulf Withdrawal. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/02/27/gulf-withdrawal

8 Hou, A. Y.-C., Hill, C., Chen, K. H. J., & Tsai, S. (2018). A comparative study of international branch campuses in Malaysia, Singapore, China, and South Korea: Regulation, governance, and quality assurance. Asia Pacific Education Review, 19(4), 543–555. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-018-9550-9

9 Park, J.-K. (2019, November 19). 5000억 투자한 인천글로벌캠퍼스, 정원미달 속출 “비상” [With KRW 500 million invested, Incheon Global Campus faces “emergency” for failing to meet quotas]. The Korea Economic Daily. https://www.hankyung.com/article/2019111985121

10 The Editorial Board. (2023, November 14). [사설] 무늬만 인천글로벌캠퍼스... 지원엔 의무와 책임 따른다 [Incheon Global Campus in name only... With support comes obligations and responsibilities] [Editorial]. Kyeonggi Ilbo. https://www.kyeonggi.com/article/20231113580274

11 National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). Postsecondary Institution Expenses. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved August 30, 2023, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cue.

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