Ethical issues in transnational higher education

The Case of International Branch Campuses

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4096484
AutoresStephen Wilkins (0000-0002-0238-1607, Graduate School of Management, Plymouth University, Plymouth, UK, autor de correspondencia)
Año2017
Volumen42
Número8
Páginas1385-1400
Fecha de publicación2017-08-03
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaStudies in Higher Education (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0307-5079 • E-ISSN: 1470-174X
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03075079.2015.1099624
OpenAlexW2130246801
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas25
Referencias citadas39

The establishment of an international branch campus can impact upon a diverse range of stakeholders in both home and host countries. Many of the arguments against international branch campuses are based on ethical issues, such as the lack of academic freedom and civil liberties in host countries. Ignoring ethical issues may deny institutions the achievement of legitimacy, which can result in financial losses and reputational damage. Thus, the purpose of this article is to identify the ethical issues that higher education managers should recognise and address when considering the establishment of an international branch campus. A framework based on analysing how home and host country stakeholders might be impacted by the establishment of an international branch campus – and how they might influence higher education institutions – is proposed. It was found that institutions which are flexible, quick to learn, and possess the dynamic capabilities necessary to drive organisational change might be the institutions that have the greatest chance of success in foreign markets. Given that at the start of 2015, at least 24 new international branch campuses were planned or in the process of being built, it is concluded that higher education institutions will have to continue treading the thin line between trying to fit in with their host cultures while simultaneously trying to achieve academic freedom and improve local social, political, and legal conditions

Academic freedom · Civil liberties · Higher education · International education · Legitimacy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Higher Education Governance and Development · Higher Education Learning Practices · International Student and Expatriate Challenges · Law · Public Administration