Community Engagement and Branch Campus as an Entry Point to US Higher Education: A Case of One International Branch Campus

Kelley Chung George Mason University Korea

Shannon N. Davis George Mason University Korea

Abstract

International Branch Campuses (IBC) represent one strategy for internationalizing U.S. higher education. Indeed, recruiting from locales around the IBC presents a clear entry point for students to gain access to U.S. higher education. This chapter describes the relationships that one IBC has with its local community, from outreach in teaching high school subjects in English in local high schools to supporting lifelong learning efforts. This chapter describes the efforts to engage in the community, the specific programs taking the IBC faculty into the community, and the resulting effects of these relationships on student recruitment. We argue that leveraging local cultures at IBCs to support local needs and meet students where they are providing opportunities for both sustaining the IBC and providing specific entry points for students living near the IBC to access not only a U.S. education close to home but also an opportunity to study in the U.S.

Keywords: international branch campuses; community engagement; recruitment; entry points

How to cite this chapter: Chung, K., & Davis, S. N. (2024). Community engagement and branch campus as an entry point to US higher education: A case of one international branch campus.  In J. Luan, L. Habte, D. L. Di Maria, & K. Bista (Eds.), Entry points to US education: Accessing the next wave of growth (pp. 85-91). Star Scholars Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32674/4r0sfm57