Singapore campus ‘delusional’ for cash-strapped university

Current and former Massey University staff have expressed incredulity at its proposal to turn around its flagging finances, which have led it to seek up to 245 voluntary redundancies, by enrolling up to 5,000 students in Singapore.

Massey says its new joint venture will be a “first of its kind” for a New Zealand university, eclipsing the scale of other offshore teaching partnerships. Several of the institution’s five academic colleges will help develop courses harnessing “what is unique to Massey” without duplicating the island’s existing programmes.

The plan capitalises on Massey’s experience in transnational education – particularly in Singapore, where it has operated since 2008 – and the preference of people in the region to “study near their home” rather than relocate to distant New Zealand. The venture is expected to admit its first students in 2024, educating them on an existing rather than purpose-built campus, with Massey setting an “ambitious” target of 5,000 offshore students by 2026.

Vice-chancellor Jan Thomas said the proposal was a “strategic” opportunity to diversify income streams and expand into South-east Asia and beyond. Deputy vice-chancellor Tere McGonagle-Daly said the joint venture would “help increase funding that will benefit New Zealand and Singapore”.

But Gaven Martin, distinguished professor of mathematics at Massey, said the idea was “misguided at best, delusional more likely” and would probably cost the institution tens of millions of dollars if it proceeded.

Professor Martin said that as well as having its own highly ranked universities, Singapore hosted at least seven “world-class” foreign institutions including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University and French business school Insead. He noted the National University of Singapore’s decision to wind up a partnership with prestigious Yale University after just eight years. “Massey has no chance at all of competing in this already saturated and ultra-competitive market,” Professor Martin said.

Some other foreign universities’ attempts to establish bases in Singapore have proven disastrous. In 2007, UNSW Sydney’s campus on the island was abandoned after just one semester. While the university’s annual report did not explain the reasons for the “difficult” decision, enrolments had reportedly proven lower and costs higher than anticipated.

In 2015 a private college called the M2 Academy, whose managing director is now a professor in Massey’s management school, closed its doors after just one year of operations. Investors were said to have stopped bankrolling the venture, partly because of low enrolments. Some of the displaced staff and students were reportedly redirected to PSB Academy, which delivers a Massey master’s degree.

Massey said it was aware that other institutions had attempted to establish sub-campuses in Singapore. “However, we are not following their approaches,” a spokeswoman said.

University branch campuses are not generally considered money-making propositions. Massey ignored Times Higher Education’s requests for evidence that the joint venture could turn a profit or attract 5,000 students, but said it had been developing the collaboration over the past year.

“[It] has been identified as an opportunity to diversify revenue sources and aligns with our desire to further expand Massey’s footprint in the transnational education area,” the spokeswoman said. “This compelling opportunity has been given a great deal of thought and consideration regarding the potential risks and rewards, including the anticipated revenue contribution.”

Massey is yet to identify the local “educational investor” involved in the venture or its location in Singapore, or to reveal when these details will be disclosed.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com