UCL to close its Qatar campus

University College London has recently stated that its Qatar campus will shut down in 2020 following concerns regarding the future success of the overseas outpost model.

A spokesperson at UCL said that the reform was part of the institution’s 2034 strategy, “which from 2020 will see the university delivering all academic programmes from its London Bloomsbury campus, and in the future also from its new UCL East campus.”

After meeting the educational demands of the State of Qatar’s 2030 Vision, the spokesperson continued to say that the university’s 2016 decision had adjusted its academic offerings in its campus in Doha.

As a result, “UCL Qatar’s revised academic offering therefore focuses on two M.A. programs — Museum and Gallery Practice and in Library and Information Studies — and on completing its doctoral program,” the spokesman said.

“The decision resulted in the discontinuation of its masters-level programs in archeology and conservation sciences. A small number of staff were directly affected by this and either retired or moved to new employment prior to their contract termination.”

The university had closed its Australia campus in 2017 and discontinued its teachings in Kazakhstan in 2015.

The University of Central Lancashire decided to pull out from its Cyprus campus which opened in 2012 after making a deficit of £1.9 million in 2018 and £2 million in 2017.

In a similar light, the University of Liverpool’s financial statements have revealed that its China campus “has accumulated net losses”. A spokeswoman said that the Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University cumulatively lost £13.4 million by July 2016 since its establishment a decade ago.

Commenting on the decisions of these UK universities, vice-chancellor of Fiji National University Nigel Healey argued the fact that universities were “still predominantly small, local and deeply conservative institutions suggests that there is no compelling drive for them to grow across national borders.”