The demise of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts campus in Singapore announced late last year, and possible closure of the branch campus of the University of Nevada Las Vegas revealed last week, has highlighted problems of viability and the extent to which some overseas institutions depend on big host-country loans and subsidies to survive.
Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang revealed last week that Singapore had provided S$11.68 (US$10 million) in loans and S$5.3 million (US$4.3 million) in grants to Tisch Asia to 2011, and only “stopped disbursements when it realised that Tisch Asia was facing financial difficulties”.
Singapore hosts 11 foreign branch campuses and has a number of joint degree partnerships with prestigious international institutions, often lured with generous Singapore government start-up loans and subsidies under its ‘Global Schoolhouse’ initiative started in 2002.
Lim’s figures came after Education Minister Heng Swee Keat said last September that his ministry was unable to divulge ‘collaboration fees’ between Singapore’s universities and overseas partnering institutions as they were covered by confidentiality clauses. Full story
