Try, Try Again

By Elizabeth Redden. George Mason University’s Board of Visitors has authorized the university to move forward in establishing a campus in Songdo, South Korea. This will be the Virginia university’s second attempt to establish an overseas branch: its first, in the United Arab Emirates, ended in failure. The university devoted three years to developing a degree-granting campus in the Ras-Al-Khaimah province only to withdraw in 2009 due to slow enrollment growth, funding difficulties, and disagreements with the U.A.E. government body that was financing the campus...
In February, George Mason’s Faculty Senate endorsed the Korea campus on a 19-7 vote with two conditions: that the deans of the colleges and schools offering programs confirm that the proposed course sequences meet that college’s/school’s requirements and that the senior vice president for finance certify that the program is expected to be self-supporting and financially viable beyond the initial subsidy period.  June Tangney, a professor of psychology and chair of the Faculty Senate, said that both conditions have been met and the Faculty Senate does not have any additional concerns.
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