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This study examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the academic experience at international branch campuses (IBCs) and has changed the relationship between the IBC and the home campus. Semi-structured interviews with 26 leaders, academic staff, and students at seven IBCs in Malaysia revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the experience at IBCs in unique ways, including collaboration and communication with the home campus; increasing campus-specific resources for student wellbeing; and playing a larger role in student enrollment, recruitment, and mobility initiatives. Findings provide useful insights for higher education institutions (HEIs) engaged in transnational education (TNE).

This study uses a quantitative approach drawing on data from the International Student Barometer (N = 5,242) to investigate the relationship between integration, nationality, and self-reported satisfaction among Chinese, Indian, and South Korean undergraduate international students studying in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. Results indicate that nationalities vary significantly in satisfaction levels, with Indian students more satisfied than Chinese or South Korean students. Furthermore, integration is predictive of satisfaction, and academic integration has a greater impact on satisfaction than does social integration. Compellingly, academic and social integration help explain the association between nationality and satisfaction. This study demonstrates that academic and social integration partly accounts for differences in satisfaction among nationalities, opening avenues for future research with practical implications for universities.