Yale-NUS College, a small liberal arts college founded in 2013 as a partnership between Yale University and the National University of Singapore (NUS), is one amongst hundreds of higher education institutions that can be categorized as forms of cross-border higher education (CBHE) or international branch campuses (IBCs). As Yale-NUS College is coming to its close in 2025, it represents a unique case study for examining the factors that initially attracted students to Yale-NUS and the policies and programs that remain significant to students and alumni. This study is framed through primary research questions: (1) What generates the ambassadorial spirit of Yale-NUS students? (2) To what extent is this phenomenon unique to Yale-NUS, or replicable elsewhere? Drawing upon extant literature on internationalization-at-home and international student mobilities, as well as mixed-methods content and discourse analysis of marketing materials, interviews with key faculty and staff, and a survey of students and alumni, this capstone identifies an “ambassadorial spirit” in students whereby they strongly identify with and act as representatives of the College in order to improve brand reputation in Singapore and globally. This ambassadorial spirit is formed through the selection of particular traits in the admissions process, the common experiences that bond students, and students’ interactions with the institution of Yale-NUS College. Altogether, this paper aims to distill the “Yale-NUS experience” into lessons for higher education institutions aiming to generate a strong community identity and student buy-in.

Authors:
Engie Wong, Yale-NUS College, Singapore

About the Presenter(s)
Engie Wong holds a joint position as Campus Life Executive at Yale-NUS College and NUS Office of the Provost in Singapore. Her research explores internationalization-at-home and student mobilities in cross-border higher education institutions.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/engie-wong/

See this presentation on the full schedule – Wednesday Schedule

Bookmark