Wolverhampton to shut down Mauritius campus

The University of Wolverhampton is to close its Mauritius campus, less than four years after it opened with the aim of becoming an “African hub attracting students from across the continent”.

Geoff Layer, Wolverhampton vice-chancellor, said in an email to staff yesterday that the decision to close the campus, which has just 140 students, “has not been made lightly”.

Middlesex and Aberystwyth universities also have Mauritius campuses.

The Wolverhampton campus, which opened in March 2012, was run “in partnership” with the Ramnath Jeetah Trust.

A Wolverhampton spokesman declined to say how much money the institution had spent on the campus, but said that the university had not built, and did not own, any of the campus buildings.

In 2014, the university’s then registrar and secretary, Helen Lloyd Wildman, said that the vision for the Mauritius campus was “for it to become our African hub, attracting students from across the continent” while also giving “staff and students from Wolverhampton the chance to work and study in Mauritius”.

The campus “offered undergraduate and postgraduate courses in law, sports and education, with students graduating with a University of Wolverhampton degree”, according to Professor Layer’s email.

He adds: “The university has informed the Mauritian Tertiary Education Commission and the British High Commission of its decision and the plans to support existing students during this transition phase until the campus closes and students complete their degrees.

“The decision to end teaching will follow UK (QAA) and Mauritian (TEC) quality assurance procedures and continuing students will be provided with options that will not disadvantage them financially or academically.”

Professor Layer also says: “We have made every effort to make the campus a success and we are grateful to the Ramnath Jeetah Trust and the Mauritian government for their support during our time working on the island.”

john.morgan@tesglobal.com