Aberystwyth opening a campus in Mauritius was ‘madness’

Only 40 students have enrolled


Two years ago Aberystwyth took the brave step of opening up a campus abroad. In Mauritius of all places. 

Now in the two terms it has officially been open, it has emerged that only 40 students have enrolled out of a capacity of 2,000.

Prof. Derec Llwyd Morgan, Aberystwyth’s former Vice Chancellor from 1994 to 2004 has criticised the new campus, saying the enrolment figures showed it was a poor decision to attempt to expand to Mauritius.

“The venture is madness. They would be better concentrating their resources on high-quality staffing and attracting more domestic students,” he told the BBC.

He added: “They should never have opened this campus without ensuring there were enough students in Aberystwyth itself.”

Just in case you were wondering this is Mauritius, not Wales

This is the Aber-Mauritius campus

Aberystwyth University has spent £600,000 on the campus, mostly on staffing costs. Many of the staff on the Mauritius campus have transferred from Aberystwyth.

The uni said the main reason for this is to “ensure consistency of provision and foster a close working relationship”.

Obviously it has nothing to do with the year-round sunshine and stunning beaches.

A university spokesman said that, despite the criticism, it has been “a positive and very successful start”.

They added: “We do, however, hope to build on this significantly in the coming years.

“Establishing an overseas campus is becoming increasingly common for UK universities and we believe Aberystwyth University can play a key role in providing new opportunities for students to have access to quality education, students who otherwise could not access these types of courses due to travel or financial issues.”

Other British universities to open in Mauritius include Wolverhampton and Middlesex – who both had around 90 enrolments in their first year. UCLan also offer courses on the island.