Studying at a New Remote University Campus: Challenges and Strategies in Students’ Sustainable Self-Development

Abstract

In the context of higher education expansion, student enrolment in remote branch campuses within China has increased dramatically, but the challenges and strategies for the sustainability of these students are not adequately reflected in the literature. This study investigated students’ learning experiences at a newly remote university campus, concentrating on the challenges students encounter and the strategies they adopt. We recruited 30 university students studying at a remote branch campus in China as the research subjects and employed interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore participants’ experiences. The findings indicated that students are challenged by the learning atmosphere, the number and quality of teachers, learning spaces, the campus and urban environment, and university and community culture. In response to various challenges, students tend to adopt self-adjustment strategies rather than seeking support from the institution. It can be concluded that students’ sustainability at the new remote branch campus is influenced by learning, environmental and culture-related factors, and students develop an attitude of helplessness. Strategic interventions should be adopted to enhance their learning experience and promote sustainable development.

1. Introduction

Over recent decades, the world has witnessed an unprecedented expansion of higher education in two prevalent patterns [1,2]: internationalization [3,4] and localization [5]. The internationalization of higher education is characterized by directly establishing overseas branch institutes [6], such as Monash University Malaysia Campus, or by jointly operating a university with a local higher education institute [7], such as Shanghai-New York University. Comparatively, the localization of higher education is featured by independently running a university campus in a region far from the main campus [8,9], such as Beijing Normal University Zhuhai Campus. International expansion is usually favored by the world’s top-tier universities, and the offshore branch campus is typically located in a place that is economically well-developed and geographically agreeable to attract students. Similarly, domestic expansion is also adored by the well-known local universities but these institutions often reside in areas that are underdeveloped and non-metropolis, even in remote rural regions [9]. The reasons for holding a new university campus in a less developed place can be attributed to reducing the financial burden, fostering economic development, and promoting educational equity by cultivating high-potential talents in the local labor market [10].

However, despite the profound benefits in educational, economic, and social systems, the negative impact of higher education expansion, regardless of it being international or domestic, on students’ learning outcomes has also been vastly questioned. Likened to the considerable differences in course design [5], teaching quality [11], and learning experience [12] between overseas campuses and domestic campuses, few majors and curricula are available to students studying at a campus affiliated with a domestic university, mainly limited to business, commerce, primary education, and nursing [13,14,15]. In addition, unlike the multicultural atmosphere on the main campus, shaped by interaction with the urban ecosystem and enjoyed by their peers on the main campus, students who enrolled in a branch campus are solely exposed to the regional culture [15], which could be slightly monotonous. These insufficient resources and unsatisfactory experiences might lead to an unsuccessful learning journey, including a low sense of school belonging and weak academic accomplishment.

Many studies have identified the pros and cons of studying at a domestic university branch campus. For example, Jean and Cathy [16] investigated the experiences of nontraditional students studying at a university’s main campus and branch campus. When students studied at the branch, increased instructor interaction was available, with the feeling that they received personal tutoring in a one-to-one setting [16]. Similarly, Jeff and Scott [17] identified that campuses are often small, which was the primary reason students choose to study at the branch, allowing them to communicate in depth with professors and making it easier for students to think that they might achieve better grades. Furthermore, students appreciated the small campus size and the convenience of having everything in one building [17]. Overall, students considered that the branch campus compared favorably with the main campus in terms of the improved availability of appointments with staff at the branch campus, small class sizes, and relationships with peers and lecturers [18]. In addition to the advantages of studying in a domestic branch campus, another significant issue in the literature was the lack of status accorded to the branch campus. Students within Todd and Ballantyne’s study [18], they reported a feeling of ‘us versus them’. The participants felt a disparity between students on their campus and students on the main campus, with branch campus described as a ‘sub-university’ or ‘second-class university’ [18]. An additional challenge for the branch campus was posed by Winchester and Sterk [19], who highlighted that the academic staff composition of the branch campus commonly consists primarily of junior academics.

Previous studies have enriched our understanding of students’ learning experiences at a branch campus. However, little attention has been paid to the cohort currently studying at a newly remote university campus established in an underdeveloped area, especially in the Chinese context. Due to the not well-equipped teaching facilities and scanty local support, branch campus students may suffer greater difficulties in professional learning and inconvenience in university life than their counterparts on the main campus. Therefore, there is great significance in identifying students’ challenges when studying at the branch campus and the strategies they applied to overcome the learning dilemma from a sustainable self-development perspective. This study aims to clarify students’ experiences studying at a geographically remote university campus in China’s economically underdeveloped areas using a qualitative interpretive method. This study will provide valuable insights into improving course design and professional modules that match the local industry, boost academic achievement and university life satisfaction, and assemble students with employability-related skills competitive to the local workforce.

2. Context of Chinese Domestic Higher Education Expansion

Local expansion of higher education in China is also referred to as the ‘off-site operation’ of higher education institutes (HEIs), such as developing new campuses to increase higher education enrolment [8,20]. The Chinese Ministry of Education stipulated in 2021 that HEIs are no longer permitted to establish branch campuses across provinces [21]. As a result, universities are conducting off-site activities primarily within provinces across cities, particularly at the prefecture level in underdeveloped areas [22], as demonstrated by universities in Guangdong Province, China [23]. The urban areas of Guangdong Province are highly developed, especially in the Pearl River Delta region, while the rural areas are severely underdeveloped, especially in the eastern, western, and northern regions. In the past five years, the number of university campuses has expanded in the north-western part of Guangdong Province in China, e.g., the Heyuan Campus of Guangdong Technical Teachers’ University, the Shanwei Campus of South China Normal University, and the Qingyuan Campus of Guangdong Finance College. Nevertheless, such localized expansion introduced complicated student development issues [24].

3. Student’s Sustainable Development and University Branch Campus

There is a large volume of published studies describing the positive role of higher education expansion in student development [14,15,25]. This research has established that expanding higher education has created a potential workforce for the local economy while providing access to more people [26,27,28,29,30]. At the same time, studies have shown that students tend to be valuable in the local labor market when enrolled in a university in a region with a low number of universities and a shortage of skilled professionals [22,31]. However, other studies have revealed that higher education expansion harmed student development [8,32]. For example, with China’s gross enrolment rate in higher education exceeding 50% in 2021, the number of university graduates has reached an all-time level, and graduates confront a tough job market. Moreover, depending on the present expanding situation, universities are increasingly constructing branch campuses outside of cities, implying that a lack of resources may hamper student development [33].

A recent systematic literature review concluded that many remote branch campus’ students are at-risk learners [34,35,36]. This view is supported by Gum [37] who concluded that the lack of support and some of the perceived challenges of rural study include the problems associated with distance, curriculum delivery, and lack of resources, which may have implications for the retention of nursing students in the BNg program and their future nursing careers. Similarly, a qualitative study by Catherine et al. [38] described the nursing student experience at a remote Australian university campus and found that these nursing students faced additional barriers unique to the remote campus context, including concerns about the quality of teaching and learning at the branch campuses and large disparities in resources from the main campus. Alternatively, Cathy and Lyn [39] pointed out that the remote campus students were more likely than the main campus students to be considered at risk for poor academic results and attrition. In a cross-sectional study, Mary et al. [40] investigated whether remote settings facilitated students’ future career advancement and discovered that the lack of opportunities and barriers to professional development did not promote career advancement for those nurses outside the metropolitan area.

Overall, there seems to be some evidence to indicate challenges to students’ sustainability at a new remote branch campus with higher education expansion. However, the insights gleaned from these studies, though valuable, are limited because of dealing only with the Australian context and are mostly confined to the nursing profession. To date, the research has not extensively explored students’ experience at a new remote branch campus in the Chinese context while concentrating on the sustainability challenges and what strategies were used to overcome them. This qualitative study will endeavor to do this.

4. Materials and Methods

4.1. Sampling and Recruitment

Domestic campuses are described here as different campuses of the same university located geographically distinctly but possessing the same legal personal qualification as the main campus [20]. This study examined the challenges and strategies of students enrolled at South China Normal University in Guangdong Province, China, and based at the ShanWei campus, which currently has approximately 1800 students majoring in education, finance, arts, and computer science. ShanWei is geographically part of the non-PRD region and has been ranked at the bottom of GDP annually, equivalent to Australia’s MM6 [41] region. Thus, the campus is geographically remote and economically underdeveloped, about a three-hour drive from the main campus, which officially opened in September 2021.

Sampling was conducted between 15 August and 5 September 2022. During this period, participants were recruited via a questionnaire (referring to Appendix A) invitation created by Wenjuanxing survey software, also called Chinese Qualtrics, which was distributed to all students at the branch campus. This questionnaire was the equivalent of an informed consent form, where the research content and the relevant rules were already presented. After reading the informed consent form, if interested in the program, students were taken to a formally completed questionnaire where their demographic, geographic information and acceptable interview times would be collected. If the student was uninterested, responses automatically ended.

4.2. Data Collection and Analysis

This qualitative research was influenced by interpretative phenomenological analysis [35], a qualitative psychological approach that examined how people understand their experiences [42]. Therefore, it was appropriate for this paper to apply interpretative phenomenological methods to explore the learning experiences of remote branch campus students. The data were collected from 5 September to 20 November 2022, adopting semi-structured interviews. Due to the fact that the sample campus was newly constructed in 2021, the researcher had limited outreach efforts as we were not acquainted with the students enrolled here. Thus, during the study process, the researcher judged the saturation of the theory [43] and added diversity to the sample by snowball sampling. All branch campus students who desired to participate in this research were interviewed, while the corresponding ones who refused to be further surveyed were excluded. Finally, 30 students who had embedded into their branch campus’s study for at least two months were involved (18 women and 12 men). The participants’ ages ranged from 19 to 25, and their majors are education, computer science, finance, and art. Given that the participants were from China mainland, the interview questions (referring to Appendix B) were presented in Chinese. When participants were invited and interviewed, the ethics application was presented to them simultaneously. The face-to-face interviews began with a broad question: “What would you consider studying on this campus to be like?” which allowed participants to discuss important factors and experiences mentioned throughout the interviews. The interviews lasted approximately 35 minutes on average, which were recorded and transcribed in the script.

Once completing each interview, two researchers transcribed the audio data into texts separately and then cross-checked to assure the consistency of the opinions. The validated contents were subsequently returned to the participants to examine whether their views were authentically captured. After the transcriptions were confirmed, the translation was conducted by two English experts who worked separately and then cross-evaluated each other to reach a final English version of the records.

Colaizzi’s method of data analysis [44] was employed to analyze the transcripts, which provides the researcher with precise, logical, and sequential steps that can be used in phenomenological research, increasing the reliability and dependability of the results obtained [45]. The qualitative data analysis software NVivo 12 (Version 12, 2018) was utilized to highlight relevant statements and identify themes.

4.3. Ethics

The South China Normal University Academic Ethics approved this study Committee (Reference Number: SCNU-VTE-2022-004). The ethics approval and informed consent form were supplied to the participants before delivering the questionnaire.

5. Results

Four major categories emerged from the data relating to challenges students confronted at a newly remote university campus and strategies to overcome those dilemmas. Participants recounted their experiences, concentrating on their learning and cultural activities and their on-/off-campus environments.

5.1. Challenges Related to Learning

5.1.1. Unfavorable Learning Atmosphere

Participants’ perceptions of the learning atmosphere which expressed as a state of shared learning or conducive to learning on campus were divided. Seven participants mentioned that campuses lacked an atmosphere conducive to student learning. For example, one of seven participants shared the following:

I do not like studying here; few students generally discuss studies with each other, and lecturers are absent after class. This caused me to feel like I was not studying at a college, and gradually I became demotivated (Participant 13).

Participants appeared to anticipate more peer-based learning activities. They preferred to be a part of a tiny cohort and to interact with others wherever and at all times. In addition, they compared the learning atmosphere at the branch campuses to the main campus and argued that branch campuses ought to provide the same learning atmosphere as the main campus. As noted by a Participant 6:

Students at the main campus could not only have access to their courses but also dabble in classes; learning exchanges are my favorite. Teachers compared the students on the main campus to those on the branch school and discovered that branch students are less dedicated to their studies than their counterparts on the main campus. Moreover, the small number of students and teachers and the large physical spacing generated a chilly and uninspiring learning atmosphere at an empty campus (Participant 6).

In contrast, the learning atmosphere at the new remote branch campus was positively accepted by other participants. One participant narrated that the branch campus, with a delightfully quiet learning environment, removed from the hustle and bustle, is perfect for studying (Participant 7). Owing to the branch campus’s remote location and dearth of surrounding entertainment, participants were allowed to concentrate solely on their studies. Participant 4 outlined the following experience:

Instead of participating in activities like most of my classmates, I choose to study. Although it was not what I expected of a university, I felt comfortable learning there. Life here was leisurely peace that I could focus on my professional studies without being distracted by other recreational activities, which provided me with a greater sense of satisfaction in my studies (Participant 4).

5.1.2. Insufficient Learning Resources

Studying at a newly remote university branch campus was particularly challenging. All participants were frustrated by the small number of teachers. Participants commented that branch teachers were multi-tasking, with one specialist teacher potentially also performing multiple administrative teacher roles. Surprisingly, some teachers were even teaching two completely distinct courses simultaneously, significantly reducing the sense of course rewards. Due to insufficient numbers, teachers were regularly obliged to undertake the course in which they were incompetent. Three participants’ statements are listed in

Table 1. Participants’ statements.

Participant	Experiences
5	I intended to improve my professional talents by participating in competitions, but I could not because I failed to locate a relevant mentor. The competition’s rules stipulated that if a team did not have a mentor, they were ineligible to participate. Since we did not have enough teachers at our branch campus, we were compelled to withdraw.
9	I am studying science education, and the teacher of our chemistry course is surprisingly the same person as the teacher of the C class. It seems unprofessional that these are two completely different courses of the exact nature, yet the same teacher is teaching them.
21	There is only one psychology teacher on our campus. Initially, this teacher was also working as a counselor at the campus, so I had to wait for days for a counseling appointment to be resolved, and that was with such a small number of people on this campus.

.

Some participants observed that branch campus’ teachers were young, in their first year of teaching, and had graduated from prestigious national and international universities. While these conditions may be competitive, participants perceived that these teachers had little pedagogical experience. Three participants wanted the university to recruit teachers with previous teaching experience rather than merely reading graduation resumes. Such was the case for Participant 10:

I find it perplexing to learn from teachers who are so well-educated but do not understand how to teach students. I appreciate their knowledge, but I would rather that they put themselves in students’ positions and consider how expertise is supposed to be received (Participant 10).

Furthermore, a few participants proposed that the branch campus should maintain the same faculty resources as their main campus.

Table 2. Participants’ statements.

Participant	Experiences
17	During the summer, I participated in a lab program at the University City Campus for one week, greatly benefiting my academics. Regardless of our restricted time, the teachers at the University City Campus were highly vivid and understandable, allowing us to accomplish our tasks efficiently. It was the most academically successful week for me, which had never happened on the branch campus.
22	While most of the teachers at the branch schools were fresh hires, some were deployed from the main campus, and these professors had to travel to both sites and had demanding schedules. However, these teachers had more pedagogical expertise, and I learned much from their classes.

displays the representative points from two participants.

In addition, the shortage of learning space at the branch campus presented another challenge for students. As the campus was being newly constructed, some learning spaces were unfinished. However, although interim learning spaces, such as the temporary library and dormitory self-study rooms, were provided, several participants reported that access to these places was inconvenient.

We did not have our library, and whenever I went to the temporary library, there were no spare seats. Moreover, I could not comprehend why reservations were constantly required for self-study rooms; consequently, when I attempted to find a place to do my assignments, I was forced into the canteen (Participant 23).

Participant 18 posted a similar narrative. She remarked that many classroom subjects involved experiments, but the campus lacked laboratories. Students were therefore ordered to participate in a week-long laboratory exercise on the main campus that covered the entire semester’s material. Although it was valuable to professional studies, conducting a semester’s worth of experiments in one week was very formal. Likewise, additional pedagogy-specialized participants expressed their concerns regarding the inability to engage in off-campus educational placements accessible to pedagogy-specialized students on the main campus, as some participants explained in

Table 3. Participants’ statements.

Participant	Experiences
11	While we struggled with the virtual absence of classrooms on campus, we also had difficulty participating in practical training outside of school. Because this campus was in a suburban part of an underdeveloped city with no other schools or commercial areas nearby, we could not capture a venue to practice our pedagogical skills, including cooperative vocational schools or tutorials.
30	Not getting a part-time job as a tutor was a significant obstacle for me here. On the one hand, it prevents me from supporting my family financially. On the other hand, I have lost an excellent opportunity to utilize my professional talents as a part-time tutor.

.

Inadequate learning resources were also represented in communication guidance, which encompasses mentorship and peer learning. Based on several participants from scientific and technology fields, mentorship was an excellent technique to offer personalized counseling to address confusion rapidly, whether it was learning or competition. Nonetheless, other humanities majors viewed mentorship as pointless. Participant 12 illustrated this:

I was slightly uncomfortable when the so-called mentors gathered us for sharing meetings because it was a complete waste of time. The mentors met with us roughly once a month; at each seminar, it was just us sharing, and the mentors placed minimal emphasis on delivering thought-provoking suggestions. Indeed, he was often absent from school; I had forgotten about mentorship (Participant 12).

In addition to the teachers, the participants did not experience peer support in their academic studies, which was incredibly discouraging for first-year university students. Participant 1’s experience was an example:

I have been in college for two months, yet I am still overwhelmed. I hoped that analogous to the main campus; there would be a peer group where older siblings could convey their personal experiences with us so that I would have a higher sense of direction for my future studies. Unfortunately, most students on this new campus mirrored my bewilderment as a freshman (Participant 1).

5.2. Challenges Related to Environment

5.2.1. Campus Environment

The campus environment mentioned here primarily means the campus infrastructure, which is inclined to mean “hardware”. Participants reported their unique experiences and chances due to their decision to study at a newly remote campus. Positive perceptions included being able to accomplish their aspirations of staying in new and secure accommodation, as well as being able to take classes in modern rooms; and negative perceptions comprised not the experience being what you would imagine from a university and a perceived devoid of the ‘campus sensation’.

The campus environment gave me the impression that I was at a high school rather than a university, as it is small and encircled by hills, farmland, and roads. I envisioned a university in town with pleasant vistas, if not in a metropolitan region, but this is far away (Participant 26).

Analogously, participants commented on how geographical isolation affected their engagement in university, citing emotions of being “forgotten by the main campus”. The participant stated that although numerous university support services were delivered from the main campus, the modes of access to these services were not optimal. At the branch campus, it was more difficult to communicate with the main campus, and the offline connectivity consisted of a school bus that traveled back and forth once a week and had to be requested (Participant 14).

5.2.2. Urban Environment

Transportation difficulties were commonly quoted as an impediment to city interaction, as issues with waiting for the bus or taking a taxi occurred intermittently.

I have never encountered a city where buses did not pick up and drop off at their stops; there was no audio notification of arrival. Therefore, it was susceptible to overstay, and waiting for the bus was tedious since the driver did not adhere to the regular schedule. Besides, the campus was so remote that I could hardly get a taxi, which meant my travel plans had to be canceled (Participant 2).

Three participants described this city as chaotic and uncreative. They expounded on this in

Table 4. Participants’ statements.

Participant	Experiences
4	You probably could not imagine it when I went to the city center for breakfast at 8 a.m. and discovered that all restaurants were shuttered and only KFC could serve me breakfast. I just noticed that a few establishments were progressively opening at 11 p.m. This reflected the city’s lethargic pace, paucity of inspiration, and failure to encourage me to be competitive.
8	Shortly after our arrival, my roommate and I went on a city tour to learn more about Shanwei. It turned out to be far worse than anticipated. We were all concerned about spending the next four years here at that time. The half-hour wait for the bus, the disorderly parking of vehicles, and the high costs were all aggravating.
16	The developed region of Shanwei is not in the city center near our campus but in Haifeng County, which is further distant from the college. As a result, in the city’s core district, there are fewer young people and more elderly and children, implying a loss of vibrancy in the city. In addition, the city has few places for university students to rest or consume, such as the municipal library, which appears to be absent.

.

Moreover, while almost all participants indicated that they would not be employed locally after graduation, one participant expressed a desire to remain in the region for future jobs. For instance, Participant 3 raised employment concerns, and Participant 27 identified potential employment locations near the branch campus (referring to

Table 5. Participants’ statements.

Participant	Experiences
3	This city is only where I will finish my four years of education; I will not work here after graduation. On the one hand, there are no companies that match my major; hence my options are limited. There are no high-tech industries and just one slightly larger electronics factory. Consequently, gaining desirable employment in this city is problematic. Meanwhile, because the economies are underdeveloped, the salary levels fall short of my expectations.
27	I regard the Shenzhen-Shanwei Cooperation Zone, located approximately 40 km from our campus, as suitable for my future work. There are several high-tech industrial parks in the vicinity, and my principal, big data, aligns well with my intended future path. Although the urban development of Shanwei is inadequate at present, I believe it has promise.

).

5.3. Challenges Related to Culture

5.3.1. Campus Culture

Our findings revealed that new remote branch campuses struggled with monotonous campus culture. Some participants claimed that most students there were from Guangdong Province, preventing them from experiencing the region’s diversity and narrowing their circle of friends.

Although the students did not all originate from the same city, we were all from Guangdong Province and possessed the same cultural background. This could generate a sense of closeness when we get together, but I would rather be able to expose individuals from various geographies and cultures; isn’t that what made college so appealing (Participant 13)?

Over half of the participants were also troubled by the cultural disparities between the main and branch campuses. Two participants suggested that the branch campus contained more scenery that symbolized the university’s cultural heritage, which would strengthen students’ sense of campus belonging (referring to

Table 6. Participants’ statements.

Participant	Experiences
20	South China Normal University’s cultural spirit was poorly exhibited on this branch campus. I would never believe I was studying on the South China Normal University campus if not for the stone with the university’s name etched at the entrance. The main campus had a rich cultural history and landscapes comparable to the branch campus. For instance, the Confucius monument, the school emblem, and the school motto stone could be erected.
28	I visited South China Normal University’s main campus twice, maybe due to the papyrus growing by the roadside or the old buildings, which revealed the university’s distinctive culture. My branch campus, meanwhile, was devoid of any cultural implications and consisted of a plain assortment of buildings.

).

Such cultural imbalance was also apparent in campus activities. As Participant 19 stated:

As a student at a branch campus, I have missed out on numerous opportunities. I was motivated to sign up for the school sports day until I realized that only the main campus’ students could compete. Besides that, some other campus cultural activities, such as speeches, debates, and librarian culture video shoots, excluded branch campus’ students, leaving me to question if the school had forgotten about us (Participant 19).

5.3.2. Community Culture

This branch campus is situated on the city’s outskirts, far from the central metropolitan culture, and is primarily bordered by industrial, farming, and wilderness. With a homogeneous environment comes a homogeneous culture, and students’ cultural behavior could only develop within this narrow scope; therefore, it is challenging for them to integrate effectively with the urban culture. According to the interviews, even though Shanwei is a historical and cultural city, the local community’s culture has not been successfully blended into the branch campus, resulting in a barren cultural experience for participants.

The primary cultural display of Shanwei is in Haifeng, which is remote from our branch campus and typically hard to access. During the previous semester, the class collaborated with the community to organize weekly field trips to the Red Revolutionary Base in Shanwei. However, the duration of the project was three weeks. There could be an absence of interaction between the university and the community, making it impossible to experience the specific local culture. For instance, the students’ summer social practice site was commonly not Shanwei because students were incapable of connecting with the local community (Participant 5).

5.4. Strategies

From the interviews, the participants’ primary strategy for overcoming the challenges of the new remote branch campus was to engage in self-mindedness and behavioral adjustment instead of accessing support from the college. For example, when confronted with poor teaching quality and quantity at the branch campus, participants preferred to seek self-learning via the internet.

It bothered me that the course was less fulfilling, yet, I had to put forth the effort to study. I have advised the teaching staff that I welcome some experienced teachers from the main campus to teach at the branch campus. However, my proposal was readily accepted but not executed, which taught me that soliciting support was futile and that I had to adapt myself (Participant 14).

Participants appeared disempowered by the university’s feedback system, and there was a prevalent perception that the branch campus recruited students who performed less well than students at the main campus. Participant 7 had a similar experience:

I suffered many issues at the branch campus but never sought support from the school administration. I was an average student, comparable to a speck of dust, and my disappointments were undoubtedly not noticed. It was better to just go with the flow. I would not be here if I had performed well on my tests; I was resigned to my fate (Participant 7).

It is worth mentioning that when we interviewed respondents about the strategies they typically employed to overcome challenges, almost all replied, “self-adjustment,” and that was the only strategy. They were powerless to deal with the challenges posed by remote branch campuses. They unanimously believed they were a minimal presence in the context of the current institutional system and tended to accept the status quo rather than trying to solve difficulties. This situation has contributed to the limited strategies.

6. Discussion

This study aimed to explore students’ experiences studying in China’s new remote branch campuses, concentrating primarily on describing the challenges and strategies students adopt. The results showed that while students studying at a new remote branch campus in China enjoyed some unique benefits, they also experienced various learning, environmental, and cultural-related challenges. Furthermore, the study revealed that students tended to adopt an attitude of forced adjustment to overcome challenges, with self-adjustment being their most common strategy. Sustainability can be viewed from a social, economic, and environmental perspective [46] and from the standpoint of improving people’s quality of living [47,48]. Students at remote campuses experience challenges that will compromise their learning and quality of life, which is detrimental to their sustainability.

In the current study, students reported different perceptions of the learning atmosphere at the new remote branch campus, a result not found in previous studies. Whereas some students perceived the branch campus as having a quiet and focused learning atmosphere due to its remoteness, other students perceived the negative impact of remoteness on the learning atmosphere in that it was empty and sparsely populated, making it challenging to produce an atmosphere for discussion. An unfavorable learning atmosphere will lead to low academic performance and consequently undermine students’ sustainable development [49]. Therefore, it is recommended that school administrators and other stakeholders should emphasize the development of a diverse campus atmosphere and maintain the secluded atmosphere of remote branch campuses by providing appropriate facilities for group discussions, regular small group study salons, study corners, and other learning support to create a positive and intense learning atmosphere and increase students’ motivation to learn. Moreover, this study confirmed previous research that students in new remote branch campuses are challenged by a lack of teachers, study space, and peer mentoring [37,38,39,50,51]. Remote branch campuses often struggle to hire teachers [52], especially teachers with strong teaching credentials [50]. The shortage, generalism, and youthful nature of teachers at branch campuses [52] contribute to low levels of academic achievement among students [20]. Research has shown that the impact of teachers’ professional capacity on student development is crucially decisive [53]. Accordingly, when recruiting teachers for branch campuses, consideration should be given to teachers’ pedagogical experience, and financial incentives and other benefits should be granted to experienced teachers to optimize the teaching team. In addition to the challenges of receiving practical guidance from teachers, students at branch campuses also suffer from a ‘grade gap’, with no mentors to share their experiences. Students agreed that siblings in the same field of study might give them some practical advice and direction for their studies [54], which could be provided by inviting outstanding siblings to share their experiences through online and offline lectures [55]. Previous research has shown that peer mentoring can benefit students, particularly those in their first year of university, as they work through the confusion period [56].

This research revealed that students at the new remote branch campuses commonly reflected a sense of ‘not being at university’, ‘being forgotten’, and ‘coming here because they did badly in their exams’, highlighting the importance of integration at university [38]. These results are consistent with the findings of Hays et al. [38] that branch campus students do not feel like they reside in a university institution, owing to the sterile environment and remote campus location. This conclusion can be explained by the fact that the branch campus environment was not the same as the students’ envisioned university, which was rich and colorful, whereas the branch campus was monotonous and solitary. Similarly, the distance between the main and branch campuses caused a range of connection and interaction problems [50], which increased students’ feelings of isolation as they felt they were a forgotten group by the main campus. Participants believed that students admitted to the branch campus were low achievers and had no choice but to attend the branch campus. These observations are similar to the Allison and Eversole study [57], where remote branch campuses appeared to have lower status than metropolitan universities and were perceived as a second choice by students and academic staff. The United Nations has proposed 17 sustainable development goals, and reducing inequality is one of them [58]. However, the different experiences of students reflect that educational equity apparently occurred between the main campus and remote branch campuses, which will hinder students’ sustainable development and requires additional initiatives to avoid the unfairness. These discoveries can assist school administrators in understanding the significance of fostering a sense of belonging among students and for relevant stakeholders to take steps to reduce students’ feelings of isolation. Organizing orientation weeks for students [59] and providing a visible and accessible ongoing academic support program [60] have been shown to be vital in increasing students’ sense of belonging and reducing attrition. Furthermore, this study failed to demonstrate that students with a background of study or placement in remote areas are more inclined to work in remote regions, despite the other study conducted [31]. Most students in this study explicitly stated that they would not stay in remote areas after graduation because the economy and facilities in the area did not cater to their needs and even posed some challenges (e.g., difficulties in finding part-time jobs off-campus, no suitable internship companies, and confusing transport systems). Nevertheless, these are also challenges for regional development. Because a remote and economically disadvantaged area rarely has a university [57] and constantly experiences recruitment problems [61], if the only university in the area is incapable of retaining a quality workforce for economic development, then the area’s sustainable development will be hampered.

Another valuable finding was that students at remote branch campuses endured a monocultural setting. In general, campus culture implicitly influences students and plays an essential role in developing positive academic attitudes [62]. However, in the current multi-campus context, the campus culture’s historical, holistic, and functional nature is being challenged to varying degrees, and branch-campus students are the bearers of these challenges [63]. The new campus may boast magnificent buildings and dorms, cutting-edge equipment, and perfectly functioning sports facilities, but it is more of a façade than a cultural core. In addition, the new remote branch campuses are usually situated in suburban locations [51] far from the city’s cultural center, surrounded by roads and fields, rendering it difficult for students to interact with the city’s core culture. This study also indicated the inequality of cultural experiences between branch campus and main campus students, which supported previous research [38]. The spatial distance of multi-campus universities presented a more significant challenge in arranging campus-wide cultural events, increasing the cost of organizing activities on the one hand, and limiting them in terms of content and format on the other hand [64]. Thus, students are frequently excluded from the main campus activities, which leads to a sense of imbalance in the cultural experience. A rich, harmonious campus culture amounts to silent education [65]. Interacting with the surrounding and establishing cultural networks will contribute to student’s success and ensure their sustainable development. In this regard, there are different suggestions for different actors. Firstly, policymakers and relevant stakeholders should pay attention to the planning of new campus construction so that some humanistic landscapes, such as portraits and art sculptures, which reflect the iconic characteristics of the university, can be replicated in the new campus to enhance the cultural atmosphere of the campus. Secondly, the university’s publicity department should take initiatives to promote and publicize the campus culture, such as setting up a branch of the university history museum to enable students to understand the university’s history and selecting role models across the campus to showcase their style on tour. Finally, the community and the campus can sign long-term cultural exchange programs to provide a platform for students to be exposed to the city’s culture.

Lastly, the study identified a propensity for branch campus students to adjust their mindset and behavior passively in response to encountered challenges rather than seeking support. This result contradicts the findings of Hays et al. [38], who concluded that students at branch campuses had closer ties with faculty and received more frequent support from school employees, such as professional academic camps. However, the participants in this study claimed that they could not obtain effective solutions to their difficulties after interacting with the relevant school authorities. Therefore, rather than wasting time seeking support, students believed they could address the problems by implementing personal improvements. For instance, students study independently via online videos when confronted with a shared sense of incentive in classes. In conclusion, while reviewing the techniques participants employed to tackle the obstacles posed by branch campuses, participants generally expressed a negative attitude, thinking they would simply accept the situation and move on.

7. Conclusions

This study used an interpretive phenomenological methodology to examine the experiences of students enrolled in new remote campuses in the context of higher education expansion, concentrating on the challenges and strategies students encounter in their self-sustainable development. The result showed that students at new remote campuses enjoy the new infrastructure of the new campuses but also confront a variety of learning, environmental, and cultural challenges that impact their sustainability. The findings also demonstrated that most branch campus students are self-adjusting and feel helpless when facing challenges. Therefore, the study also provides insights into how to offer branch campus students more pedagogically experienced teachers and accessible learning spaces they require, reduce their sense of helplessness, enhance their learning experience with the remote branch campus, and ultimately contribute to their sustainable development by developing a more diverse campus learning atmosphere and providing equitable cultural experiences. These empirical results enrich the current literature on challenges and strategies related to student sustainability by highlighting the branch campus experiences of students in the Chinese context. However, the research shared in this paper has limitations. First, results are situated within one remote branch campus that only enrolled about 1800 students. Further research is needed that includes enlarging the sample size and increasing diversity to include more campuses, to see if the findings are replicated when participants come from different remote branch campuses. Measures were another limitation. Qualitative data provided insightful glimpses into students’ understandings of self-sustainability but were reliant on student self-report, which has potential limitations, such as exaggerating the extent of challenges as to attract the stakeholders’ attention and seek resource support. Therefore, future work should refer to other data, such as campus infrastructure reports, to holistically evaluate the gap between students’ requirements in learning and life and campus’ facilities and environment.