A Dutch university has scrapped plans to offer full degrees on a new campus in China following a row in the Netherlands about academic freedom and high costs.
The University of Groningen said on 29 January that it had decided not to seek approval from the Dutch minister of education, culture and science as there was “insufficient support” from the university council.
In 2015, the university announced plans to create a joint campus in Yantai, a port city south-east of Beijing, with China Agricultural University, offering degrees at undergraduate, master’s and PhD level. They hoped to reach 3,000 students within three years of opening.
On its website, Groningen says that a “large part” of the new campus has “already been developed”.