Spatial divided campus: divided spatial subculture?

ABSTRACT

The culture of the higher education institution should influence the planning and positioning of that institution. However, differences in subcultures between main campuses and their satellite campuses should also be considered. The identified differences underline how radical these strategic positing differences might be on campus communities. Qualitative interviews with students from and trends that emerged from enrolment and completion statistics from the relevant institutional research office provided the data. Differences in the subcultures indicated a potentially dramatic influence in the strategic planning and positioning of the institution among the influence of internationalization, globalization, commodification and massification. Higher education leaders are encouraged to practice knowledge-based planning and positioning, by considering the difference in subcultures in order to capitalize on the strength of their diversity. The ability to value diverse perspectives allows the flourishing of separate and unique subcultures, while contributing to the achievement of a larger purpose.

KEYWORDS:

• Satellite campus
• subculture
• campus community
• higher education institution
• South Africa
• strategic positioning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Emmie Smit http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8094-7207

Verna Nel http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7446-5669