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Universities in China and the United States have been engaged in cross-border education through partnerships establishing international branch campuses (IBCs). This qualitative study used Moustakas's (1994) strategy of inquiry as a framework and explored Western faculty members' cross-border lived experiences at IBCs in China. IBCs in this study were coestablished by American universities and their Chinese partners. The central research question that guided this study asked about the lived experiences of Western faculty members at IBCs in China. This study purposefully selected 14 participants and data were collected through semistructured, one-on-one, face-to-face interviews. Moustakas's (1994) seven-level method of analysis involving a process of meaning reduction was followed. The essence of the participants' lived experiences described two components: value and adjustment. Findings from this study are valuable for leaders to rethink how to better support Western faculty in this joint higher education venture.

Cross-border higher education co-delivered by Chinese and American universities has grown in recent decades. The study focuses on six International Branch Campuses (IBCs) in China, a joint venture between American universities and their Chinese partners. Fourteen Western faculty members who have worked at IBCs were interviewed face-to-face on a one-on-one basis. Three themes were identified in the results: (1) concerns about decision-making, (2) faculty-administrator relationships, and (3) a lack of shared understanding. Implications were provided to leaders from the Chinese partner universities and the home campuses.

This article consists of four integral parts of a complex process leading to successful implementation of international study tours. Our role as faculty members, in the development of these study tours, began with the proactive, reflective practice of examining our cultural experiences, perceptions, and understandings of our cultural knowledge, dispositions, and skills. Through these tours, educators from other countries and cultures come to The University of Montana and experience a collaboration of ideas and acquire a better understanding of education in the United States. To be successful these study tours need to go beyond content and include a variety of less tangible aspects ranging from the Initial Request for Proposals to the culminating activities. These study tours have led to the empowerment of educational leaders becoming instruments of positive change in their homeland. In turn, the relationships developed have transformed the faculty presenters and the institution in ways that are both measurable and immeasurable. Human relationships based on mutual respect and dignity underlie the success of educational tours.