Official Statement on the University of Arizona's China Microcampuses Shutdown

Below is our union's official statement on the University of Arizona's shutdown of it's China microcampuses.

Approved by the UCWAZ CWA Local 7065 Executive Committee and released publicly on Thursday, October 2nd 2025.

United Campus Workers Arizona (CWA local 7065) calls on the University of Arizona to deliver on its promises to students, faculty, and staff at the satellite undergraduate-degree programs in China.

On Monday, September 3, UA President Suresh Garimella sent out a campus-wide email celebrating the university’s new Strategic Imperatives: “Delivering on Our Promise,” which proclaims “student success as our North Star.”

Two weeks later, on September 17, the University of Arizona announced to the microcampuses in China that all academic programs and contracts were shut down “immediately,” declaring that these students are not included in their promise of “success for every student.” 

The University of Arizona has dismantled its successful partnerships with undergraduate, instructional programs in China in response to a contested congressional report. While this congressional report is not a federal mandate to sever ties with Chinese academic programs, the UA responded as if it were and shuttered all four of their Chinese partnerships, going above and beyond what the report urged. Inside Higher Ed reports that 12 U.S. institutions were named specifically, but it is unclear if any of the other 11 reacted with such an immediate and sweeping closure of their partnerships. 

Instead of supporting Chinese students, the University of Arizona simply gave in to fear. It abandoned 2,200 students who were promised and who paid for the opportunity to earn a degree from the UA. According to students in the UA-Ocean University of China Joint Law Program, the university’s subsequent proposals for students to transfer to another online program or to apply for a visa to study in the United States would increase each student's costs by anywhere from $40,000 to $100,000 to obtain a UA degree, which is unreasonable and unfair. The university's action sends these students a poor message about the United States and adds to the disharmony between our nation and theirs.

In its haste to abandon thousands of students, the UA has broken its promise to the faculty and staff who worked most closely with the students. The UA reports that 35 faculty and 4 staff were “impacted” by this decision. The impacted faculty include instructors who just relocated to Tucson in August, at the university’s request. One month later, the UA revoked their original appointments, and they now face unemployment in January.

Far from delivering on its promises, once again, the UA has put the consequences of its choices on the backs of students, staff, and teaching faculty.

We call on the University of Arizona to:

• Ensure a practical path for the 2,200 students to earn the degree they were promised
• Honor the original employment offer for all faculty and staff working with microcampuses in China
• Create a clear and ethical policy that offers a legally binding, timely contract, and a publicly stated, humane process for non-renewals

In solidarity, 

Your Union, United Campus Workers of Arizona CWA Local 7065

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