This paper examines the role of academics at the level of unit co-ordinators, who are responsible for delivery of units in multi-campus universities. It is based on the author’s experience as a non-tenured contract teacher over an eight year period (2004-2012) in three different multi-campus universities with branches in China and in Australia. By reflecting in- and on-practice (Schön, 1983), the author aims to highlight the difficult challenges for unit co-ordinators in relation to defining and judging consistency of standards, equivalence and quality assurance of delivery of units across more than one campus. It is argued that a collaborative partnership strategy based on knowledge exchange rather than knowledge transfer is essential to create trust and build good relationships for desired outcomes in both local and international contexts for multi- campus universities.