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International Students Offer Opportunity for Career Colleges to Grow, Expand

International Students Offer Opportunity for Career Colleges to Grow, Expand

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Written from an interview with Zhanjun Yang, Vice Chancellor of International Affairs, Keiser University

With unique qualities like career-focused education and accreditation standards, U.S. career colleges have a lot to offer international students, creating an opportunity for colleges looking either to recruit more international students, expand their operations overseas or both.

Zhanjun Yang, vice chancellor of international affairs for Keiser University, said international student enrollment data shows that programs offered by the career college sector are attractive to international students and that the sector is stronger in programs that are likely to attract international students, such as business and management, engineering, mathematics and computer science.

“Career colleges offer a quality education while also equipping students with in-demand skill sets that directly translate into the workplace,” he said. “The American brand represents quality and standard that are in need.”

In general, international students hope to find jobs when they return to their home country, thanks to the knowledge, skills and work experiences they gained while in America, Yang said. They also wish to learn about the U.S. as a whole.

Career colleges in the United States focus on job trends in their communities, states and nation, making them an important force for the U.S. economy. “This focus enables U.S. career colleges to develop tailor-made courses and programs to meet employment demands and opportunities,” Yang said.

In addition, the U.S. is the only country in the world to implement an accrediting system where institutions of higher education voluntarily submit themselves to standards and best practices of other peer institutions. “Our accreditation system not only serves to bring into line academic standards, but it also enables colleges to share effective practices for improvement,” he said. “Most importantly, our system allows career colleges, to a greater degree, to decide which programs should be available to students.”

In many other countries, the government sets the standards and guidelines that their institutions must meet in order to be recognized or receive government funding, Yang said. “Government-based accreditation often dictates to the institutions what programs can be offered, and in some instances, how many students an institution is allowed to enroll.”

Most developing nations lack professionals with specific skills to fill the job demand in a sector, Yang said. “China’s allied health sector, for example, has the most capable doctors, surgeons and state-of-the-art medical facilities, but they lack quality nurses,” he said.

China’s central government recognizes that its population is growing older and it has already invested a sizable amount of the nation’s resources into developing an industry for its aging population. This includes building nursing homes, retirement housing communities with medical facilities, and community-based clinics.

In addition, career colleges in China, both public and private, are being directed to offer programs in health service management, elderly care, physical therapy, dietetics and nutrition, health fitness and nursing. That creates an opportunity for the U.S. career college sector, Yang said.

“The Chinese career colleges will have to develop curriculums to meet the demands of the country, but these institutions in China lack the standards instituted by many institutions,” Yang said. “Throughout China’s 30-plus years of economic reform and development, the nation has been looking outward and bringing in expertise; this is also true for the education sector. The U.S. accreditation system established standards and best practices, which are widely viewed as the gold standard.”

Yang said that the career college sector could work with Chinese career institutions by co-developing curriculum that meets the needs of Chinese career colleges andInternational Students also reflects the standards of the U.S. accrediting bodies. “The specific collaboration can use the commonly known 1+2 or 2+1 models, where a U.S. college and its Chinese partner can jointly offer the U.S. institution’s curriculum, students will study in China for a year or two, and then transfer their credits to the U.S. campus to complete their degrees. That gives them the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the U.S. so they can return home with not just the education, but also with some practical experience in their chosen fields.”

Besides the curriculum, the key is to bring “standards,” just as any U.S. university would implement if they were in the States, he said.

For colleges looking to work with China, Yang said the best strategy is to develop a partnership with a Chinese institution. In turn, that Chinese institution will need to obtain government approval for such a partnership.

According to an article by Harry Handley on the ChinaBriefing.com website, entry into the Chinese higher education industry is still restricted. Foreign institutions still need a Chinese partner whose stake and administration comprise over half in the venture.

The ChinaBriefing.com article states:

There are three main methods of establishing a Sino-foreign joint institution with increasing levels of integration and commitment. They include joint education programs, joint institutions established without legal person status and joint institutions with legal entity status. Both the provincial education department and the Ministry of Education must approve the three partnerships before a Chinese-Foreign Cooperative Education License can be issued.

1. Joint education programs

As the least capital intensive and integrated entry method, a joint education program involves the foreign university providing teaching resources and accreditation materials to the Chinese partner in order to offer a joint course. Examples include the London Business School master’s program offered at Fudan University in Shanghai and the joint MBA offered by Cornell and Tsinghua University in Beijing.

While this method may be the quickest and least costly way to enter the Chinese higher education market, it affords the least exposure to the foreign partner.

2. Joint institutions established without legal person status

Under this “campus on campus” method, foreign universities establish joint institutions with a local partner without creating a new legal entity. This usually involves the foreign partner attaching their institution to an existing campus of the Chinese university.

The Chinese university is responsible for signing all legally binding agreements on the joint institution’s behalf. The “campus on campus” method requires a sizable capital investment, and the legal powers of the foreign university are significantly limited. Therefore, partner choice is especially important, according to the ChinaBriefing.com article.

3. Joint institutions with legal entity status

The most integrated and capital-intensive entry model requires establishing a separate legal entity for the joint institution, allowing the new joint venture to sign legally binding agreements in its own right. Thus, it gives the foreign partner more legal power than the other methods.

Creating a legal entity also gives the joint institution greater autonomy over its academic content. However, the new entity must have a Chinese president and a Chinese-majority board, restricting the influence of the overseas university, the ChinaBriefing.com article stated.

There are currently eight joint institutions with legal entity status in China, including UNNC, Wenzhou-Kean University, New York University Shanghai and Xi’an Jiao Tong Liverpool University.

International StudentsYang said the best way for U.S. career schools to attract international students is to partner with an overseas institution. “While this may not show results in the short term, it will allow you to establish yourself in a new market and set up the foundations for a future pipeline of students,” he said. However, it is important to find a partner who shares your particular mission and has an established and positive reputation in their local community, he added.

“Identify the needs of the partner institution and work collaboratively to develop a program to meet those needs,” Yang said. Many times this is a win-win situation, he added, because it allows the partner institution to recruit a new group of students previously not available to them because they are now offering a program with a U.S. university. It also allows the U.S. institution access to an otherwise closed market to attract students seeking to come to the United States for the full four years.

The timing is right. Yang said that China is converting 10 percent of its universities to “career-focused” schools because of slower economic growth.

China had 3,200 four-year degree-granting institutions in 2013, as well as 1,266 degree-granting, postsecondary level career colleges, according to a China Ministry of Education report. Its most popular career education programs are culinary arts, allied health, automotive and mechanical engineering.

Its academic curriculum and degree programs are evaluated and approved by China’s Ministry of Education, with implementation and review carried out at the provincial level. The national and provincial MOE determines which college or university can offer what programs and how many students each school can enroll each year, Yang said. This system is also used to determine government subsidies. For example, students pay roughly one-third of the cost of education, while the government will pay the institution two-thirds of the cost.

The percentage of Chinese students receiving financial aid is minimal, less than 0.1 percent. “U.S. and China joint programs typically won’t deal with financial aid numbers,” Yang said. Any Sino-Foreign joint programs will need provincial level and central government level approvals. “This International Studentsmeans any degree program offered in China enrolls the so-called ‘within quota’ students or those who passed the national college entry exam, namely, the gaokao exam,” he said. “Within quota” students will receive government subsidies, paid directly to the college and/or the joint program. However, once the student leaves China to come to the U.S., then the government subsidy ends, he added.

All Chinese high school graduates who plan to continue their education, either at a public or private institution, including a traditional four-year degree granting institution or a three-year career college, will take the gaokao exam. Test scores of the national college entrance exam will be used to determine which college students can attend. For those who wish to attend career colleges, test scores are equally important because of the quota system, Yang explained.

Its current system ensures that Chinese colleges have well-equipped facilities in good condition. That was obvious when Yang visited China’s largest career college, Xinhua Career Education Group. It has programs that range from six months to three years, campuses throughout all of China’s provinces, and more than 220,000 students enrolled in its three colleges: College of Wantong Automotive, Xinhua College of e-Commerce and Graphic Design, and School of New Orient Culinary Arts.

“Xinhua’s education facilities and teaching equipment are state-of-the-art, better than most state-run universities, which typically receive abundant government resources,” Yang said. “Its success is largely attributed to its ability to recruit both ‘within quota’ and ‘out of quota’ students. The ‘out of quota’ students make up 80 percent of its student population. These students don’t receive government education cost subsidies, and pay more than the ‘within quota’ students for tuition.”

Xinhua Group also offers a nationwide job placement service; its students’ success, in turn, has helped to establish the Group’s reputation as the leader in the sector, he said.

Yang said international students generally select U.S. colleges and universities based on such things as rankings, collaborative programs, exchange programs, overseas campus and learning centers, and more.

International StudentsWhile it’s possible to use international recruiters to attract international students to your university, Yang stressed that they should be properly vetted before signing any type of agreement. “There are accrediting bodies for agents in the United States such as the American International Recruitment Council,” he said. “Recruiters must meet certain standards to gain this accreditation, and it should give your institution some comfort knowing that agents you work with are representing your institution with professional and academic integrity.”

It is clear that a policy shift toward higher education in the international market is now providing opportunities for U.S. career colleges. Besides China increasing its number of career-focused colleges by 10 percent, India is actively seeking U.S.-India collaboration in the STEM fields, with a goal of developing a technologically based economy, Yang said. There are also opportunities in Central and South American in language and business, while the Middle East offers government scholarship programs.

“Foreign institutions like to work with U.S. institutions because our sector is efficient and results-driven,” he said. “Plus our sector offers in-demand programs and focuses on learning outcomes.”


Zhanjun Yang

MR. ZHANJUN YANG joined Keiser University in 2008 where he serves as Vice Chancellor of International Affairs. Before joining Keiser University, Mr. Yang previously worked in Public Relations, Global Marketing Development, and business development. He also taught International Business and Corporate Finance in various institutions in South Florida.

Currently, Mr. Yang has led various global initiatives, including the development of student and faculty exchange programs, the establishment of campuses and study centers in Asia, Europe, Central and South America.

Mr. Yang’s goal is to continue Keiser University’s mission of reaching out to the global community. He believes globalization is the future of education and envisions that one day a student will have the opportunity to start their studies at one continent and finish in another, all these can be done under one institution.


Contact Information: Zhanjun Yang // Vice Chancellor of International Affairs // Keiser University // 954-776-4476 // zyang@keiseruniversity.edu

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