Education Industry Overview
In an increasingly globalized world, and as the need for Chinese companies to remain competitive by maintaining professional training continues, the number of Chinese students and employees studying overseas has grown dramatically. Recent data indicates that U.S. colleges and universities still remain the preferred overseas destination for those students. Short-term training programs or workshops in specialized fields as well as business education are particularly sought after. U.S. educational organizations can also sell teaching materials and equipment, convey the latest methodologies and case studies, lend or exchange faculty, and provide educational consulting services.
In 2005, almost 60% of the 110,000 Chinese students studying abroad, or approximately 63,000 students, chose the United States as their destination. Compared to the mid-1980’s, when only 4,900 students enrolled overseas, the remarkable rise in Chinese students studying abroad becomes apparent. During the 2004-05 school year, Chinese students accounted for 11% of all international students enrolled in the U.S., becoming the second largest group of foreign students in the country.
The 1.2% rise for Chinese student enrollment in the U.S. during the 2004-2005 academic year is even more impressive when one considerers the decline in recent years of Chinese student’s enrollment in other English-speaking countries, such as Britain and Australia. The desire for Chinese students to enroll in U.S. institutions is still high, and as family’s disposable incomes continue to rise in China and more families become financially able to send their children abroad to be educated, the student’s desires are increasingly possible. The Chinese government also plans to increase spending on education dramatically to meet China’s education needs for the new century. Chinese professionals are also attending vocational classes and using e-learning to upgrade their skills to increase their earning power.
Many experts believe that e-learning is ideal for China because it solves much of China’s education needs. With its limited education resources, China can use long distance learning to educate its 200 million elementary and high school students. To that end, in October 2000 China’s Ministry of Education launched the “All Schools Connected” project, which will equip all of China’s 550,871 K-12 schools with e-learning systems by 2010. The Ministry also encouraged 67 top universities to offer e-learning degrees to produce more talent for the country’s burgeoning economy. The nation’s very best high schools can also create Internet schools to train teachers and tutor students in far-flung regions. Private companies also heeded the e-learning call, many now offer vocational training and certification exam preparation online. The export opportunities for U.S. firms on China’s e-learning market are K-12 content provider, Ministry staff training and foreign certification training.
Always an important aspect of Chinese society, education has now become the 2nd largest cost after food for Chinese urban families, with an increasing number of middle-class families borrowing money to finance the overseas education of their only child, an international degree often ensuring significant advantages in China’s increasingly competitive marketplace. In recent years, the opportunity to pursue a foreign-style education in China across many disciplines have also increased due to the extraordinary growth of Sino-Foreign joint schools and degree-granting programs. Many of the programs are U.S. MBA programs. Presently, the U.S. leads the market in providing joint venture MBA and EMBA programs in China, but competition from European, Canadian and Australian organizations is increasing.
U.S. institutions will have to remain active in the promotion of American education in China, as competition for Chinese students from other English-speaking countries increases and as the expansion of the domestic education market in China creates an increasing number of opportunities for students to pursue higher education without leaving China. With this is mind, University admissions officers should be aware of and counsel prospective students on visa procedures affecting travel to the United States. Information on visa procedures and a more in depth analysis of China’s overseas study market can be found in the Market Research Report link found below.
Market Research Reports
China: 2006 Overseas Study Market Report
Market for Chinese Student Recruitment
Management Education Market in Eastern China
Upcoming Events
The ELS American Education Center
English Language Services Inc. (ELS) was established in 1961 in Washington D.C. by Dr. Edwin Cornelius, the author of "English 900". Since then, ELS has taught over 2 million students from more than 140 countries. With over 45 ELS center locations, 40 of which are located on American university campuses, ELS is today the largest campus-based academic English program in the world. Over 600 U.S. universities accept ELS Level 112 instead of the TOEFL ® as fulfillment of their English language requirements. ELS students can apply for and receive conditional admission to these partner universities before leaving home.
The new ELS American Education Center in Shanghai provides students preparing for a U.S. higher education with weekday, weeknight and weekend courses in academic English and university study skills. Students may complete Levels 1 to 9 of the ELS University Preparation Program before transferring to any U.S. ELS center with guaranteed level transfer to complete their program, before matriculating to university. Conveniently located on Anfu Road, ELS offers a unique U.S. style "mini campus", complete with U.S. higher education library, auditorium, language technology center and private garden.
For more details please view ELS website: http://www.els-aec.com
U.S. Commercial Service Contacts in China
Beijing Office:
Tel: (86-10)8529-6655
Fax: (86-10)8529-6558/9
Frank.Joseph
Qiu Jing
Shanghai Office:
Tel: (86-21)6279-7930
Fax: (86-21)6279-7639
Tara Qu (Entertainment
and Media)
Guangzhou Office:
Tel: (86-20)8667-4011
Fax: (86-20)8666-6409
Eileen Bai
Chengdu Office:
Tel: (86-28)8558-3992
Fax: (86-28)8558-3991
Lily Lin
or