SUNY Fredonia Sociology Professor Linda Dorsten will be among the representatives from 10 U.S. colleges and universities in China this week, hoping to increase the number of partnerships between Chinese higher education institutions and those in the U.S.
The delegation is being led by The Institute of International Education (IIE) and is a component of a project funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) and administered by IIE’s Center for International Partnerships in Higher Education.
Joining SUNY Fredonia are Southern Methodist University, The College of New Jersey, Saginaw Valley State University, University of Southern Indiana, Utah Valley University Jacksonville State University, Marymount Manhattan College, Lake Washington Technical College and Greenville Technical College. These campuses were chosen from a competitive candidate pool and represent the breadth of U.S. institutions seeking linkages with institutions in China. Each institution has committed to form a campus task force to work on prospective partnerships, conduct an institution-wide inventory of activities pertaining to China and develop a strategic plan focused on Chinese partnerships. The goals are to enhance academic collaboration, expand curricular offerings, advance joint research, and prepare their students with the international experiences and cross-cultural tools needed in their careers.
This initiative, dubbed the “International Academic Partnership Program,” helps institutions in the U.S. establish ties with those in China by providing them with guidance on best practices and tools to help cultivate linkages as one part of their institutions’ larger internationalization strategies. The eight-day visit will include stops in Beijing, Chongqing and Wuhan, and is the culmination of a year-long training program on how to implement and maintain partnerships with higher education institutions in China.
Higher education institutions in both countries are increasingly seeking to form partnerships with their counterparts, especially in light of the Obama administration’s “100,000 Strong Initiative” to increase the number and diversity of American students who study in China. However, many institutions face challenges in navigating education systems in other countries and find it difficult to identify appropriate partners and develop effective partnership strategies.
“Educational ties are key to strengthening the relationship between China and the United States,” said IIE President Allan E. Goodman. “For leaders in both countries to innovate and solve problems together in the future, they must work together in classrooms, research labs and dormitories now. Together we will be able to find better solutions to shared global challenges.”
The host institutions include: Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the China University of Political Science and Law (also the School of American and Comparative Law) in Beijing; Chongqing Technology and Business University, Chongqing Lijia Middle School, and Chongqing Industry Polytechnic College in Chongqing; and Hubei University, Wuhan University of Technology, and Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan.
China is the leading place of origin for international students in the U.S., according to IIE’s Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, an annual research project supported by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). In academic year 2009-10, there were 127,628 students from China studying in the U.S., accounting for more than 18 percent of the total international student population. Thereport also showed that the number of international students at colleges and universities in the U.S. increased by three percent to 690,923 during 2009-10, a record number that was primarily driven by a 30 percent increase in Chinese enrollment.
Open Doors alsoreports an increase of four percent in the number of U.S. students studying in China. In academic year 2008-09, the latest year for which data is available, more than 13,600 U.S. students studied in China, making it the fifth most popular study-abroad destination for U.S. students, and more than double the number studying in China in 2004-05.
