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2006 Summer China Post-Fair Report Shanghai July 14 - 16, 2006 Beijing July 21-23, 2006 AIEF wishes to express its gratitude to all the participants in the 2006 Summer American Education Fairs in China for their support. Despite the July heat, overall the events in both Shanghai and Beijing were successful. In this report, you will find information on:
Shanghai Consulate General Briefing Prior to the American Education Fairs in China, a briefing and orientation were offered to the fair participants at the U.S. Consulate General’s facilities in Shanghai on July 13th. Mr. Barry Simmons, Cultural Affairs Officer, informed AIEF’s education delegation that the Shanghai consular district, with over 200 million people, is the center of education in China. Five of the top seven universities in China are in the area, he noted. He said that the visa success rate in the consular district is seven out of eight student visa applicants, or around 87 percent. Also speaking at the briefing was Ms. Meredith Ludlow, Senior Commercial Specialist. She described the role of the U.S. Commercial Service personnel in Shanghai as business facilitators, engaging in market research and advocacy efforts. According to Ms. Ludlow, most American companies in China are selling to the local market, while around 11 percent are exporting to the United States. She mentioned intellectual property rights as one of the major trade issues with China. Information Officer Ms. Anjana Modi and Senior Commercial Specialist Mr. Yu-Chien Chen also briefly spoke to the group. Following the briefing, Ms. Denise Chen, Director of the Information Resource Center, gave a tour of the center and its library of study in the USA materials. U.S. Embassy Briefing at the ACEE in Beijing On July 20th at the American Center for Educational Exchanges, Consular Officer Mr. Jeffrey Seals briefed the group on the student visa situation in Beijing. Mr. Seals warned U.S. schools to be leery of study abroad agents in China. According to Mr. Seals, “bad” agents may charge students around RMB 150,000, or US$20,000, for their services. In particular, he brought attention to cases of fraudulent documents and scholarship fraud that have occurred in Fujian Province. Mr. Seals estimated the student visa success rate in the Beijing area to be 8 or 9 out of every 10 applicants. He advised schools that are inviting visiting Chinese scholars to notify them early so as to allow enough time to process their visas. An unexpected, but warmly welcomed, speaker at the ACEE was Mr. John Thomson, Resident Director of the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies at Tsinghua University in Bejing. Mr. Thomsom graciously agreed on the spot to speak to the U.S. education delegation. He regaled the group with his account of assisting the first group of Chinese scholars to go to the United States following the establishment of diplomatic relations between the US and China in 1979. It was indeed an honor to have Mr. Thomson share his experiences with the AIEF group. AIEF Orientation Summary: China’s Study Abroad Market Overpopulation at Chinese universities has become a challenging problem. In spite of the fact that China’s State Council has required educational authorities to slow down the pace of college enrollment expansion, social expectations for going on to higher education remain very high in China. In fact, China's higher education system is #1 in the world in terms of number of registered college students, reaching 23 million 2005. College enrollment has increased 500 % since 1998. Currently, 21 per cent of 18 to 21-year-olds are enrolled at college-level institutions. In 2006, 9.5 million Chinese high-school graduates took the college entrance exam, each hoping to earn one of only 2.6 million undergraduate places. With 4.1 million college graduates in 2006, an increase of 22 percent over 2005, it has been predicted that 60 percent of this summer's college graduates will have trouble finding jobs. The keen college entrance competition as well as employment issues are factors that have prompted many Chinese students to consider studying overseas as a way to enhance their future academic or career opportunities. The United States is still the first choice for the majority of Chinese students who would like to study abroad. In 2005, the number of students visas issued in China for studying in the United States was 20,244; this figure shows a greater than 25 percent increase over the previous year. China is the second-leading place of origin for students coming to the United States, following India. It is estimated that of the 110,000 Chinese students studying abroad in 2005-2006, approximately 63,000 studied in the United States. Based on the 2005 “Open Doors” report, most Chinese students enrolled at U.S. educational institutions study at the graduate level (79 percent), with 13 percent at the undergraduate level, and 8 percent in language or other programs. AIEF’s 2006 Summer American Education Fairs in China took place from July 14-16 in Shanghai at the Shanghai Exhibition Center (West) and from July 21-23 in Beijing at the China International Exhibition Centre. It is estimated that there were over 5,000 visitors to the American Pavilion in Shanghai, and more than 8,000 visitors in Beijing. Many schools were pleased to receive student applications onsite. AIEF will soon share the student database that it collected at the fairs with all fair participants. At both the Shanghai and Beijing fair venues, a series of special seminars were offered to students by representatives of U.S. schools and other guest speakers. Topics included English language proficiency testing, finance and business programs, engineering admissions, and LLM applications. AIEF appreciates the support it received from the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai and the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Consular Officers Ms. Anne Linee and Mr. Steven Dyokas offered student visa presentations in Shanghai, while Consular Officer Kathleen Gibilisco conducted the visa presentation in Beijing.
Future China Fair Improvements We regret the problems associated with the shipping and delivery of materials at both venues in Shanghai and Beijing. These matters are in the hands of the local organizers. We have personally raised our concerns at post-fair meetings with the local organizers and shipping contractors, and have received their assurances that new procedures will be adopted to prevent future problems. These procedures will be reflected in AIEF’s future fair prep guide. In addition, the lack of air conditioning during the scheduled booth decoration times made conditions unpleasant. The local organizer in Shanghai sent a letter of apology and a gift to each of the booths. In Beijing, the local organizer also acknowledged the problem and promised to make necessary changes for future events. 2006 Fall American Education Fairs in Singapore, Korea, and Taiwan Registration is now open for AIEF’s 2006 Fall American Education Fairs in Singapore, Korea, and Taiwan. The upcoming 2006 Fall Fair schedule is as follows:
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