context: Although some were originally concerned about their ability to adapt, sino-foreign cooperative universities have settled in well. Alternative ideas and methods from sino-foreign cooperative universities may serve as inspiration for reforms, since earlier debates about university admissions failed to make breakthroughs. But given that many of these universities were established for political considerations, their future influence may be limited.
Since University of Nottingham Ningbo China was set up in 2004, nine sino-foreign cooperative universities have appeared in China. They are increasingly attractive to top students in the country, observes 21st Century Business Herald.
In terms of gaokao scores, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK Shenzhen) attracted top 0.5 percent humanities-track students and top 1.5 percent science-track students in 15 provinces in 2018. Student caliber improves every year, said Xu Yangshen 徐扬生 CUHK Shenzhen president, due to CUHK Shenzhen’s dedication to undergraduate education and outstanding graduate placements.
These universities are highly internationalised. CUHK Shenzhen offers many exchange programs to students, for example, and 30 percent of faculty at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University are foreigners, where 86 percent of the Class of 2018 graduates chose to study abroad and all courses are taught in English beginning in the second semester of freshman year.
Experts expect competition from sino-foreign universities to spill over to other higher education institutions. New ideas have been brought in from abroad, and in admissions, for example, most sino-foreign cooperative universities do not rely solely on gaokao scores. New York University Shanghai evaluates candidates’ performances in simulated classes and interviews, as well as their English writing skills and ability to work in a team.
Chu Zhaohui 储朝晖 National Institute of Education Science research fellow has consistently called for multi-dimensional admissions criteria. But Chu does not believe sino-foreign universities will change the larger landscape, given their small number. He is pessimistic about their future, arguing they are built more for political reasons rather than real market demand.