Higher Education for Sale
Businessmen, Officials Attend
Classes to Advance Their Careers
On a recent Saturday, long lines of Volkswagens, Buicks and Audis clog the roads on Peking University's campus. A banner on the front door of the university's Guanghua School of Management partly explains the jam: "Hunan Province Land-Tax Head Leaders -- Cadres Training Classes."
Middle-aged men, some wearing white polo shirts emblazoned with the name of the prestigious university, have just emerged from classrooms. Many of them hold a briefcase or black clutch bag in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
CHINA: SERVE THE PEOPLE
Read the other stories in the first part of this series:
? Chinese Flock to English Class
? Local M.B.A. Programs Flourish
September isn't just back-to-school time for China's college students. It also marks the start of increasingly popular programs -- ranging from a couple days to a couple years -- for the country's government officials and business executives. Driving sedans rather than riding bicycles, these mid-career, part-time students are proving a big boon for university educators who have stepped up efforts to boost supply to meet the demand for what are called "advanced-research classes."
Often with no admission requirements or standards, the programs typically enroll students who simply show up and pay the tuition. For long-term courses, fees range between $3,000 and $14,000. (By comparison, graduate students who are admitted into China's universities after finishing college and taking tests pay no tuition.)
For the advanced-research classes, discounts called "scholarships" are sometimes offered for those who sign up early. Courses of study range from business administration to communications to the social sciences. Classes are generally conducted once a month, on a Saturday or Sunday for a full day, and no homework is given. At the end of the course, students are awarded diplomas, but often these degrees aren't recognized by China's Ministry of Education.
Even without getting a state-sanctioned diploma, business executives are attracted to programs like those offered at Peking University because they help them make contacts and allow them to say they went to a name-brand university.
"Peking University is a first-class university," Guo Qingquan, a software developer who is taking classes in finance, says during a classroom break. "That name means money."
Chen Gang, a professor at Peking University's School of Journalism and Communication, says 10% of the students in that school's advanced-research classes can qualify for master's degrees if they are "exemplary" and pass a series of exams.
Part of the demand for advanced-research classes is fueled by necessity. In order to advance in their careers, some government officials need to enroll in programs to get training certificates and diplomas, according to state rules. In some cases, an entire department in a local government unit will attend a program at a university, with at least part of the fees covered.
To better serve executives and officials, Peking University recently extended its normal breaks for Oct. 1 National Day and May Day to nine days each from seven. While the usual full-time students are away, enrollees of the advanced-research classes pour in for their sessions, one administrator says.
Departments or bodies within institutions such as Peking University run autonomously from the university itself, says Xie Xinzhou, a professor at the School of Journalism and Communication. That allows professors, who make official salaries of about $500 a month, to supplement their income outside of regular teaching hours.
Not all institutions running advanced-research programs in China have the pedigree of Peking University. And China now has a raft of programs, many of which haven't been approved by the Ministry of Education, that carry foreign names.
These programs often are run by a Chinese "education training company" that works as a middleman to link up profit-geared foreign institutions with resources like professors and classrooms at existing Chinese universities.
The private University of Northern Virginia plans to enroll 2,000 students in China by next year in M.B.A. [masters of business administration] and other master's degree programs. It already runs classes in Beijing. China-based employees refused to say if its programs have been approved by the ministry.
The university, based in Manassas, Virginia, is finding out how chaotic the Chinese education market can be. Daniel Ho, its vice chancellor, says the university has had to fight "five to 10 groups that claim to represent us in China." The unauthorized parties collect enrollment fees from prospective students, and "tomorrow they disappear. It's hard to go after these people," he says.
Rod Campbell, an educational consultant and chief representative in Beijing for Gray & Perkins, an Australian law firm, says he understands the Ministry of Education is conducting a review of the 800-plus official and unofficial programs offered in China in conjunction with foreign universities. The ministry declined to comment.
For some of the programs, Mr. Campbell says, the degrees offered "are not worth the paper they're on."
Foreign joint-venture programs that want official approval in China must go through a lengthy process conducted with the Ministry of Education. It has approved many foreign joint-venture programs, including an array of M.B.A. courses
But at least at this stage, programs not registered with the ministry are flourishing. The market has been boosted by the number of working people who want graduate degrees but can't get into established Chinese universities.
Among outfits active in China are the American World University, which doesn't have a campus in the U.S. (Its Web site gives an address in Pascagoula, Mississippi.) The Guangzhou branch says 1,400 students have graduated from its master's programs at universities around China. The director of the China program, Lin Guohua, acknowledges that the school isn't approved by the Ministry of Education.
Zhang Sunan, an educational consultant who has helped foreign partners set up unofficial programs in China, explains how the process often works. Once an agreement is signed with the foreign education provider, Mr. Zhang's company, Zhongbohua International Education Science Center, places advertisements in newspapers seeking students. Under the banner of a foreign degree program, the company rents classrooms at name-brand Chinese universities and pays university professors -- sometimes as much as $2,500 per day -- to give lectures. To deal with the issue of textbooks, "we get the professor to write one," he says.
Advanced-research classes "are a very good choice for those with little time and lots of money," asserts Mr. Zhang. "It's a bit like the buying and selling of any commodity."
中国高学历教育备受追捧
不久前的一个周六，北京大学的校园内突然挤满了大众(Volkswagens)、别克(Buick)和奥迪(Audi)轿车。北大光华管理学院门前的一条横幅解释了这种轿车爆满校园的现象──“湖南省地税高级领导干部培训班”。
从教室里走出来的都是中年人，其中一些身著白色Polo衬衫，佩戴著这所著名学府的校徽。他们中的许多人一手提著公文包，一手夹著香烟。
9月如今已不光是中国大学生的返校时间，中国国内日益盛行的政府官员和公司高管培训项目──培训时间从两三天到两三年不等──也都选在这个时间开课。开著轿车而非骑著自行车来上课的这些具有工作经验的兼职学生可谓是大学教学管理部门的一笔大财富。目前，各大院校都在增加此类培训项目，以满足日益增加的对这种所谓“高级研修班”的需求。
这些项目通常没有入学要求或标准，招收的学生一般只要来报到、交学费就可以了。对于长期课程，学费从3,000美元到14,000美元不等（中国大学本科生毕业考取研究生后是免交研究生学费的）。
高级研修班有时候为那些报名早的学生提供一些“奖学金”作为学费优惠。相关课程从商业管理、传播到社会学，不一而足。通常是每月上课一次，安排在周六或周日全天上课，不留家庭作业。课程结束后，学生们可拿到结业证书，但这些文凭通常得不到中国教育部(China's Ministry of Education)的认可。
即便没有国家认可的文凭，公司管理人士还是被北京大学提供的这些项目所吸引，因为这有助于他们加强社会关系，另外，他们也可以从此自豪地说自己曾经就读于某某著名学府。
正在金融研修班学习的软件开发人员郭清泉（音）在课间休息时接受记者采访时表示，北京大学是一所一流学府，它的名头就意味著财富。
北京大学新闻与传播学院教授陈刚说，该学院高级研修班中10%的学生可以获得硕士学位，前提是他们成绩优秀并通过一系列考试。
人们对于高级研修班的需求在一定程度上是出于不得已。根据国家规定，一些政府官员必须参加此类项目，获得培训证书和文凭，才能得到提拔。在某些情况下，地方政府机构中某部门的人员会集体参加某个大学的高级研修班，其中至少有一部分人的学费是公费支付的。
为了更好地满足公司管理人士和政府官员的需求，北京大学最近延长了十一国庆节和五一劳动节的假期，从原来的7天延长至9天。一位教学管理人员表示，虽然通常的全职学生都离校了，但是这些高级研修班的学员们纷纷涌入校园上课。
北京大学新闻与传播学院教授谢新洲说，北京大学等院校的各个院系是独立运营的。这就使月工资收入约为500美元的教授们可以在常规教学时间以外通过授课增加收入。
并非所有开设高级研修班的中国院校都具备北京大学的资历。而中国目前还有大量海外合作办学项目尚未得到教育部的批准。
这些项目通常由一家中国教育培训公司运营，作为中间人，中国教育培训公司联系以赢利为目的的外国院校，将他们与现有中国大学的教授和教室资源整合在一起。
私立北弗吉尼亚大学(University of Northern Virginia)计划明年在中国招收2,000名MBA和其他硕士学位项目的学生。它已经在北京开设课程。中国总部的雇员拒绝说明这些项目是否已经得到教育部的批准。
北弗吉尼亚大学越来越体会到中国的教育市场是何等混乱。该校副校长丹尼尔?胡(Daniel Ho)表示，他们不得不与“五到十个声称得到我们授权在华办学的团体进行斗争。”这些未经授权的组织从潜在的学生那里收取注册费，“而第二天他们就消失了。很难查找到这些人，”他说。
澳大利亚律师事务所Gray & Perkins驻北京的教育顾问和首席代表罗德?坎贝尔(Rod Campbell)说，据他所知，教育部正在审查800多份正式和非正式的涉外合作在华办学项目。教育部拒绝就此发表评论。
坎贝尔说，有些项目提供的文凭根本就是一文不值。
涉外合资项目在华办学要获得官方批文必须经过教育部冗长的审批程序。教育部已经批准了许多涉外合资项目，包括一系列MBA项目。
但至少在目前阶段，很多没有在教育部登记注册的项目正在蓬勃发展。诸多希望获得研究生学历却无法进入著名大学攻读学位的在职人员是推动这个市场蓬勃发展的主要驱动力量。
不少名不见经传的海外大学在中国开设课程，业务开展得热火朝天。这其中就有美国世界大学(American World University)。这所大学在美国根本就没有校园。（其网站给出的地址是密西西比州帕斯卡拉戈）。它在广州的分部声称，已有1,400名学生从它与中国多所大学合作的硕士项目中毕业。它的中国项目主管林国华（音）承认，该校并未得到教育部的批准。
协助外国合作伙伴在华设立非正式项目的教育顾问张苏南（音）对整个程序如何运作进行了解释。一旦与外国教育供应商签署协议，张自己开设的公司在报纸上刊登招生广告。打著外国学位项目的旗号，他的公司负责在中国著名大学租下教室，并支付大学教授上课费，有时候一天要支付高达2,500美元的授课费。为了解决课本问题，“我们找教授编写，”他说。
张苏南称，高级研修班“对于那些有钱但没时间的人来说是个很不错的选择。”“这有点像商品买卖，”他说。
