CSU, Chico Pursues Global Education with China

On April 10, Scott McNall, CSU, Chico provost, and Lu Shi Jie, president of Zhejiang University City College of Hangzhou, met in Chico and signed a cooperative agreement to pursue the establishment of business degree programs in China. Joining them as partners in the agreement were Judy Teng, dean of Contract and Continuing Education at City College of San Francisco (CCSF), and Jena Chen, executive vice president, Futton, Inc., a San Francisco-based international trade company. Jie led a delegation of four representatives from Zhejiang University and Hangzhou on their visit to Chico and participation in the signing ceremony.

Established in 1897, Zhejiang University is the largest, and one of the most respected, institutions of higher education in China. It commonly ranks in the top 10 institutions of Chinese higher education. In 1999, the university established Zhejiang University City College (ZUCC) as a government-supported experiment in the privatization of higher education. ZUCC’s mission is to prepare students in the study of economic globalization.

As a means to support global education in China, CSU, Chico, ZUCC, CCSF, and Futton, Inc., are developing a six-year progressive program track designed to provide American degrees in China. Under the working concept, CCSF will offer the lower-division transfer education, and CSU, Chico will offer the upper-division and major courses for the program. Both institutions will send instructors and professors to teach courses (in English) at the ZUCC campus.

In the admissions process, if a ZUCC student does not meet the CCSF TOEFL score requirements, the individual will start the program with one year of intensive English language and American culture classes. After English preparation, the student will transfer to a CCSF associate degree program. Admitted students will gain dual CCSF and CSU, Chico admissions, allowing them to access university and library resources from both campuses.

The CCSF associate degree program, complete with the articulated lower-division and general education requirements, facilitates entry into a CSU, Chico baccalaureate degree program in management information systems. Upon successful completion of the baccalaureate, students will join a cohort of graduate students, with the goal of earning a technical M.B.A. in management information systems. The program is informally titled “2 Plus 2 Plus 2,” referring to the six-year progressive degree program. Planning for the program continues, with a forecasted launch of intensive English language courses starting at ZUCC in fall 2002 and continuing into 2003.

“While a few American universities have ventured into China with their programs, this will be the first six-year seamless progressive track of its kind for an American institution of higher learning. Students will be able to start at a very introductory level and work their way toward earning a technical master’s degree in management information systems,” remarked Dalen Chiang, dean, College of Business at CSU, Chico.

Joe Picard, Regional and Continuing Education