Party A: Chinese Universities
Party B: Overseas Universities
Party C: Xingmi Education LLC
I. What is the Chinese-Foreign Cooperative Education?
The Chinese-foreign cooperative education refers to the cooperation between Chinese and foreign educational institutions in enrolling and co-teaching Chinese students in China in accordance with the “four one-third or more” Principle of Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE). There are two forms of Chinese-foreign cooperative schooling: educational institute (e.g. international college) and joint education program.
II. What is “Four One-Third or More” Principle?
1. The introduced foreign courses should account for at least 1/3 of all courses for the Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run education program;
2. The introduced foreign professional core courses should account for at least 1/3 of all professional core courses for the Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run education programs;
3. The professional core courses taken by the teaching staff of the foreign education institution should account for at least 1/3 of all professional core courses of the Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run education program;
4. The class hours of the professional core units taken by the teaching staff of the foreign education institution should account for at least 1/3 of all class hours of the professional core courses of the Chinese-foreign cooperatively run education program.
III. Why to conduct Chinese-Foreign Cooperative Education?
1. Currently, more and more Chinese parents choose to send their children to enter Chinese-foreign cooperative educational programs after high school rather than studying abroad directly. This trend can be seen from the decline in foreign university’s enrollment and business decline of the major study-abroad agents. Especially in the global Covid-19 pandemic situation, the number of students studying abroad is further decreasing.
2. The Chinese MOE’s current policies strongly support institutions, especially outstanding institutions, to run Chinese-foreign cooperative programs or institutions, in order to enhance the internationalization of teaching and learning in schools, as well as to provide a solid foundation for students to study abroad in the future.
3. As the tuition fees of U.S. universities are more expensive compared with the tuition fees of Chinese-U.S. cooperative programs, most Chinese students prefer to select the Chinese-U.S. joint programs. The students enrolled in the joint program have better family backgrounds, and at least 35% of the program students plan to go to Party B for their Bachelor’s or Master's degree study.
4. Through 3-year or 4-year undergraduate study in the joint program in China, students will take at least 1/3 of Party B’s courses, thus laying a solid language and academic foundation for their further study abroad, as well as gaining a full understanding and interest of Party B.
5. Party C as a professional organization focusing on the Chinese-foreign cooperative education since 2015, has successfully assisted both Chinese and overseas schools to establish Chinese-foreign cooperative education programs/institutes and gained
rich experience. Party C will choose qualified Chinese institutions to work with overseas schools. In this way, we can guarantee the quantity and quality of students, as well as the tuition fees. In addition, we usually sign cooperation agreements for 8 years and then we will renew the agreements for another 8 years after the expiration, so it is a long-term program which can guarantee a stable source of students to study at Party B.
IV. Cooperation models of Chinese-Foreign Cooperative Education
In this section, you will find A and B as the Chinese-Foreign Cooperative Education Program approved by the China MOE, and C as the school-level cooperative programs.
For programs approved by the China MOE, the annual and total enrollment of the program is set by the MOE and will be incorporated into Party A’s enrollment plan. In other words, the enrollment is “virtually guaranteed” for at least two cycles of graduates, which means eight years. Party C can help renew the program for another eight years, so the program will usually go on for 16 years without the risk of being cancelled due to the change of school administration or policy. It is the reason why we highly recommend such programs.
For programs on the school level, the process is easier as both Parties can agree and sign the agreements, and then submit the information to local education department and the MOE for record. However, as the enrollment plan is not set and supported by the MOE, both Parties will spend more efforts on recruiting students.
A. Undergraduate Programs Approved by the China MOE
1)4+0 for Bachelor’s degree, meaning that Party A will provide courses and syllabi for the selected major, and teach at least one-third of all courses and one-third of the core courses of the cooperative education program. Students will study in Party B for 4 years and receive the Chinese Bachelor’s degree.
Each academic year, Party A will enroll 60 to 120 students, and Party B will receive 40 to 49 percent of the tuition from Party A.
2)3+1 for Bachelor’s degree, meaning that Party B will provide courses and syllabi for the selected major, and teach at least one-third of all courses and one-third of the core courses of the cooperative education program. Students will study in Party A for 3 years, then study in Party B for 1 year and receive Bachelor’s degrees from both Party A and Party B.
Each academic year, Party A will enroll 60 to 120 students. In the first three years Party B will receive 40 to 49 percent of the tuition from Party A. In the fourth year, Party B will collect tuition directly from those students that have studied on Party B’s campus and will retain 100% of the tuition. For those students that choose to remain in Party A to complete the program in the fourth year and only receive the Chinese Bachelor’s degree from Party A, Party B will still receive 30-35% of the tuition collected by the Chinese university.
3)After Party A and Party B successfully establish the 4+0 or 3+1 program, Party C will help extend the program from 3+1 to (3+1)+1, or 4+0 to (4+0)+1. It means that after students completing their undergraduate study, they may be able to continue their study on graduate level in Party B for one more year (or 1.5 or 2 years depending on the program) in order to receive the Master’s degree from Party B. Party B will collect and will retain 100% of the tuition for graduate study.
B. Graduate Programs Approved by the China MOE
1)2+0/3+0 for Master’s degree, meaning that Party B will provide courses, syllabi, and teach at least one-third of all courses and one-third of the core courses of the cooperative education program. Students will study in Party A for 2 or 3 years and receive the Chinese Master’s degree.
Each academic year, Party A will enroll 60 to 120 students. Party B will receive 40 to 49 percent of the yearly tuition from Party A.
2)2+1 for Master’s degree, meaning that students will study in Party A for two years, then study in Party B for one year and receive Master’s degrees from both Party A and Party B.
For the first two years, Party A will enroll 60 to 120 students. In the first two years, Party B will receive 40 to 49 percent of the tuition from Party A. In the third year, Party B will collect tuition directly from those students that choose to study in Party B and will retain 100% of the tuition. For those students that choose to remain in Party A to complete the program in the third year and only receive the Chinese Master’s degree from Party A, Party B will still receive 30-35% of the tuition collected by the Chinese university.
C. Cooperative Programs between Party A and Party B
1)2+2 Undergraduate Programs: Party A and Party B will sign credit transfer and cooperation agreements to allow Chinese students to transfer to Party B after the first two years in China, then receive the Bachelor’s degree from Party B after successful completion of the program. Party B can work with multiple Chinese universities at the same time.
For the first two years, Party A will enroll 60 to 120 students and will retain 100% of the tuition collected. In the second year, Party B will collect tuition directly from those students that choose to study in Party B and will retain 100% of the tuition.
2)1+1 Graduate Programs: Party A and Party B will sign cooperation agreements to allow Chinese students to join the graduate program in Party B after a year of study in China. Party B can choose to accept the credits from Chinese partner universities to expedite the graduate program, so students can graduate in one year and receive the Master’s degree from Party B. Or the students can spend 1.5 or 2 years to complete the program and receive the degree from Party B. Party B can work with multiple Chinese universities at the same time.
For the first year, Party A will enroll 60 to 120 students and will retain 100% of the tuition collected. In the second year, Party B will collect tuition directly from those students that choose to study in Party B and will retain 100% of the tuition.
V. Operating process
Step 1: Party B and Party C will communicate and discuss the cooperation model and relevant agreements thoroughly before Party B determines to work on the particular program through the assistance of Party C. Party B will provide Party C with a statement of intent to state the available majors for cooperation.
Step 2: Party C will seek and match suitable Chinese universities and colleges for cooperation according to the requirements of Party B;
Step 3: Party C will help Party A and Party B to recognize each other as strategic partners and identify the cooperation majors.
Step 4: Party B will authorize Party C as the exclusive project representative to take part in the project management and operation as well as the fees payment, etc.
Step 5: Party B will provide the quotation to Party C based on the teaching tasks, and Party B and Party C will sign a confidential service agreement to specify Party C’s obligations and confirm the quotation.
Step 6: Party C will negotiate with Party A on the tuition fee paid by Party A which will cover Party B’s quotation and Party C’s service fees.
Step 7: Party C will assist Party A and Party B to work out and sign the cooperation and addendum agreements.
Step 8: After signing all the relevant agreements, Party C will assist Party A and Party B to work out the joint teaching plan, and prepare all application materials submitted to the education authorities.
Step 9: After the submission of the application, Party C will assist two schools in the review of Chinese experts, examination and approval of the education department and the Ministry of Education of China.
Step 10: Upon the approval of the program, Party C will work together with Party A in providing a series of student and parent counselling.
The Chinese party will submit the application in March or September of each year. The education authorities will process the application within six months, and then Party A will apply to the price bureau to determine the tuition fees before recruiting students. Classes will begin in the fall of the following year.
Step 11: In the cooperative education programs approved by the China MOE, for all students that study on Party A’s campus and pay tuitions directly to Party A, Party A shall remit Party B’s share of the tuition to Party B’s designated university account within the agreed period for all years. Upon the receipt of Party A’s payment, Party B shall remit the commission of 40-49% of the payment to Party C within the agreed period for all years. (The actual commission rate can be negotiated)
For any students who proceed to study at Party B from Party A and pay tuitions directly to Party B, whether from the cooperative programs or not, Party C will also receive 20-25% commission of Party B’s semester tuition for all semesters, including undergraduate and graduate programs. (The actual commission rate can be negotiated)
VI. Responsibilities of Party C
1. Responsible for the preparation of relevant agreements of the Chinese-foreign cooperative educational program, facilitating the signing of relevant agreements, and solving the problems and ambiguities in the cooperation.
2. Assist Party A and Party B to determine cooperative majors, conduct course mapping, formulate joint training plans and make timely adjustments according to actual operational needs;
3. Responsible for the preparation of materials required for the declaration of the Chinese-foreign cooperative educational program and assist in the review process of education authorities;
4. Provide a professional experienced team for consulting services for students and parents;
5. Responsible for strictly controlling the quality and quantity of Party B teachers in
China according to teaching requirements;
6. Assist both schools to apply for visas and work permits for Party B teachers to teach in China and responsible for the living and working arrangements of Party B teachers during teaching in Party A, and provide related services;
7. Arrange experienced staff to provide students with comprehensive curriculum guidance and English tutoring, and one-to-one learning planning and consultation to ensure that students can fully grasp the contents of Party B's courses and that more students meet the language requirements of obtaining Party B’s degree;
8. Responsible for coordinating teacher’s books and student’s textbooks, and printing and ordering teaching materials and learning materials, and providing translation services for both schools in the operation of the Chinese-foreign cooperative education program;
9. Resolve any problems and difficulties in the communication between Party A and Party B teacher(s), assist in urgent adjustment in practical teaching or specific situation, and conduct teaching evaluation and feedback;
10. Responsible for organizing Party A teachers to participate in Party B’s online or offline training and providing visa application services and related local services for offline training;
11. Organize each student to participate in Party B’s study tours and short-term course experience and provide visa application services;
12. Responsible for assisting both schools to sign articulation agreements based on the cooperative education and agreements related to undergraduate Master’s degree promotion, and organizing qualified students to go to Party B to obtain bachelor or master degree directly;
13. Responsible for free professional consultation on study abroad for students to encourage more students to study abroad at Party B’s campus, and provide visa application services and local services for program students who study in Party B.
14. Responsible for arranging the friendly exchange of visits between Party A and Party B leaders.
15. Responsible for the renewal of the joint program and the application of new programs.