February 3, 2010

INVESTOR NEWS: Chinese universities to send students to Rockford College under new pact

Contact:  Rockford College President’s Office, 815-226-4010

Rockford College has partnered with four universities in China in a move that should boost enrollment at Rockford while also fostering student and faculty exchanges.

College president Dr. Robert L. Head said the new agreements reflect the college’s mission statement to prepare students for participation in a modern and changing global society. The pacts are a significant extension to partnerships the college already has with Japan’s Kobe College and London’s Regents College. 

“One clear way for students to be effective in a global society is to actually experience it, whether it’s international students coming to Rockford or our students studying abroad,” said Head. “In either case, experience can be gained by being exposed to and learning from people from other countries and cultures.”

Head identified the four universities as Jiangsu Polytechnic University in Changzhou; Shanghai International Studies University in Shanghai; Zhejiang University City College in Hangzhou; and Shanghai Dianji University in Shanghai. The agreements were worked out after months of discussions both here and in China. Students from China will pursue studies in various programs at the undergraduate and graduate level starting next fall.   

The number of Chinese studying in the U.S. approached 100,000 during the last academic year. While the number of Americans studying in China is small in comparison, the number has increased five-fold over the past decade. President Obama has recently established a goal of 100,000 students from the U.S. studying in China, a goal Head says “will allow for an increase in the richness of education for our students and the better understanding of our two countries.”

The U.S. and China have common challenges with the economy, environmental sustainability, and many social matters that demand international solutions best advanced through a strong collaborative approach, Head says.  

“Collaboration inspires and creates learning at all levels. Our affiliations will also generate learning within our institution through faculty and staff exchanges and the sharing of best practices.”