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USF official quits over China students
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slapntickle



Joined: 07 Sep 2010
Posts: 270

PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 9:48 am    Post subject: USF official quits over China students Reply with quote

The University of San Francisco's aggressive recruitment of students from China - many of whom have trouble speaking English - has led to the resignation of one of the campus' top business-school officials.
Dayle Smith, associate dean of undergraduate studies at the School of Management, quit amid what some see as a tug-of-war between academic integrity and the desire to diversify the prestigious private school through aggressive recruitment.
This year, 781 of the 10,017 students enrolled at USF are Chinese nationals, the vast majority of them in the business school. They're paying full freight - $36,000 a year in tuition.
Some of the new students' language skills, however, were so poor that they were given headsets for English-to-Mandarin translation during orientation.
Business school Dean Mike Webber said in his Sept. 8 letter to staffers announcing Smith's exit that the "considerable increase" in foreign students this year is not in and of itself a cause for concern.
"But given that so many of these students have weak English skills and are disproportionately from one country, we are going to be faced with some unique pedagogical and cultural challenges," he wrote.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/USF-official-quits-over-China-students-3887904.php#ixzz2ES5GoVG8

When it comes to western universities trawling China for students, three issues always seem to come up:

1. Aggressive recruitment drives by pushy agents working in the host country;
2. Exorbitant fees;
3. The poor English skills of Chinese students.

One doesn't have to be an Einstein to see what is going on here. At least the Associate Dean in this case had the integrity to resign. I wish more would follow his lead . . .
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Javelin of Radiance



Joined: 01 Jul 2009
Posts: 1187
Location: The West

PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 9:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

More like a tug of war between staying in the black and going further into the red. This aggressive recruiting is about one thing only - money. How much can we soak these foreign students for in an effort to balance our books. It's a band aid solution to the gaping wound of government cuts and university mismanagement of finances. Welcome to the 21st century.
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chinatimes



Joined: 27 May 2012
Posts: 478

PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 10:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
these students have weak English skills and are disproportionately from one country, we are going to be faced with some unique pedagogical and cultural challenges


Why unique? If it is one country, then it's par for the course. I would think something unique would be some result from multiple variables that we haven't accounted for.

Chinese poor at speaking? This is news? This is Breaking News? Shocked
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slapntickle



Joined: 07 Sep 2010
Posts: 270

PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 11:09 am    Post subject: Re: USF official quits over China students Reply with quote

slapntickle wrote:
Dayle Smith, associate dean of undergraduate studies at the School of Management, quit amid what some see as a tug-of-war between academic integrity and the desire to diversify the prestigious private school through aggressive recruitment.


Yes, funny too how it always seems to be the Management Schools that get into trouble.


Last edited by slapntickle on Sat Dec 08, 2012 11:10 am; edited 1 time in total
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johntpartee



Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Posts: 3258

PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 11:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The big news is that someone finally cares about all the sub-standard English instruction here. Bravo, Dean Smith!!
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NoBillyNO



Joined: 11 Jun 2012
Posts: 1762

PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 1:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The article didn't give the indication that the Dean cared about English skills taught but rather he was concerned as to how resources at USF will be allotted and as to how these resources will be managed. Couldn't have been to upsetting for Smith as Smith, remains at the university as a professor. Since there is no direct quote from Smith, the writer leads the reader to his conclusions.
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wonderingjoesmith



Joined: 19 Aug 2012
Posts: 910
Location: Guangzhou

PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 2:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

"As I've broken regulations, I have to go"
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choudoufu



Joined: 25 May 2010
Posts: 3325
Location: Mao-berry, PRC

PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 2:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

not that it applies here, but i checked out the usf website and they now
offer an online masters in tesol. 100% online, where you may
"Benefit from small class sizes while building relationships with fellow students."
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5h09un



Joined: 01 Jul 2010
Posts: 140

PostPosted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 8:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Javelin of Radiance wrote:
More like a tug of war between staying in the black and going further into the red. This aggressive recruiting is about one thing only - money. How much can we soak these foreign students for in an effort to balance our books. It's a band aid solution to the gaping wound of government cuts and university mismanagement of finances. Welcome to the 21st century.


couldn't have said it better myself.
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5h09un



Joined: 01 Jul 2010
Posts: 140

PostPosted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 8:27 am    Post subject: Re: USF official quits over China students Reply with quote

slapntickle wrote:
Yes, funny too how it always seems to be the Management Schools that get into trouble.


hardly.

http://chronicle.com/article/Chinese-Students-Prove-a/129628/
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fat_chris



Joined: 10 Sep 2003
Posts: 3198
Location: Beijing

PostPosted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 9:02 am    Post subject: Re: USF official quits over China students Reply with quote

5h09un wrote:
http://chronicle.com/article/Chinese-Students-Prove-a/129628/


Interesting article. Thanks for posting it.

Warm regards,
fat_chris
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5h09un



Joined: 01 Jul 2010
Posts: 140

PostPosted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 10:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

as for the higher tuition that chinese students have to pay, this typically isn't just them. it's for all international students. the explosion of chinese students on college campuses in america might've made it sexy to bring this up, but it's hard to see why.

i'm from california and college cost me about $25k/yr (in total--that means including housing) at the time because i am from the state of california. students from other states had to pay about $40k/yr and international students about $60k/yr.

at public universities, this difference in cost for different groups is justified by the fact that a) these institutions exist primarily to train the next generation of leaders in that state for that state and b) a large chunk of their funding comes from taxpayers who live in that state, so the state is trying to retain as much benefit from these schools as they can. (i'm not sure what rules private institutions have. maybe they make their own.)

college is getting more and more expensive in america (rising at something like four times the rate of inflation) and state resources for higher education are drying up simultaneously. educating china's growing middle class is helping to relieve some of this pressure.
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slapntickle



Joined: 07 Sep 2010
Posts: 270

PostPosted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

5h09un wrote:
" . . . college is getting more and more expensive in america (rising at something like four times the rate of inflation) and state resources for higher education are drying up simultaneously. educating china's growing middle class is helping to relieve some of this pressure.


In the private sector, the cause of this inflation is the proliferation of for-profit schools that have no interest in education and standards. As their name implies, they are only interested in profits. Many unfortunate students who are hoodwinked into enrolling onto courses in these schools either drop out early and get into serious debt. If they do happen to finish the degree, the qualification they get often has no value in the job market. America has some serious issues to deal with when it comes to the for-profits.

http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-08-01/news/for-profit-colleges-con/
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5h09un



Joined: 01 Jul 2010
Posts: 140

PostPosted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

slapntickle wrote:
In the private sector, the cause of this inflation is the proliferation of for-profit schools that have no interest in education and standards. As their name implies, they are only interested in profits. Many unfortunate students who are hoodwinked into enrolling onto courses in these schools either drop out early and get into serious debt. If they do happen to finish the degree, the qualification they get often has no value in the job market. America has some serious issues to deal with when it comes to the for-profits.

http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-08-01/news/for-profit-colleges-con/


when i said private institutions, i meant private universities like the university of san fransisco, not those places.
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wonderingjoesmith



Joined: 19 Aug 2012
Posts: 910
Location: Guangzhou

PostPosted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 5:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Funny how we care about where the money comes from when foreigners are transferring their assests or investing in varieties of fields but how we slack off when our educational institutions (and the powers) close their eyes over overseas students and their families
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