Building Bridge Across Cultures: Learning about China's Higher Education System and its Impact on Academic Advising

Yung-Hwa Anna Chow, M.A.

Washington State University

Make a list of challenges/obstacles you have encountered while advising international students from China.

What we will cover today…

Why is research important in advising?

Share personal experience in a current research project

Initial Data on Chinese Higher Education

Why are students coming to the U.S?

Suggestions for working with Chinese international students

Why is Research Important?

Research is important because:

Creates new knowledge that helps the advising community

We need theories and data to help us understand issues related to advising

Ultimately, we need research to show that academic advising is important

Data of International Students in the U.S.

2010-2011 data for U.S. institutions--

Total international student enrollment: 723,277

Top places of origin:

China, India, South Korea, Canada, Taiwan

From China:

2009-2010: 127,628 students

2010-2011: 127,558 students

Research Question

What can I, as an academic advisor, do to ease the transition of Chinese international students moving to the U.S. having to overcome language, cultural, and financial barriers, all the while, navigating their way through college?

Research Design

I want to know what the Chinese higher education system is like and how this information impacts advising? (Ethnography)

Interviewed students in China

Interviewed university officials at a Chinese institution

Data Collection

Total interviews—23

Students: 13

Advisors: 10

At WSU: interviewed 4 academic advisors and 4 students

At Fudan: interviewed 5 university staff/faculty and 6 students

In China: interviewed 1 student, 2 recent graduates, and 1 former Fudaninstructor

Data Collection

Fudan University

4 yr. university

Ranked 3rd in China

26,000 students

28 schools/departments

70 undergrad. majors

Partnership with MIT, Dublin Uni, and various businesses (Lucent Tech., Cisco)

Goal: to be world-class

What I learned…

Similarities to U.S. Higher Education System:

Fudan College/first year program

Format of classes

University structure

Same student issues

What I learned…

Differences:

College entrance

Major

Cohorts and mentoring

Education philosophy

Gao Kao—the Chinese SAT“Looking at the Chinese education system, there are still a lot of inequalities. My friend from Henan, there were 1 million students who took the gao kao, he placed 19th and got into Fudan. So in Henan, only about 10% can test into college. In Shanghai there were 68,000 students who took the test, and 64,000 were able to test into college. The system is not fair at all. So you asked if most students will attend college, most students from developed cities, yes, but students from rural areas, most likely not. Everyone hopes to attend college, but most of them will not”—Fudan first year student

College Entrance Gao Kao—”It is

like a stampede of thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of horses across a single log bridge”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/13/world/asia/13exam.html

College Major

“Changing one’s major is a huge decision. You’re used to being with your cohort and your friends and the classes. Unless you really hate your major and you really love something else, no one really changes their major.”—Fudan 3rd year student

College Major

Major Selection—mostly through Gao Kao score

Change of Major—extremely difficult

Cohorts

“So in China, we have this concept of cohorts/class. And there is a class monitor/leader. For example, if I forget about an assignment, I can ask the class monitor or my roommates. Everyone is together and learning and living is more relaxed. I don’t have to be too independent because if I forget something, I have an easy way to retrieving that information. “—Chinese international student at WSU

Mentoring/Advising System

Cohort concept

K - College

Student Mentors

Cohort Teachers

Education Philosophy

“We see all 4 years as an opportunity for them to succeed. We don’t dismiss them for one semester or two of poor grades. We encourage them to make adjustments and changes and will look at their progress at the end of the 4 year process, to see if they have the overall 2.0 (GPA). Some students might start off their first year with really poor grades, but once they start taking courses within their major, they perform quite well. So their grades will even out at the end.” –Director of Fudan College

Education Philosophy

Confucian influence

Meritocracy

Retention and repeats

Grades and GPA

Make a list of problems/obstacles you might encounter if you went to

study in China.

From China to the U.S….

Coming to America

U.S. # 1 host country

Recruitment

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

200

7

200

8

200

9

2010

student #

student #

Common Problems

Lack of understanding of U.S. Higher Education System

Cultural and language adjustment

Transfer credits

What Advisors Can Do

Face to face advising

Use oral and written explanations

Be patient

Ask about goals/expectations to avoid misunderstanding

Make connection by asking about home country or learning how to greet in native language

Encourage courses that develop critical thinking skills

What Advisors Can Do

Encourage dept. to come up with transfer agreements

Find a student, graduate student, or faculty from home country to help with advising or answering questions

Encourage participation of International Program events/activities

In Conclusion…

The Chinese higher education system is very different from the U.S. models.

As more international students study in the U.S. further research is necessary.

It’s pertinent for advisors to learn about students’ unique backgrounds and make connections.

References and Resources

International Institute of Education (Open Door data)

www.iie.org

Chronicle of Higher Education

www.chronicle.com

About the Use of Agents

http://www.washcouncil.org/documents/pdf/WIEC2011_Fraud-in-China.pdf

About plagiarism

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=401564

Questions???

Building Bridge Across Cultures: Learning about China's Higher Education System and its

Impact on Academic Advising

Yung-Hwa Anna Chow

ychow@wsu.edu

Washington State University