Trends in Chinese Education White Paper 2022
We are pleased to announce that this year’s Sunrise white paper, Trends in Chinese International Education and Student Mobility: Facing the New Realities of the 2022-2023 Academic Year, is now available. The past year oversaw a wide variety of factors that impacted the Chinese education landscape, including (but not limited to) novel regulatory legislation, pandemic-related lockdowns, the persistence of travel restrictions, and a growing interest in overseas study among students and parents across China. As has been the case since the onset of the pandemic, higher education institutions faced a myriad of challenges with regard to Chinese student recruitment, but avenues of engagement have existed and continue to exist for those willing to invest in diversified outreach strategies.
Click here to receive your free copy. Some highlights include:
Modest but uneven growth from 2019 student numbers are coming: Appetite for overseas study in China remains strong, and the shape of this appetite is evolving. Students are increasingly applying to schools in multiple countries. Available data for 2022 suggest that numbers are back on the rise from China.
COVID lockdowns at home make study abroad more attractive: Frustration with lengthy COVID lockdowns and economic headwinds are driving interest in emigration and study overseas.
International schools will grow but at a slower pace: Despite new regulations on private schools, new international schools continue to open in China, with the number of schools growing by 3% and the market size growing by 5%.
Small scale IECs will grow: Agents continue to face a challenging economic climate as heavy-handed regulation targets large firms and sources of investment. The possibility for an EdTech revolution in the agency space has grown more distant, as small independent counselors have prospered.
Finally, some trust in test-optional admissions: The test-optional admissions movement continues to gain credibility and trust in China. Reforms to the SAT are welcomed by Chinese students, but taking the SAT remains challenging and expensive in China.
China nears the point of no return for inbound study abroad: Inbound study abroad in China continues to flounder as borders remain closed to students and online learning experiences are poor for international students at Chinese universities. Every year of closed borders will make a recovery of inbound students harder.
In vocational programs, actors will look for the right mix of global and local: As both policy support and funding for higher quality vocational training increase, there are big opportunities for whomever can identify modes of international collaboration with China’s numerous but deeply local vocational training institutions.