In-Country Representative
Having a full-time representative in China can bolster relationships with local partners, allows you to go to a promising fair or meeting with little notice, and opens up many other doors to maximizing enrollments from China, while saving money on international travel, visa, and per diem costs.
If you want in-country representation but are struggling with identifying candidates or employer compliance issues, Sunrise is here to help, at a fraction of the cost of a law firm and without the ethical entanglements of sharing space with an agent.
*Sunrise’s HR service fee is an Employer of Record service, wherein Sunrise employs your representative and undertakes HR and compliance obligations and you contract with Sunrise for the roles and responsibilities you wish to give to your representative.
Seasonal/Temp Example: A university plans to attend college fairs and tours in the fall and needs an experienced representative for 8 weeks. Including savings on international travel and visa, the gross budget for this person’s time is $10,000. Compensation is set at $3,500 for one month of events. Total cost comes to $10,000 ($7,000 salary, $1,500 HR service fee, $1,500 recruitment fee).
Full Time Example: A university has identified a full time representative that it wishes to hire. The total gross budget for this individual, inclusive of office and benefits, is $61,000. The employee salary is set at $2,700 monthly. Total annual cost comes to $60,440 ($4,000 service fee, $32,400 for salary, $18,144 for benefits, and $5,500 for dedicated desk).
Recruitment and Training of a Local Representative
Consulting and Research
Sunrise International’s Strategic Advisory practice empowers our clients to adopt strategies and tactics in China that are informed by the latest market trends, key data, and each client’s institutional context. Our suite of market research services can help answer key questions that inform your China strategy such as:
Bespoke Research About Your Institution in China
Your China status quo. Analyze key trends in applications and enrollments. Dive deep into challenges, explore market trends, and leverage data for growth. Benchmark against competitors, define your advantage. Navigate the dynamic Chinese market strategically with our guidance.
Crisis Management When Circumstances on Campus or in the Media Create Challenges for You in China
Strategic response. In handling a crisis in China, strategic analysis and contingency planning are key. Understanding stakeholders and utilizing decision trees clarifies the path forward. When direct response isn't suitable, we offer tools to dilute negatives and highlight positives, shaping a favorable narrative.
Media Monitoring to Understand the Discourse About Your School and to Better Manage Risk
The latest on you. Explore the ongoing narrative about your school by listening to agents, alumni, and current students. Ascertain the prevailing discourse on your institution in China. Anticipate tomorrow's stories amidst China's fast-paced news cycle. Stay vigilant for emerging publicity risks or positive spotlights.
Marketing and Direct Outreach Research to Build Robust Contact Lists and Open New Opportunities for Your Institution
Prospecting targets. Explore prime opportunities in China's educational landscape with tailored contact lists and refined marketing messaging. Our expertise ensures meaningful connections with key institutions, fostering impactful outreach strategies. Uncover potential partnerships and make your mark in China's dynamic educational sphere.
Market Research About the Trends That Are Shaping Chinese Student Mobility
Sending institutions. Explore the dynamic trends shaping Chinese education for undergraduate and graduate recruitment. From regional segmentation to emerging markets, we unravel factors influencing enrollment growth. Delve into shifting student preferences and evolving courses of study. Stay informed for strategic decision-making in the dynamic Chinese education sector.
Surveys and Polling to Get Test Anecdote Against Data About Opportunities in China; Partner Vetting to Build Stable Foundations for Collaboration
Surveys and polling. How do perceptions among students, parents, and teachers shape your brand's narrative? Our approach goes beyond certifications, delving into mystery shopper insights, ensuring high-stakes partnerships are grounded in trust. Scrutinizing partner claims against legal filings, we craft authentic connections for enduring success in China.
When we assist our partners in developing a strategic plan for China, we begin by learning more about the institution’s objectives in China and how these connect to the institution’s community and mission statement. We work to research how our partners can cultivate a comparative advantage in China, based on our research team’s personal expertise and unique data sets about international education China. We then work with our partners to identify a strategy for creating and exploiting this comparative advantage in the Chinese market, mapping this strategy out over a timeline with digestible and actionable steps to take.
Our partners range from large American public research institutions, to European arts schools, to small private liberal arts colleges. Some work with us after deciding to engage the Chinese market for the first time, while we work with others after they decide to re-calibrate a long-standing presence in China. We look forward to sharing our perspectives on the world’s largest international education market with you and to help bring your institution’s unique offerings to a broader audience in China.
Curious what our work looks like? Twice each year, Sunrise releases free White Papers outlining some major changes in the landscape, such as changes in international schools and trends in Chinese social media. If you think that your institution needs a fresh China perspective, please feel free to get in touch.
CHINA ROADSHOW
The Sunrise China Roadshow resolves the difficulties of organizing physical introductions, crucial to forming partnerships in China, when language and time differences stand in the way.
It not just about meetings, it’s the right meeting with right people
We can secure up to 10 meetings scheduled with pre-screened agencies, university partners, companies, and high schools, guaranteeing great meetings with interested parties. We take care of everything; all you have to do is confirm, attend, and enjoy.
Understanding the Concept of “Guanxi”
This tradition of “Guanxi” dates back thousands of years and is deeply rooted in daily life of every Chinese citizen. At its roots, “Guanxi” is a mutually beneficial relationship that can affect one’s ability to secure a seat at a popular restaurant or getting an interview for a dream job. Built upon interpersonal relationships, most Chinese people persistently work to build guanxi at their workplace, with their friends, and among family.
For foreign institutions, “Guanxi” developed among recruiters, university partners, and high school counselors, can be a secret weapon shield you from a rival with a higher ranking or deeper pockets. On the other hand, expansion without sufficient focus on “Guanxi”, such as impersonal “info@...” and unsolicited calls, will merely end in an inbox full of ignored emails and answering machine of unreturned calls.
For foreigners or foreign institutions, “warm” introductions and mutual connections mean the difference between a successful or unproductive trip to China. So let Sunrise be the medium and ensure a productive and smooth trip for you.
China Test Optional Initiative
Empower Students Left Behind by the Gaokao and SAT/ACT
The China Test Optional Initiative (CTOI)’s goal is to bridge the gap between the growing test-optional policy movement in international higher education with the extraordinary number of Chinese students seeking international education opportunities after taking the Gaokao or other standardized exams each year. Each year, 9 million Chinese students take the Gaokao, and tens of thousands more sit for international exams such as the SAT. Particularly for the Gaokao, students stake their futures on one single test score, and they only find out their score in mid June. Many students disenfranchised by the Gaokao must quickly make a tremendous decision: attend a second-rate institution at home, wait a year, or apply for a test-optional university abroad. If your institution is test-optional and welcome applications in the summer, please consider joining the Best Fit university group to make these students aware of all their options.
How does the China Test Optional Initiative work?
The CTOI is a web index accessible inside Mainland China without VPN. Students browse a list of test-optional universities organized by geography and indicate their interest in learning more about that school’s application process. Once they express interest in applying to a particular university, we relay that student’s inquiry and the contact information that they choose to provide to the university that they inquire about.
Who should join?
Universities or English Language Institutes affiliated to universities need to satisfy these conditions:
Does not require submission of SAT or ACT scores.
For English language assessments, is willing to accept any of the following: Duolingo, PTE, university-administered English assessments, English class grades from a student’s sending institution, or Gaokao English scores.
What services does the China Test Optional Initiative offer to member universities?
The translation of your university’s profile into simplified Chinese.
Listing your university as a member institution, which will appear on our web index of test-optional universities for one year.
Receive an inquiry list that populates with student inquiries about your university. Students report as much information as they are comfortable sharing and are invited to provide phone, email, WeChat, grade, school, location, as well as their parent’s information
A comprehensive research report released each year in March about assessing Gaokao scores across different subjects and provinces.
The average institution can expect 600-700 inquires, which generally spike in late June-July, and again late October-November.