The development of Chinese overseas joint venture universities and their role in Chinese higher education

This dissertation investigates a newly emerging phenomenon in Chinese higher education in which a Chinese university partners with an overseas university to open a new university campus in China which began in 2004. This form of university was established in the context of economic growth and education reform in Chinese society. It has brought a change to the rebuilding of nonpublic higher education in China since the late 1980s. It also reinforces the emphasis on internationalization and diversification of higher education set by Chinese government for the 21st century. However, as a joint venture in higher education, this form of education is still unknown to many education scholars with respect to its formation mechanisms and motivations. Moreover, given the changing landscape of Chinese higher education, the current status and future prospects of this type of university are worthy of study considering its benefits as well as challenges for Chinese and the global higher education development. What is more, the social, economic, and policy implications of these universities are even more enormous than its education perspective.
This dissertation is an exploratory case study involving intensive interviews with seven administrators and nine students from four institutions in this study along with content analysis of mission statements and school documents involving all nine institutions in this group. Findings suggest that the emergence of joint venture universities is consistent with the growing trend of globalization and internationalization in worldwide higher education development. Motivations and goals of institutions in pursuing this cooperation may vary among countries. China’s governmental involvement in this kind of education signifies a new trend in higher education collaboration that incorporates governmental interest in political, economic, and global pursuits rather than focusing on the education per se. Thus, this type of joint venture universities is neither public nor private. An unexpected finding is that the emergence of this form of education did not improve education inequality existing in Chinese higher education due to geographical location but reinforce the reproduction of inequality. Also, the small number of special joint venture universities in China seem to aim more for advancing China’s international goals to engage on the global stage, foster China’s active globalization efforts, and prepare Chinese students to be academically and socially ready for globalization. These findings thus have substantial implications for policymakers in relevant areas and help them in policymaking decisions.