The internationalization of higher education has emerged as a key trend in China's educational reform and development. In the decade before the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of international students in China doubled to almost half a million while the number of Chinese students studying overseas tripled to over 700,000. International study has two dimensions: to obtain an education from a different country and to experience living in a different culture. Today's internationalization of higher education means that it is possible to receive an international education in China, as well as being possible in a small but growing number of cases to get a Chinese education overseas.

Given China's relative success compared to other countries in restricting the spread of COVID-19, the quality of cultural experience when going abroad has arguably deteriorated, which also threatens disruption in the educational experience. This has made students – and even more parents – concerned about the risks of travelling overseas. There are many choices inside China, including both local and international university programmes. Sino-foreign cooperative universities offer the most complete international experience. They are joint ventures between high-quality international universities and local partners, sometimes universities and sometimes specialist providers of educational services. Today, there are nine Sino-foreign universities in operation: two with the UK, three with the US, two with Hong Kong, and one each with Israel and Russia.

Many parents and students who had originally planned to study abroad have turned to international education in China, especially as the Chinese government has allowed fast track applications for students with a firm offer from a reputable international university. In particular, applications for masters' study have increased dramatically. Students can study an international syllabus with more adaptation to China than when studying abroad, ending up as talented graduates with international qualifications. But why do students choose to "study abroad without leaving China"?

To provide insights into student psychology in choosing Sino-foreign universities, we conducted 17 face-to-face interviews with masters students at our university, the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, which was founded in 2004. Choosing where to study is a high stakes decision for the individual as it is typically a once-in-a-lifetime choice. It often involves high costs (especially if studying abroad), high personal involvement, and a lot of time. Students have to make complex decisions, including choosing which country, which university and which programme they wish to participate in. They perceive high risks in making these decisions because a wrong decision could result in financial loss, loss of motivation to study and even academic failure.

To reduce potential risks, students attempted to obtain information from multiple sources, though not always the best ones. We found many students do not start with a wide choice set of universities which they then narrow down. Instead, they tend to have an initial set of choices, to which they may add further options at a later stage. These initial choices are influenced predominantly by word of mouth from prior and existing students, other significant contacts (e.g. family and friends) and online forums. Hence, a challenge for Sino-foreign universities is to be recognized as a possible choice at an early stage of decision-making when most contacts have gone to domestic Chinese universities or studied abroad.

We also found that students have varied motivations when selecting Sino-foreign universities. One motivation revolves around pragmatism and job-orientation. This is in line with China's fast-paced economic development, including overseas expansion of Chinese companies, together with more foreign companies coming to China to launch their business. Both options create great demand for high-quality employees, especially those with an international higher education background. This provided 'push' motivations for students to prefer universities with a global vision and an international education system.

On the other hand, there is the 'pull' of a university's reputation. Students assess the Sino-foreign university's academic reputation, the ranking of the 'parent' foreign university and that of the Chinese partner. They also look at the programme itself, instructional strategies, staff expertise, innovation, resources and the alumni community. Apart from the university itself and the quality of its academic faculty, students also evaluate the university's city, including its climate, lifestyle, safety, economic growth, and cultural atmosphere. While students often reach consensus on some of these factors, others such as climate are a more personal preference. Several students chose our university because of its proximity to their hometown. So, while the global perspective of Sino-foreign universities is sought, nearby cities are an important market. Hence, universities could leverage the influence of their local alumni as university ambassadors. They need to promote not only their education and reputation but also the characteristics of their local area.

At this stage, university Open Days, official websites and other activities such as debate competitions become critical channels for students to acquire information about universities. We found that a university's admissions office is a critical point of contact that can determine whether students select the university. In our interviews, students said they contacted the admissions office of universities in which they were interested, to learn more about the university and get a feel for it. When interacting with admissions office staff, they developed an impression of the university and then decided whether or not to apply. As university applications are mostly online, it is equally important to make sure that the online application system is user-friendly and convenient to use. The speed and effectiveness of response to inquiries was critical to making a final decision.

In addition, we found several other factors that could motivate the students to make the decision to choose a Sino-foreign cooperative university, including lower costs than studying abroad to obtain the same qualification, diverse course content in an internationalized system, the opportunity to improve in the English language, shorter length programmes than in China and, last but not least, high employability of graduates. We would add that while the total duration of masters' programmes can be shorter in a Sino-foreign university, the intensity of study is higher as it is year-round.

All interviewed students expressed their satisfaction with their experiences at our university, as well as its efforts to collect feedback and improve. The latest independent international survey of our business masters students found an astonishingly high 99 percent satisfaction rate. While student mobility has been restricted worldwide since the COVID-19 outbreak, Sino-foreign universities, with high-quality educational resources from overseas, have allowed students to 'stay in the nation to study abroad.' Their advantages are clear, their students are pleased with their choice, and they offer an attractive alternative to both domestic universities and studying abroad.

Martin Lockett is Dean of NUBS China at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. Yangyang Jiang is an Associate Professor in Marketing at NUBS China. Chenlei Cai is a recent masters' programme graduate from NUBS China.

The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not represent the views of China Daily and China Daily website.

If you have a specific expertise and would like to contribute to China Daily, please contact us at [email protected] , and [email protected]