China

In a sign that demand for US education will remain strong this year in China, the number of Chinese taking the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) is expected to exceed 40,000 this year – up from 20,000 in 2010 and just 200 in 2003. Most of the top US universities require a candidate to have an SAT score. The number of Chinese students at US universities climbed 23% this year.

Compelling presentations delivered at last week's IPSEF event cemented the rampant opportunity presented by the growth in the international schools market, which is expected to double by 2020 and struggling to meet demand, delegates heard.

Foreign enrolments at US universities grew 6% to 764,495 this year, according to the latest Open Doors report, bringing an estimated $21.81 billion to the economy. It was driven by a big rise in interest from China and Saudi Arabia, as well as in English programmes as a route to university. The number of Americans studying abroad was also up.

The Chinese government is considering tightening regulations regarding overseas agencies that could lead to a ban altogether on foreign-owned operations and greater expectations of other operations, according to China Daily. A draft of the possible new regulation has been published, soliciting opinion from provincial-level education authorities.

China will fund 18,000 students to study abroad in 2013 through the government funded China Scholarship Council (CSC), an increase of 2,000 students from the 2012 offering. The scholarships will cover 6,000 students for graduate study and 12,000 for undergraduate degrees or to take roles as senior researchers or visiting scholars.

US firm peerTransfer says it has become the first money transfer service to allow Chinese students to make direct educational payments overseas in their home currency. The system is open to those studying in the US, Europe, Australia and Canada, who peerTransfer claims could save $100m per year.

Many US schools that want to recruit in China fear it will be costly and complex, the student social network Zinch China has claimed in a new report. However there are a number of effective low cost strategies schools can try, almost all involving the use of Chinese interns.

ELT exam giant Cambridge ESOL is to boost its reach in China in a tie-up with a leading provider of computer-based testing in the country. The agreement aims to meet the growing demand for computer-based exams in China, with ATA delivering "millions" of exams across its network. More than 300 million Chinese are now thought to study English.

In a move that could shake the agent sector, China is to launch a "permanent" student fair in Shanghai next June where overseas institutions can recruit Chinese students directly all year round. The IEEC centre will host 800-1,000 schools...

The UK remains one of the most popular destinations for learning English in the key markets Italy, Turkey and China, according to new reports released by the British Council and English UK today. However, British schools must tackle the challenges these markets pose if they are to retain their edge going forward.

China and Brazil have welcomed recommendations that 50,000 Canadian students a year should be studying abroad within 10 years, made by Canada's new advisory panel on international education. Only 2.2% of all full-time university students in Canada took a for-credit study abroad programme in 2006.

Durham University in the UK has unveiled a new degree programme designed to enable students to find work in China upon graduation, with a multi-disciplinary BA programme that includes one year in China...

Chinese students will be able to study English in Ireland more easily under a new visa scheme aimed at boosting the language sector. 55 schools will be able to recruit through “trusted agents” in China while eligible Chinese students will need to provide fewer documents and will have their applications fast-tracked by the Irish Embassy in Beijing.

Less than half of language schools worldwide said their enrolments grew in the second quarter of 2012 compared with last year, according to the latest language travel survey from the Association of Language Travel Organisations (ALTO). Inversely, business was up for agents with 45% reporting growth over 41%.

A delegation of Presidents and VPs from top Chinese research universities visited Australia last week to further agreements on HE exchange between China and scholars at Australia's Group of Eight (Go8) universities...