Berkeley College welcomes students from China’s Guizhou University

As part of an ongoing collaboration between the two schools, Berkeley College welcomed 68 students from China”™s Guizhou University of Finance and Economics (GUFE) this week.

The students will reside in student housing and enroll in classes at Berkeley College where they will earn credits toward their bachelor”™s degrees in various business disciplines. Westchester Community College will offer English as a second language courses to students who require them.

“We are building a bridge between China and America. By being here you are making yourself a world citizen,” said Michael J. Smith, president of Berkeley College. “We are going to challenge you. You are going to work hard, you are going to learn and you are going to grow.”

School officials were joined by government leaders to welcome the students at a ceremony on Wednesday, along with a six-member delegation from China.

“I hope we can expand our partnership, and that we can make progress together,” said Song Zhao, vice president and party secretary at GUFE, assigned by the Ministry of Education of the People”™s Republic of China. “To our students, we hope you can treasure this opportunity to study hard and build a positive presence here.”

The program is part of the Global Educational Collaborative initiative, which gives students from GUFE the opportunity to complete their bachelor”™s degree at Berkeley College. As part of the process, Berkeley College faculty teach courses at GUFE each semester to familiarize Chinese students with American methods. Recently, a six-week faculty exchange program at Berkeley aimed to share American teaching and learning methods with Chinese instructors.