One of two new agreements between the Mount and universities in China
The Department of Business and Tourism at Mount Saint Vincent University has entered into two new agreements to offer collaborative programs with universities in China, including a new joint tourism degree which is the first of its kind among Canadian university tourism programs.
Starting in September 2016, the Mount will offer a joint Bachelor of Tourism and Hospitality Management degree in China in cooperation with Jinshan College of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (FAFU). As well, the Mount is entering into a new articulation agreement with Beijing Jiaotong University which will provide a pathway into the Mount’s Bachelor of Business Administration degree program for students from Beijing Jiaotong.
“On the heels of the Nova Scotia government’s announcement of their strategy to strengthen ties with China, these agreements are great examples of how universities can play an important role in building international relationships,” said Paula Barry, Associate Vice President of Student Experience at the Mount.
The first three years of the joint Tourism and Hospitality Management degree program with Jinshan College will be taught in China, with Mount faculty teaching one year’s worth of those courses either onsite or online. Students will then come to Halifax for their fourth year of study as well as cooperative industry placements. Up to one hundred students will be admitted into the program each year.
The Business Administration articulation program with Beijing Jiaotong University will see students who complete two and a half years of study in China, followed by two years at the Mount, receive the Mount’s BBA degree.
“These new programs offer many benefits to both universities,” said Barry. “This is Jinshan College’s first international agreement and the first step in an internationalization process they’ve undertaken. That agreement alone has the potential to double the size of our tourism program.”
(Photo source: http://english.fafu.edu.cn/jsxyen/)
Agreement with Jinshan College – the first of its kind among Canadian university tourism programs
Michael Whalen, Professor in the Mount’s Business and Tourism & Hospitality Management Department and liaison with Jinshan College, noted that tourism has become a huge industry in China. “From a base of less than half a million tourists in the early 1980s, inbound tourism now sees over 120 million people visit the country each year. More importantly, from a Nova Scotia point of view, over 100 million Chinese citizens are now visiting overseas destinations each year. Unfortunately, very few visit Canada and almost none Nova Scotia – but this agreement marks an opportunity to change that.”
“Through our partnership with Jinshan College, up to 100 Chinese students a year will be studying tourism in Nova Scotia and participating in cooperative placements with Canadian industry,” said Whalen. “This will give them a unique perspective on the global industry that they can apply in their home country. It will also give them an in depth knowledge of the Nova Scotian and Canadian industry they can use to further develop tourist movements from China to Canada.”
The Mount has been working with FAFU since 2012. Currently Mount Business faculty teach three courses at FAFU each year through a combination of video conferencing and an intensive two-week period on the FAFU campus in Fuzhou. As part of the current program, FAFU students have the option of coming to the Mount for the final two years of their degrees. Twenty-four FAFU students continued with their third year of university studies at the Mount this September and will graduate with both FAFU and Mount degrees in 2017.
About Jinshan College
Jinshan College is an independent college of FAFU located on the main FAFU campus in Fuzhou, Fujian Province. FAFU has close to 50,000 students, almost all of whom live on campus. Jinshan has 10,000 students.
About Beijing Jiaotong University
Beijing Jiaotong University, formerly Northern Jiaotong University, is one of the oldest universities in mainland China. The main campus is located close to Xizhimen, central Beijing. The university offers 58 undergraduate and 54 graduate programs, and is attended by about 25,000 students.
About the Mount
Recognized as a leader in distance and experiential learning, and based on a strong tradition of social responsibility, Mount Saint Vincent University takes a personalized approach to education to nurture socially responsible global citizens. Founded in 1873, the Mount has been nationally recognized for having one of the lowest student-to-professor ratios, for providing students early access to valuable research opportunities, for its legacy in the advancement of women, and for facilitating critical advancements in food security, healthy aging, literacy, and childhood development. www.msvu.ca
For more information:
Gillian Batten
Manager, Communications
Mount Saint Vincent University
902-457-6439
Gillian.Batten@msvu.ca