Opening doors

"It gives many young people in China an opportunity they would not otherwise have," Steward said. "They get a good education and having an American degree really does open some doors for them."

"All of those things have allowed our students to broaden their horizons," he said. "China hasn't been our biggest growth area, but it's been part of our overall effort to grow our enrollment. We are in western Kansas, which is sparsely populated. The population is declining and aging, which is a double-whammy for a university, so we've had to broaden our horizons in a lot of ways."

He said that during the last academic year there were nearly 3,200 Chinese students enrolled in Fort Hays's programs at its partner schools in China. The school began operating in China in the early 2000s.

There are some issues that do come up for students, like the use of new technology in the curriculum, Steward said.

"In China that doesn't always work real well," he said. "Part of that is a firewall that can create problems, and that's why we can't use online education as our main tool in China. It's been difficult at times to try to figure out how we can take advantage of what computers can do."

A location near the international business hub of Shanghai was one of the main reasons that the University of Michigan chose to partner with Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2006, James Paul Holloway, vice-provost for Global and Engaged Education at the University of Michigan, wrote in an e-mail to China Daily.

"Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) is one of China's top universities," Holloway wrote, and that makes them "a natural partner for us". The JI also provides a "large landing zone for UM students to take courses in China".

Chinese and international students attending the school have a chance to study in Shanghai and Ann Arbor for two years to complete their dual-degree program.

There are 1,217 Chinese students enrolled at the school in Shanghai and 26 international students, including one from the US, in the undergraduate and graduate programs.