国际学生支持服务：中国大学正在改善什么

Officials and university administrators have acknowledged that the growth of international enrolment must be matched by a comprehensive service system covering pre-enrolment support, campus life and post-graduation employment. A closed-loop, service-oriented management system rather than simple admission has been identified as the priority for the next five years.

In practice this is leading to expanded orientation programmes, dedicated international student counsellors, bilingual administrative services, and career centres that engage Chinese employers recruiting for overseas roles. The strongest provision is at the large established universities with thousands of international students — Zhejiang, Fudan, Shanghai Jiao Tong, Sun Yat-sen, Beijing Normal, East China Normal and Nanjing.

Applicants should treat the quality of international student support as a real selection criterion and ask specific questions: how many staff work solely with international students, whether counselling is available in English, and how many international graduates found work or further study after the last cohort.