China, govt or private schools?

[otago]

Any thoughts as to which is the better way to go? there also seem to be a huge number of 'universities' in China, is the use of the title university wide open for use by any institution?

[kdavid]

Speaking only in regards to private vs. public universities, I'm quite sure both are obligated to follow the same rules, and therefore neither having much more of a benefit over the others.

For example, all universities in China must pass their students. Generally speaking, regardless of grades all Chinese university students will receive a degree. It's for this reason (among many others) that Chinese universities are not regarded very highly in the West.

Another example: one of my current business partners had planned to open a university based on a western model (study in China for 2 years, then, grades permitting, study in Canada for 2 years). The problem he ran into was that the Chinese government required that his school pass all students onto the 3 and 4th year in Canada. Herein lied a problem as he was possibly passing along students with poor academic performance and therefore giving his school (over here in China) a bad reputation, thus making his efforts self-defeating.

Anyway, as far as the qualify of education goes, I think the best is with the big names (or at least that's what most Chinese will think).