44
of
our partner institutions, and Fort Hays State University has la-
beled the delivery of these courses cross border education.
Soon after offering Fort Hays State University’s first courses, we
were asked by the Chinese Government to provide the syllabi, text-
books, and other instructional resources, as well as the faculty cre-
dentials for the courses offered to Chinese students. All materials
requested were forwarded to the Chinese Government, and soon
thereafter we were approved to deliver bachelor’s degrees in China.
There was no censorship of the content of any course by the gov-
ernment, nor by the university partners. The Chinese Government
has never asked again to review our curriculum, to review our con-
tent, or to review the faculty credentials.
In 2010, Fort Hays State University’s
two partners, Sias Univer-
sity and Shenyang Normal University, which was approved in
2004, were selected by the Ministry of Education to conduct a self-
study related to the quality and performance of the dual degree
programs. Other universities through the world that fell under the
regulations, entitled Sino-Foreign Cooperation in Running Schools,
were also selected. The work was not inconsequential and the re-
sults identified Fort Hays State University’s practices as a model
for other universities. As a matter of fact, 50 percent of the part-
ners operating in China at that time failed this regulation, and as
a result their partnerships were canceled.
The guarantee of teaching quality is
the sole responsibility of
Fort Hays State University. Faculty teaching in China report to
international coordinators and department chairs who are located
on the campus of Fort Hays State University, just like any other
faculty would that teach on our campus. All faculty teaching in
China are required to attend a week-long training in Hays, Amer-
ica, conducted by the Fort Hays State University academic units
prior to even setting foot in China. The Chinese Government, as a
matter of fact, has been rather impressed that Fort Hays State
University spends significant financial resources and time to train
our faculty and to ensure academic rigor and academic consistency.
Faculty have had total control over the design and content of the
curriculum. The textbooks and other circulor materials are selected
only by our faculty. The partners purchase
these materials from
import-export companies and the students are required to refer to
them in the classroom. Rarely, the administration of the univer-
sities or the party secretary visit the Fort Hays State University
courses.
At this time, Mr. Chairman, with your permission, I would like
to brief you very quickly on the programs offered by Fort Hays
State University in China. All Chinese students enroll in an aca-
demic program offered by Fort Hays State University and they
take English Composition sequence 101 and 102, as would our stu-
dents here in the United States. The sequence provides the founda-
tion for introducing Chinese students
to Western values and the
Western educational system.
One of the most important goals of these courses is the develop-
ment of critical thinking and analytical skills. These English
courses mirror the courses offered on campus at Fort Hays State
University, although they are augmented with English for foreign
language learners strategies to accommodate the foreign students’
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45
abilities as English learners. Chinese students are held to exactly
the same standards of academic integrity as our U.S. students, and
classroom practices, such as group work, collaboration, and active
participation, which foster Western educational values. The De-
partment of Leadership Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences
has offered a bachelor of science degree
at Sias University and
Shenyang Normal since 2008.
Despite the academic freedom enjoyed by faculty teaching the
curriculum, Fort Hays State University has experienced some in-
stances where the faculty of the partner school has been compla-
cent in undermining academic integrity, but Fort Hays State Uni-
versity has met with the partner institutions’ leadership team to
work through solutions to these issues surrounding academic integ-
rity, and requests by Fort Hays State University have been met
with great support. I will say that more faculty and more student
training, the use of student identification cards, and enforcement
of policy need to be fully implemented to augment the progress in
this area.
As a whole, Fort Hays State University
has dealt with issues of
academic integrity by taking the stance that we own the cur-
riculum and that our standards of academic rigor and academic ex-
cellence will not be sidetracked. Collaboration between Fort Hays
State University and the Department of Political Science has been
extremely positive. We have experienced absolutely no efforts to in-
fringe the academic freedom or integrity of our Political Science:
Legal Studies program. All universities have been respectful, trans-
parent, and collaborative with each other. Learning about the
American system of government and law has been the key learning
objective of this program.
In the decade of teaching American law and government at two
institutions in China, Fort Hays State University has never en-
countered any resistance in teaching Western values or political
structure. Through the
political science curriculum, the students
receive extensive exposure to the U.S. democratic system of govern-
ment and rule of law. In courses such as the American Govern-
ment, Introduction to Law, and Constitutional Law, faculty spend
a significant amount of time discussing the issues of civil liberties,
and civil rights, including the concepts of due process, equal protec-
tion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press,
freedom of religion
and assembly, and the rights of criminal defendants. In essence, we
discuss our Bill of Rights.
The predominant programs at Fort Hays State University’s Col-
lege of Business and Entrepreneurship, such as the Bachelor of
Business Administration in Management and the Bachelor of Ad-
ministration in International Business and Economics, by their na-
ture, typically do not involve subjects that are sensitive or political
in nature. However, our faculty have always had access to Western
academic databases, albeit limited, and have never been prevented
from sharing Western scholarship in the classroom setting.
Every semester Fort Hays State University
conducts student and
faculty evaluations, and the results of these are used by the aca-
demic departments on the campus of Fort Hays State University
to modify and improve quality and the performance of students
overseas. Fort Hays State University faculty display principles of
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