SUNY Cobleskill, the first and only institution in the US to implement the Path Pro Program, announces the launch of its partnership with select Chinese vocational colleges.
In developing the Path Pro model, SUNY Cobleskill has led the way for SUNY and other universities and colleges across the United States.
The Path Pro Program offers Chinese students a range of options for academic and career development that are not currently provided in the vocational education system in China. Path Pro provides those students with accredited outcomes that will be recognized by four-year U.S. universities and colleges toward bachelor degrees.
“We are forging a new educational path for a significant population of Chinese post-secondary students,” said Susan Jagendorf-Sobierajski, Ph.D., Executive Director of International Education at SUNY Cobleskill. “Our candidates will be drawn from a select group of the top 100 Chinese vocational colleges.”
“In recent years in China, improving vocational college education has become a major priority for national education reform and development. The reason for this shift in thinking is the recognition that effective vocational college education can provide an important channel through which to boost economic growth, promote employment, improve people’s livelihood and address issues pertinent to agriculture, rural areas and farmers. Progressive vocational college education can also serve as a key link in mitigating structural conflicts between labor supply and demand,” said Jagendorf-Sobierajski.
Additionally, SUNY Cobleskill is hosting six Chinese faculty who are training to prepare Chinese vocational college students to become bachelor degree-track students at SUNY Cobleskill. Chinese Path Pro partners are spending three months at SUNY Cobleskill interacting with faculty, observing classes and laboratory sessions, and developing new teaching strategies to enhance their students’ global education.
Zong Wa, Deputy Secretary General of China Education Association for International Exchange, a Chinese government agency states that Zhejiang Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering a top vocational college, and SUNY Cobleskill “are the pioneers of Path Pro.”
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(Header photo: Lisa Shurman)
