Wenzhou-Kean approved to offer graduate programs
By Zoe Strozewski | Published by December 9, 2019
Wenzhou-Kean University has been approved to launch 11 graduate-level programs, according to the Kean website.
Kean’s sister campus in China was previously only allowed to offer undergraduate-level programs.
“This is an amazing start to the second phase of the development of Wenzhou-Kean University as a global world-class university in China,” Kean University President Dawood Farahi said in an article on Kean News, the university’s online newsletter.
According to the Kean website, there are currently about 2,400 students enrolled at Wenzhou-Kean. Students from both the Union and Wenzhou schools are given the opportunity to attend school at the other campus at no additional charge during their time at Kean.
Wenzhou-Kean University will start offering graduate programs fall 2020.
Photo courtesy of Kean News
The 11 approved programs are Accounting (M.S.), Architecture (M.Arch.), Biotechnology Science (M.S.), Computer Information Systems (M.S.), Educational Administration (M.A.), Global Business (MBA), Intruction and Curriculum (M.A.), Psychology (M.A.), Combined School and Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.), Counseling and Supervision (Ph.D.) and Educational Leadership (Ed.D.).
An article on Kean News stated that the Ministry of Education in China granted the approval for the new graduate-level programs and allocated 20 million renminbi, a Chinese currency, to recruit faculty over the next five years.
Faculty recruitment technically falls under China, as the employment of faculty was transferred over to the Chinese government in July despite protest from the Kean Federation of Teachers, the union that represents Kean faculty.
However, Kean spokeswoman Karen Smith said that while China has the authority to oversee faculty and approve new programs at Wenzhou-Kean, the development of those programs is still under the control of Kean itself.
“Kean University has full academic control of all of our programs administered at Wenzhou-Kean University, including establishing curriculum, course outcomes and degree requirements,” Smith said. “The Ministry of Education in China grants approval to launch new academic offerings at international collaborative universities such as WKU. We are excited to move forward in offering these world-class graduate programs at WKU.”
A representative from the Middle States Association’s Commission on Higher Education confirmed that although it is not yet included in the list of accreditation actions in Kean’s profile, the new graduate-level programs have been granted accreditation.
The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools is a non-profit organization that evaluates and grants accreditation to schools in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States, including New Jersey. The organization’s Commission on Higher Education is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and specializes in colleges and universities. It also grants accreditation to schools that provide distance education, such as Wenzhou-Kean.
Some of the new programs are on track to be offered as soon as fall 2020. Admission requirements for these programs will mirror the admission requirements for Kean’s Nathan Weiss Graduate College, according to Kean News.
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