LU, Chinese partner to offer degree

Laurentian University is joining forces with Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics (ZUFE) in Hangzhou, China to jointly deliver a bachelor's degree program in accounting.

The agreement was signed at a formal ceremony Oct. 22 in Hangzhou by ZUFE President Wang Junhao and Laurentian president Dominic Giroux.

“We are delighted to offer our students this opportunity to study at Laurentian University and to enhance the value of their bachelor degree,” said Wang, in a press release.

“Our relationship with Laurentian will give our students an edge in the international marketplace.”

The partnership is a first of its kind for Laurentian.

“We know that China’s Ministry of Education approves only a small number of applications for this kind of international collaboration, and we are honoured to be part of this elite group,” Giroux said.

“This agreement puts us in a select group of universities world-wide.”

The dual degree accounting program will deliver the latest curriculum in the field of accounting, focusing on current issues and the challenges of globalization.

Under the agreement, students enrolled in the program will complete their first two years of studies at ZUFE, and then complete three semesters at Laurentian University in Sudbury.

The program includes a final year back at ZUFE.

Under the agreement, between 60 and 100 students will begin their third-year studies at Laurentian’s Sudbury campus in January 2015. These students will earn a total of 42 credits at Laurentian toward the Bachelor degree.

The collaboration with ZUFE also provides students the opportunity to take Laurentian’s English preparatory program (English for Academic Preparation) in Hangzhou before they begin their third-year studies in Canada.

“This collaboration is the result of a lot of detailed planning and a lot of discussion about how to deliver a cutting-edge, global dual degree,” said Peter Luk, dean of Laurentian's faculty of management, who attended the signing in Hangzhou.

“We acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of ZUFE Dean Wang Yaoxiang, who helped to realize this agreement, and of Professor Fu Liying, who worked with us to formulate the appropriate curriculum content.”

While the ZUFE agreement is the first of its kind for Laurentian, the university has developed extensive relationships with several partners in education in China, the press release said.

International enrolment overall has grown more than 40 per cent to 648 students on campus in the past three years. Laurentian has set an objective of increasing the proportion of international students from 6.1 per cent in 2011 to eight per cent by 2017 in its strategic plan.