Number of GAC Centers in China on the Rise

The Global Assessment Certificate^® (GAC) program is growing significantly in China as more and more students seek to attend colleges in English-speaking countries.

More than 30 GAC Approved Teaching Centers are now serving students and another 10 are scheduled to open this year. In addition, another 10–12 centers are in the works to begin delivery of the program in the 2009 academic year. China has been offering the GAC program since 2000.

GAC Group from China Tours The University of Iowa and ACT
In early February, 30 program graduates and prospective students from the Global Assessment Certificate Center in Qingdao, China, visited The University of Iowa, which is one of the program’s Pathway Universities, and ACT’s corporate headquarters. The purposes of the trip were to familiarize the group with U.S. colleges and universities, immerse them in American culture and lifestyle, and create a better understanding of what they can expect when they begin their undergraduate studies. The group also visited colleges and universities in California, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York.

“The GAC is attractive to Chinese students because it does what it’s designed to—successfully prepare students for undergraduate study in an English-speaking environment,” said Joff Allen, general manager of ACT Education Solutions Limited.

The two most populous countries in the world, China and India, supply the largest numbers of students to English-speaking environments. The Open Doors 2007 report confirmed that more than 83,000 students from India are studying in the United States, an increase of 10 percent from the previous year. There are 67,700 students from China, an 8 percent increase. Overall, the number of international students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities increased by 3 percent to a total of 582,984, according to the report, which is published annually by the Institute of International Education (IIE), a not-for-profit educational and cultural exchange organization in the United States. The IIE has conducted the annual statistical survey of international students in the United States since 1949.

“Satisfied GAC graduates from China studying at universities in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom are the best ambassadors for the GAC program. Their successes have rapidly increased demand for our program,” said Andrew Todd, country manager of the ACT Education Solutions Limited office in China.

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