Graduates of China Europe International Business School in Shanghai attend their graduation ceremony. Many Chinese universities running Executive Master of Business Administration programs are busy tracking down new students before they lose the power of autonomous recruitment at the end of this year. Provided To China Daily

Changes coming for executive programs that will raise the bar for new admissions

Some Chinese universities running Executive Master of Business Administration programs are busy tracking down new students before they lose the power of autonomous recruitment at the end of this year.

Liu Jianbo, for example, a 30-year-old employee at a State-owned enterprise in Beijing, received several callbacks from two universities he had consulted about applying.

"Staff members urged me to make a decision as soon as possible, before the policies about the programs are overhauled next year to make it more difficult to be accepted," Liu said.

Stories similar to Liu's showed up in numerous news reports, after the Ministry of Education released a series of regulations stipulating that, starting in 2017, applicants for EMBA programs will have to take a national entrance exam, rather than a local test at their desired university.

The regulations are part of a move to make EMBA recruitment and teaching more transparent and standardized. For universities running such programs, the regulations mean they will no longer be able to conduct entrance exams or recruit students on their own.

China began to award EMBA degrees in 2002, to nurture high-level talent with master's level knowledge of modern management and to cultivate leadership and innovation.

Sixty-four universities won approval to organize exams and recruit students on their own.

But in recent years, the programs in China have gained a reputation as "a club for the rich" because of their high tuition fees - sometimes amounting to hundreds of thousands of yuan.

The programs were also criticized for some of their attendees, among whom were many government officials, senior managers or owners of enterprises. Party officials were banned in 2014 from taking expensive training courses.

The newly released regulations also stipulate that students should take enough courses to get an EMBA degree. Universities granting degrees at a lower standard, or students buying degrees will be strictly prohibited.

Wang Huiying, head of Huazhang Education Group, a Shanghai-based company that provides guidance and services for EMBA applicants, said the change will lead to a decrease in the number of students recruited.

The coming national entrance exam, which will test applicants' abilities in math, English and other subjects, means a rising bar for enrollment that will hold some potential applicants back, Wang said.

But Chu Zhaohui, a senior researcher at the National Institute of Education Sciences, said the changes in EMBA education will help improve the quality of the programs, because students will have to meet certain thresholds in order to be accepted or to qualify for a degree.

"The change will definitely boost healthy development and generate real talent," he said.

Liu, the enterprise employee who planned to apply for an EMBA program, said the degrees will become more valuable and that people holding one will have advantages in their career, especially after the change that will tighten standards.

"I think I will have a try after the change," Liu said.

EMBA in China

Some schools with well-known executive programs:

Tsinghua University, School of Economics and Management

Peking University, Guanghua School of Management

China Europe International Business School

Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Antai College of Economics & Management

Renmin University of China, School of Business

Xiamen University, School of Management

Zhejiang University, School of Management

University of International Business and Economics, Business School

Fudan University, School of Management

Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business

zhaoxinying@chinadaily.com.cn