How top U.S. colleges hooked up with controversial Chinese companies

Reuters ^ | 02 December 2012 | Steve Stecklow and Alexandra Harney

[Lorianne]

Thomas Benson once ran a small liberal arts college in Vermont. Stephen Gessner served as president of the school board for New York’s Shelter Island.

More recently, they’ve been opening doors for Chinese education companies seeking a competitive edge: getting their students direct access to admissions officers at top U.S. universities.

Over the past seven years, Benson and Gessner have worked as consultants for three major Chinese companies. They recruited dozens of U.S. admissions officers to fly to China and meet in person with the companies' student clients, with the companies picking up most of the travel expenses. Among the schools that participated: Cornell University, the University of Chicago, Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley.

Two companies Benson and Gessner have represented – New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc and Dipont Education Management Group – offer services to students that go far beyond meet-and-greets with admissions officers.

Eight former and current New Oriental employees and 17 former Dipont employees told Reuters the firms have engaged in college application fraud, including writing application essays and teacher recommendations, and falsifying high school transcripts.

[Lorianne]

Hat Tip: Liberty Blitzkreig

How U.S. Colleges Sell Enrollment to the Highest Bidders https://libertyblitzkrieg.com/

[Lorianne]

Hat Tip: Liberty Blitzkreig
How U.S. Colleges Sell Enrollment to the Highest Bidders https://libertyblitzkrieg.com/

[glorgau]

This is new?

In a proper era it was called “legacy” admissions.

[Darteaus94025]

“It’s the seriousness of the charge...”

Where are our politicians and educators demanding investigations? Getting their palms greased, of course.

[ilovesarah2012]

Colleges are a joke.

[VanShuyten]

“Dipont Education Management Group “

They also make kRolex watches and Gucchi bags.

[Gay State Conservative]

I ride the MBTA’s “Red Line”,which is the Boston area public transit line that stops at MIT and Harvard Square.Ride that line during “business hours” and 95% of the passengers are clearly of East Asian ancestry.And the fact that many seem to speak languages other than English while aboard suggests that they're of East Asian nationality.

[Lisbon1940]

International physicists met at Shelter Island in 1947.

[americas.best.days...]

I thought we weren’t allowed to say”oriental” anymore.

[ilovesarah2012]

Didn’t know that. Of course I missed when we switched from African-American to people of color.