Phillip Fang, a 36-year-old entrepreneur, is hiring for a business development manager, preferably a “returning turtle,” meaning those who return after graduating from a university abroad.

The Fujian Province native, who owns a factory in suburban Shanghai, has been trying to expand his business with multinational companies. He requires the applicants to bring a copy of the diploma and an accreditation from China’s Ministry of Education. The ministry’s website contains a list of higher education institutions from 44 countries that it recognizes.

Three years ago, Fang hired a returning turtle who held an MBA degree from a California-based degree mill that, when translated into Chinese, shared the name of the prestigious University of Southern California. It was only three weeks after the hiring that Fang discovered the manager couldn’t communicate fluently with his British clients.

According to the official website of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation based in the US, degree mills are “dubious providers of educational offerings or operations that offer certificates and degrees that may be considered bogus.” And accreditation mills are “dubious providers of accreditation and quality assurance that may offer a certification of quality of institutions without a proper basis.”

Many of such mills are in the United States and make huge profits. In China, such institutions are called yeji daxue, or wild chicken universities. They often have a name similar to a prestigious university, offer degrees that require easy credits while some don’t require attendance from applicants, and many don’t even have an official website. Such institutions were first spotlighted in China in 2010.

Tang Jun, a famous businessman, TV personality and former Microsoft China president, was exposed to have purchased his PhD from Pacific Western University, which had been involved in controversies concerning its unaccredited programs and changed its name to California Miramar University. It was soon discovered that many other famous businessmen, government officials and celebrities were also alumni of the school.

“I’ve learned my lesson and I’m more reasonable now,” Fang tells Shanghai Daily. “I’m not just going to jump onto any person who wears the badge of a foreign school.”

The number of Chinese applicants to foreign institutions is increasing, and America is still the most popular destination. But many things have changed.

The “2014 Trend Forecast of Studying Abroad,” released recently by www.eol.cn, one of the country’s largest education portals, has revealed a sharp, sudden drop in the growth of Chinese applicants.

Based on statistics from the Ministry of Education, the report shows that in 2013, the number of students going abroad increased by 3.58 percent, the first time the growth rate dropped into single digits since 2008, when it increased by 24.43 percent. In 2012, the rate was 17.63 percent.

“To some extent, the drop is a good thing, which shows the industry is getting more normalized, as the market becomes more rational,” says Joyce Lou, operations director of Chiway Education International. “Parents and students, especially those in big cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, are more accessible and aware of the information, which will help them to make the right decision. The drop is largely related to closing down of many collaborative programs,” she says.

It is practically impossible for a foreign institution to open an accredited university in China, so many schools, attracted by the large student pool and potential market, collaborate with Chinese institutions to form programs where the students study a number of years in each place and are granted with a joint degree or both degrees, depending on the program.

Such programs have been extremely popular for students who failed academically or financially to get admission.

“Some of these programs don’t provide diplomas that are recognized by Chinese authorities, and the student pools are often those who failed or couldn’t pass the national college entrance exam,” Lou says. “Many such programs started about two or three years ago and were shut down last year, as organizers found it difficult to further promote the program while the first graduates didn’t reach expectations to further study or find good employment.”

In addition, many good collaborative programs, such as the New York University Shanghai, which opened last year, also attracted some students who planned to study abroad to remain domestic. They will study at the Shanghai campus first and go abroad later with the program.

“I certainly want to study abroad, but I’m not so rushed or desperate as my cousin, who is five years older and took a bet going to a community college in the United States,” says Fiona Wu, a sophomore at Shanghai University. “I don’t excel academically and my English isn’t great. But it isn’t so difficult to study in America anymore, as long as I’m not applying to the top Ivies. I want to go there more for the experience and widening of my perspectives than merely the degree.”

Potential applicants like Wu get inspired by cases like Kevin Mao, who didn’t do well in the national college exam and started at a small second-tier college in China and transferred to a second-tier university in Wisconsin in his sophomore year.

Mo studied very hard, practiced English all the time, and spent days and weeks polishing his application repeatedly, which all helped him to transfer again to the University of Washington at Seattle, and later again to one of the Ivy League schools.

Differing experiences

Celine Yang, 21, sophomore, in California

"I really wanted to study abroad, but my scores weren’t high enough. So I accepted the suggestion of my agency to start at a school I’ve never heard of. I regret it a lot because I only found out it after I came here that it is accredited only by the state of California, which means my degree will be useless whether (elsewhere) in the states or back in China. Right now, I’m applying to an accredited university and hope to get in.”

Liz Li, 22, senior, in London

"I didn’t want to study abroad at first. But my parents insisted overseas experience would at least widen my horizon and indicate my status in the future. Now I do enjoy living in London. I spend more time hanging out with friends, attending fashion parties, and travelling throughout the world. Studying abroad is about both studying and networking. Sometimes networking even prioritizes.”

Zhang Meilun, 42, marketing manager with a 15-year-old son, in Shanghai

"We have always planned to send our son to American universities, and top 20 schools if possible. We have been preparing him since elementary school, with additional English classes, trips to the US and summer camps outside of China. I hope that he learns a lot there, finds a good job and comes back to build his own business after a few years. That is almost the standard elite pattern now.”

Donnie Tang, in his 50s, recruiting specialist, in Shanghai

"Returning turtles are not as popular and precious as 10 years ago, when that really was a golden foyer. But it doesn’t mean companies don’t want returning turtles anymore. In fact, since it is not so uncommon anymore, many companies that have business with foreign partners almost see overseas experience as a basic requirement.”

(Long Siyao contributed to this story.)