BEIJING & PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CollegeNET, Inc., a leading provider of Web-based on-demand technologies for higher education, today announced that it will establish the Outcome and Experience Ranking of U.S. Universities by International Students, the first ranking system of U.S. colleges and universities based on evaluations by international students studying in the U.S. The online service was established to provide information specifically relevant to Chinese students considering studying abroad, in accordance with an agreement between CollegeNET and the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE), an organization affiliated with the Ministry of Education (MOE), People’s Republic of China.

Deployed with CollegeNET’s Web-based evaluation system, which is currently operating at several major universities in the U.S., the Outcome and Experience Ranking is the first service focused on providing comprehensive information related to experiences and outcomes for international students attending colleges and universities in the United States. It will assist in compiling qualitative and quantitative evaluations of campus safety, quality of education, cultural training and overall support for Chinese students -- effectively shifting the focus of college ranking to learning outcomes, and away from more conventional criteria based on campus features, wealth and “prestige.” The ranking is scheduled for release during the first half of 2012.

“Very few of the 150,000 Chinese students who opt to study in the United States each year have a clear idea of the experience in store for them at the college or university they plan to attend. That is because there is so little information relevant to determining which institutions do the best job helping them adjust to U.S. social and academic culture,” said Jim Wolfston, founder and CEO at CollegeNET, Inc. “What counts from the university experience is the educational result, not campus features or institutional history. By virtue of this new ranking system, CollegeNET will help Chinese students and their families to make more informed choices while helping U.S. institutions understand how to serve them better.”

The CSCSE offers a full range of services for international scholarly exchanges between Chinese students traveling abroad and international students coming to study in China. The Outcome and Experience Ranking of U.S. Universities by International Students is a natural extension of these services because it will not only provide valuable information to Chinese students, but it will also help institutions in the United States to obtain a better sense of their strengths and weaknesses from international students’ perspectives.

Related Services from CollegeNET

In March 2011, CollegeNET unveiled USAcademy, the first subscription-based information and orientation service for Chinese students seeking to better understand the nuances and context of U.S. culture, and USCAT, the first standardized test to assess preparedness in cultural literacy.

About CollegeNET, Inc.

CollegeNET, Inc. builds Web-based, on-demand technologies that help institutions improve operational efficiency, enhance communication with constituents and save money. The company’s systems are used by more than 1,300 institutions worldwide for event and academic scheduling, prospect and admissions management, Web-based tuition processing and alumni development. Additionally, CollegeNET operates a fast-growing social network through which students create topics, write about them, and vote to determine who will win scholarships. Today, this site — www.Collegenet.com — is one of the Internet’s most popular destinations for scholarship seeking students. The company is headquartered in Portland, Oregon.

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