Recruiting students from China is becoming big business. A number of Michigan universities are aiming to diversify their campuses -- and their revenue -- by marketing themselves to Chinese students.

At Michigan State University, the number of Chinese undergrads has grown from 41 in 2005 to 2,410 in 2011.

Smaller institutions also reported gains on a smaller scale. The University of Detroit Mercy in 2005 had just one student from China. In 2011, there were 124.

"China really opens up a new market for American universities," said Kevin Kucera, associate vice president for student affairs and enrollment management at Eastern Michigan University. "The fact that the economy in China is really changing means that many families now have the wherewithal to afford U.S. tuitions."

EMU's Chinese student body grew from 93 in 2005 to 204 in 2011.

The University of Michigan has more than doubled its Chinese student numbers, from 796 in 2005 to 1,853 in 2011.

Wayne State University's base of Chinese students grew from 271 in 2005 to 335 in 2011.

The growth trend is consistent among many universities in Michigan and across the country. Business, engineering and science are the leading fields of study.

Chinese students contributed about $158 million to the Michigan economy, according to the Institute of International Education's 2010 Open Doors report. In 2011, the amount increased to about $185 million.

The report found that 26.2 percent of Michigan's international students were from China, followed by 13.8 percent from India and 11.2 percent from South Korea.

UM's international student population also showed Chinese students leading the lineup: Thirty-three percent of the group was from China, 15 percent from India and 13 percent from South Korea.

MSU said its brand awareness helps a great deal in China.

"Chinese students are very brand-conscious, and ranking-conscious, and MSU is very well known in China," said Patti Croom, associate director for international admissions at MSU. This, she said, is the largest contributor to the skyrocketing number of applicants from China.

Smaller Michigan schools with smaller budgets use different tactics to attract students, ranging from paid contractual recruiters to advertising.

University of Detroit Mercy uses a Michigan-based contractual agent, who employs another 10 recruiters in China, said Denise Williams, vice president of enrollment and student affairs at UDM.

Agents travel from school to school throughout China, encouraging students to apply for the schools they're paid to represent. Williams did not disclose their agent's name or company.

"There's a lot of competition," she said. "It's not just UD Mercy -- it's UCLA, it's Northwestern -- everyone's looking for international students. And China is the hotbed for recruiting."

The Lawrence Technological University admissions office uses three recruiters that the university met through agent conferences in China. During these events, university admissions staff meet and interview candidates in China to serve as recruiters.

"We want them to be credible, we want them to promote our programs the way we want them to, and we want them to understand what type of student we're looking for," said Lisa Kujawa, assistant provost for enrollment management at LTU. "We've turned down several."

It's more cost-effective for smaller universities to use Chinese agents, said Peggy Blumenthal, senior counselor to the president at the IIE. Last year, LTU spent about $15,000 to send a single admissions counselor to tour China, while overseas recruiters tend to be paid on commission based on recruitment success, she said.

But these contract agents have a lukewarm reputation among students and universities, Blumenthal said.

"Some agents operate very legitimately, others charge exorbitant prices and "coach' students on interviews -- that has (caused) a backlash," she said, as coaching can cost an additional $3,000 to $4,000. "When admissions (counselors) see a third identical essay or hear the exact same statement for the fifth time, they decrease the chance of a student getting in."

At Lawrence Tech, the admissions office created a video to play during student recruitment trips in China. The video features Chinese students studying and socializing so that when recruiters go to China "they can see people who look like them in an American university," Kujawa said.

EMU works with Hobsons Inc., a Cincinnati-based international recruitment firm, to participate in Web-driven college fairs. Students in China video chat with EMU professors and admissions staff to learn about curricula and student life.

There are also a number of organizations, such as the US-China Economic and Cultural Development Alliance, that help bridge the gap between Chinese and American university systems. Through summer camps, exchange programs and recruitment tours, regional universities are able to court the right students to fit in their programs.

Detroit's manufacturing legacy puts many Michigan schools on the map, Williams said. The automotive industry and recent growth in the state's tech sector allow local universities to promote themselves as major players in the global economy.

But much of the focus for Michigan schools is to build partnerships with universities in China, so that students won't need agents or advertising to know where to apply. Presidents, provosts and faculty travel abroad to draw up articulation agreements with Chinese universities, to make an American education more accessible.

"You build relationships. You build name recognition. Once you've built a relationship in China, the word spreads," Kucera said.

Students are then given the option to spend their first year or two of college in China and finish their degrees in America.