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Hundreds of Chinese students could be enrolling at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the next few years through a preliminary recruiting agreement UWM Chancellor Michael Lovell is expected to sign in Beijing on Monday.

Officials say the agreement with a Chinese education network would boost the university's international profile and its ability to help Milwaukee companies that do business in China - the city's third-largest trading partner. It also would bring millions of dollars to UWM over the next several years in out-of-state tuition.

UWM would be marketed throughout China, and recruited students would arrive next fall through 2015 under the agreement. More students in China who learn about UWM through the marketing efforts also could be attracted to the university independently.

Both UWM and Milwaukee stand to gain, university and city leaders said.

"Some of these students will end up with skill sets and go back to China to work for Milwaukee companies that have operations there," said Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.

"You could think of myriad ways these students could connect to help Milwaukee employers in China. Someone who understands the U.S. business and can apply it to the Chinese market is very valuable."

Milwaukee-based A.O. Smith, for example, is the second-largest producer of hot water heaters in China, with a multi-hundred-million-dollar business there that manufactures and sells hot water heaters, Sheehy said. Sheehy is joining Lovell and other Milwaukee leaders on the China trip with a broader mission of expanding the city's ties there.

If the preliminary five-year agreement Lovell signs is approved by the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents at its meeting in Madison later this week, UWM would net several million dollars just in tuition because out-of-state tuition is more than double what Wisconsin residents pay.

UWM would pay the recruiter a marketing fee that officials declined to disclose until after the regents are given the information.

UWM is aggressively working to become a more international university and has seen a 30% increase in international enrollment over the past three years. Of the 1,000 international students from 94 countries now enrolled at UWM, about 250 are from China, studying everything from engineering to the arts.

"UWM is striving to become more internationally and globally engaged, and is committed to recruiting students from all areas of the world, particularly from vital international partners such as China," Lovell said. At the same time, China is seeking more international education experiences for its students, especially in the United States, the chancellor said.

The agreement would link UWM with CERNET Education Development Co., in Beijing, a wholly owned subsidiary of the China Education and Research Network founded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. CERNET and UWM would work together to recruit students from throughout China. As part of the agreement, CERNET would translate UWM's marketing materials into Mandarin Chinese.

CERNET also would establish a Wisconsin International Academy in Milwaukee to provide support services for the new Chinese students and arrange separate housing for them in Milwaukee. Students would pre-enroll at UWM. They would not begin a degree track until their language skills are proficient enough to qualify for admission to undergraduate and graduate programs. They would first study English through UWM's Intensive English Program.

Under the proposed agreement, 30 to 50 Chinese students would be recruited for next fall. About 100 to 150 more students would arrive in fall 2013, with the number of new students each year ramping up to 250 by fall 2015.

CERNET would pay UWM to provide the English immersion education. UWM's Intensive English Program now serves students from more than 30 countries speaking 20 different languages.

CERNET has been recruiting Chinese students for the University of Massachusetts for several years and established a program there called the Massachusetts International Academy.

UWM has been discussing a possible agreement with CERNET for more than a year, said Tom Luljak, vice chancellor of university relations.

"We did a significant amount of due diligence to ensure we understood the quality of their operation," Luljak said. "We're very confident CERNET has a great reputation and strong track record."

The new Chinese students would join an increasingly international UWM campus.

Lovell has set a goal of increasing international student enrollment to 3,000 within the next five to eight years.

UWM already has "sister" relationships with universities in China. UWM faculty and students do research in China in areas ranging from freshwater science to engineering and the arts. UWM students also study abroad in China and have internships there, Luljak said.

UWM's International Council, which includes representatives from every school and college on campus, is working to identify strategies to make the university more international. Among the group's recommendations: Set targets for international enrollment, organize more study and research exchange programs abroad, and promote UWM to an international audience.

"UWM needs to prepare its students, both domestic and international, to face the professional, social and civic challenges of an increasingly interdependent world," said Johannes Britz, interim provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. "The CERNET agreement is one major step in helping us make the student-learning experience at UWM more international across the curriculum and providing high-quality on-campus and overseas courses, and co-curricular opportunities."

Mayor Tom Barrett, who is part of the Milwaukee entourage in China this week, said the city welcomes the new relationship between the Chinese education company and UWM.

"It's a unique opportunity for UWM," Barrett said. "It's going to bring a lot of Chinese students to Milwaukee. And any exposure we can create internationally is a positive for Milwaukee."

Chinese students will find Milwaukee is "a great place to advance their education," the mayor added.

Of the 1,000 international students from 94 countries now enrolled at UWM, about 250 are from China, studying everything from engineering to the arts.