My apologies if this is becoming redundant but some excellent info provided by beararn
stockhouse.com
I wanted to look more concretely at the "synergy" that might be created if there were a reverse merger with CU and/or ISBI. I have as yet not been able to locate a "psychiatry professor" that Mr Chu spoke so highly of. Below is some excerpts regarding the relationships to CU, with some thoughts. Links to isbi will follow in the next post. Then some questions....
Re CU and CIBT:
My first e-mail to Mr Chu was posted on this thread, and his response mentioned that a vote on a reverse merger is imminent. My second e-mail to Mr Chu (I have "only" sent the 2 CC) asked if he could comment on my speculation regarding the reverse merger (some of these ideas were posted previously). His response was essentially a copy of the e-mail (regarding accreditation) sent to him from the CU vice president. Given that context, and the info culled below, it suggests to me that CU (and it's new accreditation) is a major component of the reverse merger. It does not, however, necessarily suggest that they will be financially linked (i.e. merged together), as they could remain partners in offering each other synergy without merging. Hence, I thought a closer look at the synergy might give some clues. Moreover, we know that cibt will be partnered with someone, so it makes sense that it's biggest partner could be a part of it. If the partnering is so integral and so strong that the two are essentially becoming more and more entwined, it may behoove them at some point to take the step of forming a business relationship..
The information below (and in previous posts) suggests to me that CU is in fact the key partner at this point in time for CIBT - their links are greater and stronger than I had realized, and they are about to grow in new directions with the US accreditation of CU. The enigma, however, is that CU is a private nonprofit company, there is going to be a listing on nasdaq, and i cannot find a psychiatry professor at CU. In short, the relationship is very, very strong and that relationship will be a key to the success of the merged company, but I don't know if CU will be a formal part of the merged company....and it may not matter).
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An agreement between CIBT and City University grants CIBT the right to deliver City University's curriculum in Beijing, thereby elevating CIBT's status as a facilitator of the Master's degree programs in conjunction with Beijing Polytechnic University. In 1997, CU's MBA program in CIBT Beijing received endorsement from the Education Committee of Beijing. By year-end 1998, China's State Academic Degree Committee provided their official approval to the MBA program. Consequently, CIBT Beijing becomes one of the four officially and nationally approved foreign MBA granting degrees in Beijing.
(from cibt website)
City University is partnered with its "sister" university - Beijing Polytechnic University - to assist with the delivery of courses offered, and is managed under a partnership agreement with the Canadian Institute of Business and Technology (CIBT).
cityu.edu
City University is an international institution with its headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, USA. It is a private, non-profit, accredited university with more than 25 locations worldwide. City University has distinguished itself as a leader in graduate business education since 1977. According to a recent survey conducted by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), City University ranks fifth among the universities with the largest MBA enrollment in North America.
(Beararn Note: We need a lawyer here, as this is pretty far outside my expertise. As a private nonprofit company, I don't think they can be listed, issue stock, or merge with a listed company. I don't know, however, if they can set up a separate corporation to do that, or participate in some other way? Help anyone?
City University and Beijing Polytechnic University have been jointly offering the City University's MBA Program on the Beijing campus of CIBT School of Business since 1996 under the approval of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council. City University classes, whether taught in the US, China or anywhere else in the world, use the same textbooks, syllabi and instructors. The education that the students receive in CIBT Beijing, is exactly the same as
what they would receive at City University, US
cibt.edu
"Core faculty at CIBT" - (beararn: All faculty listed are apparently from CU and presently working in the US, though one plans to come to China eventually. It is notable that I could find no reference to any faculty member at BPU - it looks like they (Beijing polytech) may only be contributing the name and space. That is a lot, but, if so, the dependence upon CU is much greater than I had realized).
cibt.edu
(Beararn: Mr Charles Chen is President and Director of CIBT - he earned his MBA from CU in 1998 - he got his MBA at CPU after working at CIBT for several years (i.e. he was not hired because he was a graduate of CU, rather it was a conscious decision to get his degree there and develop the connections, partnerships, relationships at CU for CIBT).
cag-global.com
(Note: you may have to go to the above news page and pull up the pdf file yourself)
In December 1998, degree status was approved by the Academic Degree
Committee of the State Council in China for the CU MBA program being offered at BPU and managed by CIBT, following a rigorous application
and approval process of approximately two years.
cag-global.com
In December 1998, degree status was approved by the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council in China for the CU MBA program being offered at BPU and managed by CIBT, following a rigorous application and approval process of approximately two years.
cag-global.com
City University's MBA courses are now formally recognized by the Beijing Educational Commission and the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council - People's Republic of China, as offical courses that can constitute a fromal Chinese degree. "In 1996, we launched our first group of Chinese students in the MBA program in Beijing. But at that time it was classified as just a 'foreign' degree. Now our students will have the same degree recognition as local degrees in China," said Dave Thomas, Associate Vice President of International Development for City University.
//www.cityu.edu/whatsnew/
(Beararn: It is notable, from the links above, that students in China are now given credit toward a degree in China, for taking courses from CU. There is no indication anywhere on either website, that I could find, that Chinese students would get credit toward any US degree or certification by taking CU courses. The accrediation of the CU Business Program makes this very important, I think. What chinese student (or parent) wouldn't want (their children) to take courses which prepared them for 2 markets, for work in the US, for jobs in the US? Like McDonalds, Levis and the latest R&R group, many Asian people will pay a premium for brand name american/western products. So, independent of everything else going for CIBT, marketing a degree which is recognized in the US (perhaps even linked to job placement services in the US?) could be huge. A question, then, is whether the CU accreditation would be recognized if taken in China by Chinese students.
I suspect it is only a matter of time and/or paperwork before this is achieved. This arrangement has already been achieved for ISBI (see previous post), as students in Canada can work towards degrees and certificates from CU. It is not "automatic", however, as ISBI went through some process and announced with great fanfare when this had been achieved. I am surprised that this has not already been achieved for CIBT also(if it had, i assume it would be included in the websites). It seems to me hard to deny someone a degree when in fact they have met all the same requirements as "in state" (US) students who were awarded the that degree. |
