MMLA goes to China

Stacey Rainey

Hello All!

I wanted to take this opportunity to let all of you know that this summer MMLA will be holding its first ever international residential academy – in Beijing, China!  This is very exciting news. 

The idea for a China academy first started gaining steam earlier this year as we considered our Summer Academy plan for 2013.  There were a number of factors that drove this decision.  First, over the past few years we have averaged 12% returning students compared to a traditional camp that runs at 40-60%.  This is significant as the cost of student acquisition is markedly reduced if half of your students come back year over year.  

Second, the Beijing Academy could open the door to a global market for our academies and potentially our courses.  While our residential academies are growing and showed a phenomenal financial turnaround from 2011 to 2012, in their current state they don’t have the same potential to scale up as our online courses.  Adding an overseas option will expand our addressable market and provide an important growth lever.  We are paying close attention to the Beijing Academy, which will leverage much of our existing curriculum, because its success could lead to further international expansion.

Our partner in the Beijing Academy is CET, a well-established study abroad provider, operating in China for over 30 years.  The program will be located at the Beijing Institute of Education (BIE) in the Xicheng neighborhood.  BIE is a teachers’ college and this campus provides an ideal setting for our program as the campus is completely contained, yet sits within a vibrant neighborhood that will provide daily opportunities for participants to engage in language as they navigate the subway, make purchases or explore cultural sites.

This past week, I took a quick four day trip to China to meet our partners at CET and BIE.  I was also able to tour the campus that will house our program and visit some of the locations nearby and throughout the city that students will experience.  I’m pleased to report that the CET team exceeded expectations; they are eminently qualified to advise us on curriculum adjustments (led on our end by Amy Shen) and identify/secure key staff.   CET also has the expertise to run all logistics in country, something that would be difficult for us to manage due to distance and time zone factors.  Though much of their work has been with college programs, CET has run a Junior Statesmen program for the past three years, comprised entirely of high schoolers in residence for four weeks each summer.

While there I also interviewed a candidate for the language director position who is currently living in China.  We are fortunate to have a deep bench of qualified faculty and staff who have worked with us in the US, some of whom are interested in participating in this inaugural Academy.  Our goal is to have 30-50 students with at least one year of Chinese language instruction join us in Beijing.  The ideal student profile will be a learner aged 15-18 who is an alum of our program or currently lives internationally.  Our alumni are already familiar with our program and know well what to expect from the Academy.  International students and are already familiar with living overseas and would experience less of a cultural adjustment.  Our international marketing will be limited to the schools that have previously sent students and a list of other leading schools outside the US.  Students who do not fit either category will not be in any way prohibited from attending, but knowing that they may be unfamiliar with both our program and living abroad we will get to know them a bit more to ensure they are prepared for a successful learning experience and adventure. 

                                                                  

I will keep you posted as the program progresses over the next several months of the enrollment season.  There is a good bit of information posted on our website, with more to come in the form of pictures and an FAQ.  Jason has a strong marketing plan in place to promote this exciting new offering and we encourage you to share the information with your own networks.  Don’t hesitate to reach out with questions/suggestions about this Academy.  Comments encouraged here as well.

Best, Stacey