The number of international students recruited has also been increasing, the union said.

NYU Shanghai has about 850 students, with roughly half from China and half from overseas. It also has 205 permanent professors on staff as well as visiting professors from other NYU campuses. Most courses are taught in English.

Jeffrey S. Lehman, vice-chancellor of NYU Shanghai, said the university fosters its students' capacity to deal with multicultural situations.

To do that, "the first lesson a freshman receives is to learn how to live and communicate with someone from another country, as it's essential to share a room with a person from a different country in the first year," he said. "A fraternity with organizers from at least two nationalities is also needed to have a better fusion of cultures."

Yang added that while internationalization is a distinct characteristic of such universities, "they also prepare students with a lot of knowledge on Chinese culture and general education, to ensure the young people gain a global vision while understanding the Chinese context".

Sheng Jianxue, secretary-general of the China Education Association for International Exchange, said the joint ventures are playing a key role in meeting the demand among Chinese for quality international educational resources and services.

With quality resources and lower tuition fees (compared with studying overseas), these universities are a good option for students who want to get an overseas education experience in China, he said.

A survey of graduates from these colleges, released during a forum in April for presidents of the Sino-foreign cooperative universities, found the employment rate was 95 percent in 2014.

Seven out of 10 graduates went on to work for multinational corporations or international organizations, while more than 90 percent said they were satisfied with their joint-venture alma maters.

Contact the writers at zhaoxinying@chinadaily.com.cn