BOSSA was founded in 2004 and is the first and largest national association of study abroad professionals in the industry of international education of China.

All members are organizations: education agencies that are accredited; government licensed.

Guided by the Ministry of Education and Beijing Municipal Education Commission.

Operates a full-time staff of 15, works with local experts, consultants and international partners.

Members are the country's largest Chinese student recruitment agencies headquartered in Beijing with branches throughout China, and most members range small and mid-sized agencies.

COSSA was founded by BOSSA in 2012; its also the first and largest national association to represent agencies operating in provinces outside Beijing.

50+ members located in majority of provinces.

Operates under same principals as BOSSA.

BOSSA's establishment in 2004

BOSSA operates a full-time staff of 15, works with local experts, consultants and international partners

Head Management

Mr.Sang Peng, President of BOSSA & COSSA

Mr. Sang Peng co-founded BOSSA in 2004 under Beijing Education Commission’s guidance and is the Chairman of BOSSA. Prior to BOSSA, he served at Beijing Education Commission for more than 35 years in charge of international affairs in Beijing.

Mr. Sang Peng has witnessed continuous, dramatic growth of both the inbound and outbound study abroad industry. He is not only a great leader for the industry but also an important government connection who always speaks up for the industry, which helps BOSSA receive maximum support from government authorities.

Mr.Shuai Yang, Chief Consultant, Senior Director

Mr. Shuai Yang has over 30 years experience in China’s education field and industry.

He has worked for the Ministry of Education, UNESCO, a Canadian education investment firm, and served as president of the first Sino-foreign joint college in Beijing. He currently advises both Chinese agencies and international educators by assisting local agencies with their service programs and regularly consults international schools, professionals, and organizations seeking better understanding or positioning in China’s education market. 

Fiona Cao, Secretary General of BOSSA & COSSA

Though our membership increased at an unprecedented doubling from 95 agencies in 2015 to 195 agencies in 2016, BOSSA’s central aim was not to push for higher numbers of members or affiliates, but to enhance the entire industry and market. With the goal for the long term development of members, over the last 12 months we studied the pain points of the international education consulting services and practices. Our goal is for the international education industry in China to continue to survive in the ever-changing market, and rigorously develop and adapt the skills of our members' individual agents. Our objective it to uphold professionalism and push ethics over quick success and profit.

Another aim was to bolster the agent training course, China Education Agent Course (CEAC) that was the result of the public-private partnership between Chinese Ministry of Human Resources, ICEF and BOSSA. Since launching CEAC in early 2015, 275 individual agents are now recognized and certified in only 2 and half years. CEAC is now China’s leading accreditation for study abroad professionals. Also, this year at the annual BOSSA conference, we lead workshops on integrating new technologies (Big Data, mobile internet, AI) and workshops that changed the perception of how small agents and large companies can work together and benefit from one another.

Since the recent deregulation of the industry by Chinese authorities, not only do local agents want to join BOSSA as a coveted industry accreditation for distinctive purposes, they want to be a part of a professional network of reputable agents for their own business development. In 2014, the last time BOSSA was at 71. Altogether, BOSSA, combined with our subdivision COSSA, has tripled to 220.

Of the 220 member agencies, more than half from Beijing, half from different provinces and cities across China, and now are including agents in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao.

Although nearly 200 organizations are involved in large-scale events each year, more than 100 agencies took part in small and medium-sized activities like presentations, training workshops, and various kinds of BOSSA-lead meetings.

We also partner with international event organizers like ICEF and WEBA by presenting and bringing more agents to their conferences and workshops. In the past we've participated in national events like the China International Education Expo and abroad with NAFSA. Last year we hosted trade missions with all Chinese agent delegates to Australia and Singapore. Years before that we brought dozens of agents on roadshows in UK, USA and Ireland.

We've hosted policy briefings at foreign embassies in Beijing, whereas numerous agents attended and voiced their opinions directly to officials; examples of joint events were with Australia's Chamber of Commerce, UK (UKVI) and with the Education Department of Canada.

Locally we organize large to small activities for members and affiliates every year, with members of all parts of the country. Some of our events are based on the SMB (Small & Medium Business) member's business needs, according to learning about new destination countries, types of business and project divisions, and unique development needs. We make "pain points" the theme of events. We talk about the industry's past, present, and looking forward to the future. Everyone is like family.

Lastly, hundreds of agents now partake in CEAC certificate training, which is divided up into several separate expert type groups.

BOSSA has an expansive networking resource platform that includes business developmental matchmaking, referral services, and cooperative transactional matching analysis. We stay up to date on industry trends and data and provide regular statistical surveys and reports for members and to the public.

We lead the earliest comprehensive service platform on the Chinese education market and play a hindsight role in a multitude of service consultations for agents, including foreign legal advisory, student psychological counseling services, overseas safety and defense, foreign real estate investment, financial advisory services, asset allocation, overseas apartment finding, overseas career planning, and international student insurance. Most of these services are either inaccessible or lesser served by domestic agents. BOSSA has obtained the trust and is leading referrer of study abroad agencies. We not only represent agents in the industry, we also find them new business growth points to accentuate their current scope of services.

BOSSA is China's leading international education industry association. There have been a few similar smaller associations pop up over recent years, in Shanghai and Guangdong Province, but each are premature and not as nearly as active, organized and intertwined as BOSSA. With 13 years of nurturing membership, BOSSA's members feel like a giant family of study abroad professionals. 
The amount of services and activities we provide membership is clearly unrivaled and not duplicable.

Our board of advisors all have decades of industry experience, some within government.

The most important thing we do is to provide members a platform for shared services, which is in line with modern China's shared economic national policy.

BOSSA President Sang Peng is renowned as an expert and thought leader on abroad education in China.

As stated earlier, the Chinese government abolished the MOE license requirement, which was the original purpose of BOSSA: to build an association of MOE-recognized agencies. We've moved on much further than what we were in the beginning and have adapted with China's ever changing market needs. Again, with 13 years of activism, BOSSA and its subdivisions of COSSA and CEAC, are sought after as China's top industry credential, industry representation, and exclusive network of China's best study abroad professionals.