I will tell you my experience with AIEP, just the facts without opinion. Dealing with AIEP from the onset was difficult, Susan was no diligent in returning needed documentation for the visa. Once the documents were finalized it left very little time to prepare to leave, purchase a flight and such. Arrived in Shanghai and was picked up at the airport and off to the destination school. Unfortunately the school for which I had a contract was not the school that I was taken to, another contract needed to be signed. In the first term I had 3 residency permits as AIEP had placed me at a school which did not have Foreign Expert Certificates. School year begins and AIEP had yet to determine enrolment for the course, we sat around for two weeks. Those two weeks were without compensation, even after being guaranteed that they would be paid.

AIEP provide no resources as far as teaching materials goes, other than the Headway textbooks. Classes can range up to 80 students with no media or supporting resources for the text and with this amount of learners class management can be difficult. Teachers will teach between 18 and 24 classes a week. with no office time required, although the school will expect you to attend meeting or provide an Ènglish Corner`during lunch or after school. At the end of the term or school year a teacher is expected to test the students on oral english. The process, scoring methodology, content of exam are all the individual teachers responsibility. After completing all exams, the school asked that I stay until June 28 and teach, to which AIEP did not comply with payment.

The apartments that are provided definitely differ from school to school. I have seen absolutely disgusting to quite nice apartments. I have stayed on campus and off campus but either can vary. AIEP offers to rent an apartment plus pay 200 rmb towards utilities. Remember that most apartments are concrete uninsulated boxes that do not retain heat, 200 rmb does not go far. If you live of campus, expect to pay a considerable utility charge in summer and winter.

It is true that AIEP has no real website or visibility on the internet. David who is the primary owner speaks no English, but that is not an issue. In the few times I have interacted with him, he seemed pleasant. He does tend to make agreements that he will not honour. The managers that run the day to day operations do speak English. I will attempt to be fair in my assessment. Susan who is for lack of a title, the managing director is pleasant. She enjoys gossiping (speaks out of school) with teachers. She most definitely does not like to be challenged and is very inconsistent in her decision making. Brian is a very dedicated and hard worker who has the task of smoothing over the waves caused by Susan and David. The last is Antony, the Director of Foreign Teachers. To this day I have no idea what responsibilities he has or is willing to take on. He is simply a supply teacher.

I am employed by AIEP but have decided to leave due to the unprofessional acts, lack of support, and inconsistent management of the company.

Others I have worked with enjoyed the company as the tend to pay on time and they have been fortunate enough to have been treated well.

In closing, if you expect to teach and make a difference, this is not the environment. You are simply the foreign face that is there to ensure money for AIEP.