Information about INTO University Partnerships across the United States. (Infographic by Sarah Faulkner).Information about INTO University Partnerships across the United States. (Infographic by Sarah Faulkner).
Mark Linn – Staff Writer
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On Dec. 3, the UA System Board of Trustees approved a resolution authorizing UAB to enter a 30-year service agreement with INTO University Partnerships, a program designed to help international students meet college standards.
“We are incredibly pleased to announce this partnership,” said UAB President Ray L. Watts, M.D. in a statement released by UAB. “It is a key step in growing our economic impact in the region and a step forward in our initiative to bring the world to UAB.”
INTO University Partnerships is a British-based private global educational company that specializes in joint ventures with colleges and universities. Within the joint venture model, the college or university maintains education standards while INTO provides international recruitment infrastructure.
The joint venture will create a separate entity called INTO UAB, which will be managed by a board of directors drawn from both organizations. The partnership will develop pathway programs to help international students improve their English skills while completing coursework that will count towards the completion of their degrees.
UAB has become the eighth university in the U.S. to partner with the organization, joining universities such as Oregon State and the University of South Florida.
To accommodate INTO and the new international students participating in the program, the second floor of Mervyn H. Sterne Library will be renovated as the INTO International Student Center.
The international recruitment for the program has already begun, with plans for students to visit the university this summer. The first group will include approximately 120-150 students enrolling for the Fall 2016 semester, the majority of whom will be enrolled in academic English courses, according to UAB Senior Vice Provost Suzanne Austin.
According to Christopher Faulkner, the architect of records for the renovation of the second floor of Sterne, the size of the program will increase by several stages, with additional classrooms being added to the International Student Center to accommodate the program’s expansion.
“It’s in keeping of our spirit of diversity and I think what’s important from an architect’s point of view [is that]it revitalizes Sterne Library,” Faulkner said. “You know, libraries have changed from housing books to becoming these learning resource centers and having multiple functions, like conference rooms and classrooms and computer areas and just a whole realm of various activities. And that’s kind of what’s happening in Sterne.”
By 2023, UAB hopes to have 700 or more students enrolled through the program. Additional dorms will be necessary to house the students, as undergraduate students in the program will be required to live on campus, while graduate students will have the option of living off-campus.
The INTO program will complement the international student resources already in place at the International Recruitment and Student Services office. While INTO will be a separate program for the students recruited into it, many of whom have less proficiency in English than the international students currently recruited to the university, the programs and resources already available to international students will also be there for those recruited through INTO.
“We already have a large international student body, so we have a wonderful student life services and support systems already in place to help those students assimilate and get acclimated to the U.S. culture and Birmingham,” said Lisa Townsend, Associate Director of International Recruitment and Student Services.
