INTO University Partnerships Ltd and Oregon State University (OSU) have announced a groundbreaking joint venture designed to double the enrolment of international students at the West Coast university by 2014.

This new approach to internationalisation in the US higher education sector will enhance the student experience for all students studying at OSU. The partnership will offer innovative academic pathway programmes and benefit from INTO’s marketing and recruitment infrastructure that covers more than 40 countries, enabling OSU to manage the quality and diversity of an enlarged international student population.

The agreement with OSU is expected to be formalised in September 2008 with the first students beginning their studies in September 2009.The university will retain complete control over academic standards to ensure that students are academically and linguistically well prepared for university study. All current staff will continue to be employed by the university.

The university plans to open a new, state-of-the-art international student centre, including both teaching and residential facilities, to be completed by the autumn of 2010.

Andrew Colin, INTO University Partnerships chairman said: “This project is the first of its kind in the United States. We are proud to be working with Oregon State University in a joint venture that will provide a template for US universities to address the challenges and opportunities afforded by an increasingly mobile international student market.”

Launched in the UK in 2006, INTO has centres in Manchester, at Glasgow Caledonian University and at the universities of East Anglia, Exeter and Newcastle. Over the next five years INTO plans to invest up to £1 billion in facilities and infrastructure, building a network of 25 partnerships with higher education institutions around the world. OSU represents the first partnership outside the UK with further partnerships planned in North America, Australia, China and Europe over the next five years.

INTO Centres provide international students with the academic and English language preparation required for entry to universities, as well as an immersion in American or British culture to help them gain the most from their overseas experience.

The Provost of OSU, Dr Sabah Randhawa, commented: "This is a deeply embedded, long-term partnership that presents us with a unique opportunity to extend our global reach. It also addresses our strategic goals of building a broad and well-prepared international community at OSU, and creating a learning environment that provides cultural and global enrichment for all university students."

INTO forges long-term, deeply embedded joint ventures with leading universities, delivering resources and assets to support its partners’ internationalisation strategies. INTO offers universities access to a dedicated international student market research unit, global reach through its extensive marketing infrastructure, innovative programmes and student-focused services, investment in new facilities if required, and membership of a growing, international alliance of leading universities. The INTO alliance is an integrated academic community that understands the future shape of global higher education and the aspirations of international students.

INTO programmes prepare international students for undergraduate and graduate study at universities by giving them intensive training and support alongside university level academic coursework in their chosen subjects. Students who successfully complete their programmes and meet all the entry requirements can then progress on to the second year of specific undergraduate courses.

OSU is a ‘land grant’ institution renowned for its academic strength, offering nationally top-ranked programmes in agriculture, forestry, oceanography, engineering, public health, biochemistry, food science, zoology and ecology.

As of 2007, international enrolments at OSU accounted for 5% of a student population of nearly 20,000. The joint venture plans to double the international student population to 10% by 2014, initially offering pathways to undergraduate and graduate programmes in business, engineering, sciences and the liberal arts.

The US remains the destination of choice for international students, with American institutions hosting more than 580,000 in 2007. The top five countries of origin were India, China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.*

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*Source: Atlas of Student Mobility/Institute of International Education

Notes for editors

INTO Centres are joint ventures with partner universities, established with the aim of preparing international students for undergraduate and graduate study by giving them intensive English language training alongside academic preparation.

Students who successfully complete their programmes and meet all the entry requirements are assured a place on their chosen undergraduate or graduate programme.

INTO launched in February 2006. In addition to OSU, INTO has joint venture partnerships in Manchester, at the Universities of East Anglia, Exeter, Newcastle and in Scotland at Glasgow Caledonian University.

INTO plans to invest up to £1 billion in the higher education sector as the company continues to build its network of partnerships in the UK and overseas over the next five years. Each INTO partner university defines, assures and is responsible for the academic content and standards. INTO’s vision, along with its university partners, is to create a sector-leading student experience that attracts and welcomes the international student community, enriching the campuses and creating cultural diversity.

INTO partnerships do not fall into the category of privatisation. The company establishes joint venture partnerships with universities, with shared board and management responsibilities and provides marketing infrastructure, working closely with its partners’ International Offices. When appropriate, new living and learning facilities are created for each joint venture, rather than publicly-owned assets being transferred away from pubic ownership. INTO centres can run alongside existing university pathway operations or integrate them within a single unit.

OSU was founded in 1856 as the Corvallis Academy and is one of only two US universities designated a land, sea, space and sun-grant institution. OSU is also Oregon’s only university designated in the Carnegie Foundation’s top tier for research institutions.

Contact

Gerry Halliday gerry.halliday@into.com.uk
+44 [0]20 7486 9909

David Jobbins david.jobbins@candlestar.co.uk
+44 (0) 20 8600 7552
07770 452047