The joint venture, which is tasked with increasing international recruitment at the university, will be INTO’s third in the US, following partnerships with Oregon State University and the University of South Florida (launched 2009 and 2010 respectively).

INTO’s chairman, Andrew Colin, said: “We are delighted to welcome CSU to our growing network of leading universities. Building on the strengths of Colorado State’s existing programmes, this joint project will increase access for international students who want to pursue their higher education goals at CSU.”

“An outstanding opportunity to make significant progress on the internationalisation of our campus”

INTO has launched partnerships with 14 universities in the UK, USA and Asia since 2006, and catered to more than 10,000 students in 2011-12. Its pathways prepare international students for university study and guarantee successful candidates degree places.

Opening August 2012, the INTO CSU pathway expects a first cohort of 350, with this increasing to around 1,000 within five years. CSU enrolled 1,133 international students in 2010-11, equivalent to 3% of the student body.

CSU’s provost, Rick Miranda, said: “With the INTO initiative, we have an outstanding opportunity to make significant progress on the internationalisation of our campus, which will provide additional access to our world-class academic programmes to students from around the world.”