EC English Languages Centres, a global chain of English schools, will open its first on-campus school at the State University of New York (SUNY) Fredonia in August, bringing its total number of centres to 19. The school will offer general English, intensive English and English for Academic Purposes programmes.
“EC’s 19th centre worldwide shows a departure from our traditional city centre focus”
Qualifying students will also have the opportunity to take credit-bearing SUNY courses alongside their English programmes. Any credits earned under this ‘concurrent enrolment’ will be transferable to other SUNY universities.
EC students will be able to receive conditional admission to SUNY Fredonia, exempting them from the usual requirements for international students to provide external certification to verify their English ability.
They will have access to university facilities including career development counselling, extracurricular activities and on-campus medical care, and will live with SUNY students in Hemingway Hall, the University’s on-campus residence to enable “cultural and social integration” with the university’s 5100 students, an EC spokesperson said.
“EC’s 19th centre worldwide shows a departure from our traditional city centre focus,” EC’s Executive Chairman, Andrew Mangion, said. “Through listening to the needs and demands of our students and partners, and several years of research into the US Higher Education market, we are happy to have secured our first host institution agreement with such a well-recognised university.”
“We are looking forward to expanding our offering of on-campus programmes alongside our growing selection of city centre schools and innovative ESL courses.”
The school will welcome its first cohort of students in August this year, to coincide with the beginning of the university’s fall semester.
Situated 2.5 hours’ drive from Toronto, SUNY’s second oldest branch has this month unveiled an overhauled brand identity, introducing a new logo to make it more globally recognisable.
“An emphasis in Fredonia’s strategic plan is expanding our role as a global community, welcoming out-of-state and international students and encouraging all Fredonia students to learn about the world and their places in it,” President Virginia Horvath said in a statement.
