INTO has announced its fifth partnership in the USA with George Mason University (GMU) in Northern Virginia, near Washington DC. Under the new partnership, GMU will expand its offering of pathway programmes, and expects to offer more than 40 at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.
“The partnership will help increase the university’s enrolment and boost global education for all of our students”
The partnership was established towards the end of last year, shortly before INTO announced double-digit international student enrolment growth in its North America centres. This brings INTO’s total number of university partnerships to 18.
Courses will cover a broad range of subjects including conflict analysis and resolution, music and business.
“The INTO Mason partnership signed today will help increase the university’s enrolment and boost global education for all of our students, both of which are important strategic objectives for George Mason,” said Ángel Cabrera, president of George Mason University.
Earlier this month, over 100 members of INTO’s global recruitment network met with GMU students, faculty and staff on campus to learn about its programmes, facilities, campus life and the local community, before beginning their student recruitment across the globe.
It is expected that these programmes will accommodate over 1,000 new international students over the next five years. There are currently around 2,000 international students from 125 countries enrolled at the university.
John Sykes, Group Managing Director of INTO University Partnerships, noted, “With its proximity to Washington, D.C., Mason has the unique potential to impact global education on a large scale,” he continued.
Meanwhile, INTO is teaming up with University of East Anglia (UEA) in the UK to deliver a MOOC on UK platform FutureLearn offering Study Skills for International Students.
“It’s to provide any student considering, or in the process of applying to, study in the UK with a set of study skills to help them ‘bridge the gap’ between their own educational and cultural experiences, and those they will find in the UK,” explained Nick Tellwright, INTO’s Director of Online Development.
The course has been designed directly from the experience of INTO international students, and they will feature in videos during the course.
