The course will combine intensive English language training with coursework and programmes designed to help students to adjust to teaching at FIU.

The programme’s first students will enrol in August 2015, with an initial intake of between 50 and 150 students, scaling up to “several hundred” at full capacity, Rick Rattray, Managing Director of the Global First Year, told The PIE News.

“The traditional American university experience is changing. Diversity is an invaluable part of attending college”

They will be placed on a two- or three-term version of the course, depending on their language proficiency.

Upon completion of the course they will then be eligible to enrol on an FIU programme as a second year undergraduate.

Speaking with The PIE News, Rattray said that FIU’s location in “one of the United States’ most dynamic cities” and range of top-ranked programmes appealing to international students had made it an attractive partner for Shorelight.

“Further, FIU has created extraordinary partnerships with global corporations headquartered in the South Florida community that lead to great internship opportunities for students, and they have an incredibly vibrant student community that is very global in its outlook and composition,” he added.

For FIU, the foundation year allows the university to open up to more international students and help them to better integrate into the student body.

“The traditional American university experience is changing,” Elizabeth Bejar, FIU’s vice president for Academic Affairs, said.

“Along with superior academics and an integrated community, diversity is an invaluable part of attending college for students both domestic and international.”

The move forms part of Shorelight’s growing portfolio of partnerships, which also includes The University of Kansas, University of Central Florida and Bath Spa University.

The expansion looks set to continue, Rattray commented, with more announcements anticipated shortly.