Spanish courses offered by Asociación de Escuelas de Enseñanza de Español de Castilla y León (AEECYL) members are to be accredited by the Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca (UPSA), under a deal signed last month to boost internationalisation.
The move, which is likely to draw more foreign students to the Castilla y León region, will also enable those who take courses of 90 hours or more to gain university credit.
“This [agreement] adds fundamental value for our students and our courses,” said Miguel Ángel Benito, vice-president of AEECYL, which has 16 member schools.
“The demand from students isn’t just to come here, improve their Spanish, get to know our culture, our cuisine but it goes one step further; it’s the demand to take advantage of the courses in our centres.”
“This agreement establishes our obligation to guarantee that the quality of teaching will be at the university level”
UPSA, a private Catholic university founded in 1940, will establish a commission of professors to monitor the quality and management of course content. The teachers will have a direct presence in the classrooms as well as test students when they complete courses.
UPSA Rector Ángel Galindo said the agreement established “our obligation to guarantee that the quality of teaching will be at the university level”.
UPSA hopes to expand its international reach through the deal. Around 800 students studied Spanish at the university last year, mostly from the US and China. Meanwhile, AEECYL schools attract more than half (26,000) of the 45,000 students who study Spanish each year in Castilla y León, which is situated just north of Madrid.
Language schools will also benefit from new teacher exchanges, research collaborations and joint publications in areas of mutual interest under the deal. “The schools, who are private companies, will have the support of the entire university credit system which will allow for further internationalisation,” said Ricardo Ortiz, president of AEECYL.
