Roger Williams sets up Vietnam school
Roger Williams University has partnered up with a Vietnamese-American entrepreneur to establish a “major academic center” in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the first private American university in the southeast Asian nation.
Slated to open Jan. 15, the American Pacific University of Vietnam is the brainchild of Dr. Binh Thy Nguyen Tran, developed in collaboration with Roger Williams president Roy J. Nirschel and Michael Good, a professor at the University of California–Hayward and former head of John Cabot University in Rome.
Initially, the school will offer English as a second language through language centers; high school programs featuring a dual curriculum meeting both Vietnam Ministry of Education and U.S. Department of Education standards; a college preparatory program (College Bridge); professional development courses, and a number of pre-master's degree certificates.
APU has also secured agreements to provide technical and professional training for local organizations such as Vietnam Airlines.
Roger Williams' involvement is twofold: As part of the strategic planning process, faculty are developing a “2 + 2” articulation agreement for students to complete two years at APU in Vietnam and transfer to Roger Williams University to complete their bachelor degrees in business, engineering, the arts and sciences, and other disciplines. The school also plans to establish a distance learning curriculum, linking students from Vietnam to Roger Williams in Rhode Island.
“Roger Williams University is proud of its slogan, ‘Learning to Bridge the World,’ and our important role in establishing the first private American university in Vietnam,” Nirschel said in a news release.
“For the past decade, I have tried to help Vietnamese youth by providing them with opportunities for study in the United States,” Tran said. “Now, with the establishment of APU and our academic partnerships, we will be able to provide those same opportunities here in Vietnam. We hope that these academic relationships will foster better understanding between the people of Vietnam and the United States and further accelerate the economic development of the country.”
To ensure that all Vietnamese students have access to its programs, the university will also offer various grants and scholarships.
The current plan is for APU to enroll 500 students during 2005 in various programs in Vietnam, with a five-year goal of increasing enrollment to about 6,000 students.
“Already, students have applied to study in our master of public administration program at Roger Williams University,” Nirschel said. “Additionally, faculty are exploring a three-week winter session in 2006 as part of this historic partnership.”
Providence Business News - December 29, 2004.
|