Houston Christian University (HCU) has signed a memorandum of understanding with John Cabot University (JCU), a liberal arts degree-granting academic institution in Rome, Italy, to offer study abroad opportunities for HCU students and teaching opportunities for HCU faculty members.
Leslie Shelton, Director of the Spahr-Tan Center for International Education, met with various JCU staff members, including Dr. Jose Alvarez, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives & Operations and Michel Rosuelo, Assistant Director of Study Abroad Admissions, to discuss opportunities for collaboration.
“The Spahr-Tan Center for International Education at HCU is working to increase our study abroad opportunities as students continue to express the desire to go abroad. Direct partnerships like the one we have established with JCU are beneficial because the host university offers many of the same services to students as HCU does, so our students will be well supported throughout their study abroad experience,” said Shelton.
The MOU provides discounts on tuition for HCU students interested in enrolling at JCU in several study abroad academic programs in Humanities and Business similar to those offered at HCU as well as a three-week engineering and math summer program.
Students can travel to Rome for the summer and enroll in JCU classes that can count towards their degrees. Students will have full access to JCU facilities and support services, such as tutoring, student clubs, intramural sports, pre-arrival support and onsite orientation.
HCU faculty members also have the opportunity to teach abroad under this new agreement. Faculty have the opportunity to develop customized study abroad programs that enable them to take a group of HCU students for a faculty-led program which typically lasts 10-14 days. Faculty members interested in teaching for longer periods of time will have the opportunity to teach classes to HCU students and the general JCU student population during summer sessions on the JCU campus.
HCU has established two other partnerships over the past year through the Spahr-Tan Center’s efforts, one with Jerusalem University College in Jerusalem, Israel and The Richmond, The American University London in the United Kingdom. The Center also is in the final stages of developing an agreement with a university in Seoul, South Korea and is presently working on several others. These kinds of programs tend to be more cost-efficient than third-party study abroad providers.
For more information on current HCU study abroad offerings, please visit HCU’s Study Abroad web page.