USU has agreed to cooperate in an international partnership with Far East University of Southern Korea to allow students from both schools to trade places for a set period of time. Faculty from both universities are collaborating to establish the steeping stones needed to further solidify the partnership and have students study abroad in January, said Mary Hubbard, vice provost for international education.

“We have signed a memorandum of understanding, or an agreement, stating that we will investigate the next steps,” Hubbard said.

Students are allowed to participate in exchange programs all over the world and opening South Korea for educational purposes will broaden the scope of culturally diverse opportunities.

Hubbard said she is also working on a partnership with Mongolia where she recently visited to follow up with students who attended USU summer semester. The international education department has a goal to continually increase partnerships with international universities, Hubbard said.

It’s to any student’s advantage to study outside the country because “a lot of businesses work outside U.S. boundaries,” she said. “It’s ideal to learn a different language and live in that culture.”

Far East University, located in Gamgok-myeon, South Korea, was opened in 1994 by Dr. Taek-hee Lyu. The school has developed eight colleges and seven independent departments, according to the university’s Web site at www.kdu.ac.kr.

Prior USU professor Yun Kim works with the president of FEU and proposed the partnership with USU. Kim knows and likes USU, Hubbard said, and he believes the programs offered will be beneficial to students from South Korea, especially in learning and improving their ability to speak English.

Keith Osai, Multicultural Student Services’ academic program director, said it is an important part of USU to create cultural diversity.

“Maintaining a blend of cultures allows the opportunity to learn more about how other people think and feel, thus broadening student, staff and faculty understanding of world culture,” Osai said.

Director of Multicultural Student Services Moises Diaz said weaving cultures into USU not only increases enrollment, it accomplishes the university’s role as a land-grant institution by sustaining a melting pot of cultures in the student body.

He said, “Whether we are expanding access to have a well-trained populace of all backgrounds here in Utah or bringing in scholars from other countries, the infusion of diverse ideas and talents can serve to enrich all of us.”

Hubbard said foreign students interested in coming to the U.S. for educational purposes are sometimes opposed to attending college in large cities, like Los Angeles, Calif., because of safety issues. Most countries watch American television where they are exposed to these cities and learn they are less safe than other cities, Hubbard said.

“Logan is a small town, a safe environment, a beautiful place, and the university here offers a lot,” Hubbard said.

USU students who decide to study abroad at FEU, or vice versa, will do so through “True Exchange,” Hubbard said, a program that enables students to receive an education in a foreign location without cost being too much of a prohibiting factor. Hubbard said USU students pay for tuition they would have normally paid, and FEU students pay for their normal tuition, then swap places. This keeps fees much lower for students, she said. However, the number of students exchanged is not exact, Hubbard said. One semester FEU may send three students to USU and none the following semester.

FEU has a strong pilot program and requires the students involved to learn English so they are capable of communicating with personnel at English-speaking airports, Hubbard said. She said this is one of the reasons why it is crucial FEU students in the airline pilot program become comfortable with the English language and the best way to learn is by living among those who speak it fluently.

If students want to teach English in South Korea, FEU will pay for part or all of their education expenses for that time, Hubbard said. These students are required to take an English teaching course to prepare themselves.

For now, students will be sent back and forth between school to “test the waters,” Hubbard said. Though USU and FEU have agreed on the partnership it will only progress if both parties continually work on it, she said. Kim is currently drafting ideas to keep the process rolling.

Hubbard said, “We’ve agreed to work on the process, but right now it’s in their hands.”

– catherine.meidell@aggiemail.usu.edu