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More than 90 students from South Korea will officially become part of the SUNY Fredonia family at the start of the spring semester through a new 1+3 program with Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) in Seoul, Korea.
The initiative, which doubles SUNY Fredonia’s current international enrollment, was marked with a welcome ceremony for the Korean students on Wednesday, Jan. 18, in Rosch Recital Hall. Several high-ranking officials from Hankuk University participated.
Upon completing one year of study at HUFS and three years at SUNY Fredonia, the students will be awarded SUNY Fredonia undergraduate degrees. Eventually, Fredonia anticipates admitting 120 to 160 South Korean students to campus.
“Every service and academic office at Fredonia has been preparing for more than a year since we admitted the 1+3 students,” said Fredonia’s International Education Director Mary Sasso. “The extra effort put forth by the staff and faculty has demonstrated to HUFS that global education and international student mobility is of great importance, university-wide, to us. These students are a welcome addition to our current international student population and will be greeted by teams of International Student Ambassadors who have undergone training to better serve them. We are ready for them and plan to show them how good student life is in Fredonia.”
The 1+3 program, which HUFS operates in partnership with approximately 20 universities across the United States, is designed to improve opportunities for qualified Korean students in a variety of majors to study general education courses and improve their English.
Before traveling to Fredonia, the students spent a year preparing at their home campus, by taking general education courses pre-selected by HUFS and Fredonia, along with intensive studies in English reading, speaking, listening and writing.
Their transition to SUNY Fredonia will be made easier by a host of services provided by Fredonia’s International Education Center. Julee Strek of the SUNY Fredonia English Language Immersion Academy will teach several sections of English language courses, using a curriculum developed in collaboration with Kate Mahoney of the Department of Language, Learning and Leadership. In addition, Andrew Platt was hired as an international student advisor specifically to assist these students and help SUNY Fredonia meet the needs of a growing international student enrollment. Additional services will be provided by the Learning Center and Henry C. Youngerman Center.
