January 11, 2010
Bowling Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University is pleased to announce an educational affiliation with the
global education services provider Navitas Ltd (ASX: NVT) for the establishment of a University Pathways Program at the Bowling Green campus. The agreement leads the way for other agreements for similar university pathway programs in the United States. Currently, Navitas has 28 international partnerships and WKU is proud to be their first U.S. affiliate.
Navitas Chief Executive Officer Rod Jones said the company is proud to partner with WKU on the new program, scheduled to open in September 2010.
Photo Caption: Officials on hand for the signing of the affiliation agreement between WKU and Navitas were, from left: Dr. Dean Kahler, WKU Associate VP for Academic Affairs; Dr. Barbara Burch, WKU Provost; Dr. Gary Ransdell, WKU President; Rodney Jones, Navitas CEO; Patrick van Rooyen, Navitas Head of Relationship Management and Business Development; and Bev Hudson, Navitas General Manager for North America.
“Partnering with established, quality universities is key to the rollout of our business model into the United States,” Jones said. “We are committed to establishing a footprint in one of the world’s largest education markets and believe this commitment consolidates our entry into the United States.” The highly successful Navitas teaching-learning model will allow international students to being their WKU careers with an intensive first-year program.
WKU President Dr. Gary Ransdell said Navitas’ global presence adds another unique perspective to life at the 103-year-old institution.
“Navitas brings international experience, a strong track record in education and the ability to attract enthusiastic students from a variety of backgrounds to WKU,” Dr. Ransdell said. “This is an exciting opportunity for us. We extend a warm welcome to the United States for Navitas and look forward to a long and fruitful partnership.”
WKU already has a significant international reach with more than 700 international students enrolled on the campus, many international initiatives, international exchange and study abroad programs that encourage students to study in countries outside of the United States, the Harlaxton College and Semester at Sea programs, as well as the new Chinese Flagship Language program offered on the campus.
The Navitas partnership is expected to double the number of international students attending WKU over the next decade and provide them with the very best educational transition into the American higher education system. The result would be that international students will be well prepared to attend the university and pursue their degree. It will also provide special opportunities for both domestic and international students to have new perspectives that are critical as they engage in a global society.
“The WKU partnership will be part of our foundation in the exciting U.S. market and we look forward to a strong performance from the college for students,” Jones said.
More information on Navitas is available at http://www.navitasworld.com/.
More WKU news is available at http://www.wku.edu/news/index.html and at http://wkunews.wordpress.com/.
For more information, contact Dr. Dean Kahler, (270) 745-6169.
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