Abstract:
There is considerable interest in globalizing curriculum in colleges and universities. An important component of globalization is providing students an opportunity to study and travel abroad. This article provides a model for the establishment and conduct of a student exchange. In 1997, faculty from the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa, visited Blacksburg, Virginia. Later, Virginia Tech faculty visited the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, to assess the academic programs and student environment. From these visits came a Memorandum of Understanding for an undergraduate student exchange. A similar MOU was established with the University of the West Indies in Trinidad, Tobago in 2000. These memoranda provided for students paying tuition, fees, and lodging at their own universities, and paying for food at the host university. The only additional cost was the airfare. A full semester of classes was taken by students visiting each institution with courses approved and substituted for required curricula at each university. There have now been ten successful exchanges from 1998 through 2001. This paper is presented as an example of a successful model for student exchange.
Keywords:
undergraduate exchange program, agricultural science, life science, model
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