international
relations.... Learning
English is the first step to an American higher education for many students
across the globe, and TCU’s Intensive English Program is an important element
in our efforts to become more globally focused. The program’s new learning
laboratory is underwritten by Union Pacific Corp., with additional support
from Tandy/Radio Shack.
One
innovative aspect of the program is its “conversation partners” — students,
faculty and staff members who last year interacted with dozens of international
executives of Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom and Alcon Japan and with
more than 100 Intensive English program students from 25 different countries.
More than 30 of these “partners” started degree programs at TCU.
The
Intensive English Program went on-line last summer and now is as available
to students in Asia, Europe and Africa as it is to those in Tarrant County.
Ours is the first intensive English program in the nation (and perhaps
the world) that provides a fully integrated and intensive tutorial that
incorporates video, audio and immediate one-on-one help from instructors
at the click of a mouse.
Prominent
on the TCU Intensive English Program Web site (www.iep.tcu.edu)
is a photograph of the Fort Worth skyline and information about the Cultural
District, the Stockyards, downtown and other local highlights. To be sure,
our location in the Metroplex is as exciting to prospective students in
other parts of the world as it is to students and their families in other
areas of the country.
TCU
strives to provide an education that prepares our students to think and
act as ethical leaders and responsible citizens in the global community
of the 21st century. In the same way that we are working to strengthen
the university’s global perspective, we are committed to helping Fort Worth
develop an even greater international presence.
Ferrari
is chancellor at Texas Christian University.
