OXFORD, Miss. — The University of Mississippi signed an agreement with the North China University of Technology in Beijing, bringing it one step closer to its goal of expanding its international student population.
According to the release from the university, the school signed the deal with NCUTon Wednesday.
It officially goes into effect this fall.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to join in a collaborative agreement with North China University of Technology,” UM Provost Morris Stocks said. “This will give us an opportunity to bring 15 to 20 of their students to visit with us each year, and it will also give study abroad opportunities to our students.”
“We’re very glad to sign the agreement between our universities,” NCUT Director of International Programs Jiaquan Xiong said. “It now means we have established the formal relationship and in the future, we can develop a long, long collaborative with programs that will be beneficial to both our universities’ students and faculty members.”
According to the terms of the agreement, students who attend either university would have the opportunity to study abroad at the other institution.
Right now, Chinese students would study at the UM with their fees being covered by the Chinese government.
If they wanted to, NCUT undergraduate students could also transfer to the UM as long as they meet all admission requirements.
Faculty members would also be allowed to teach at the other university provided it’s during an intersession or summer term.
In addition, there was also some agreement that an international education center would be built on the NCUT campus that would serve both universities.
No word yet on when that would be built.
The agreement is said to be an important step in fulfilling the university’s goal of attracting more international students.
According to the release, UM has nearly 1,000 international students enrolled from 92 different countries as of right now.
The goal is to double that number in the next five years.
A lofty goal, but one the University of Mississippi is working hard on fulfilling.
Representatives from the UM Office of Global Engagement have begun traveling to India and China to recruit students for the upcoming freshman class.
Not only does this recruit some of the country’s brightest, it also has effectively spread the Ole Miss brand and its reputation for high academic success.