FRANCE-US: St Edward's returns to its French roots

St. Edward's University, set up by French missionaries nearly 125 years ago in Austin, Texas, is returning to its roots with establishment of a campus in Angers, France. From September 2009, the university will open its doors to European and US students, offering joint graduate degrees with its partner the Université Catholique de Ouest (UCO), study programmes abroad and professional training for businesses.


St Edward's president, Dr George Martin, said the move to France was part of the university's latest strategic plan in which "global education became part of our curriculum process" and "we decided students should have multiple experiences in many countries during their undergraduate education".

The intention, Martin said, was to create "portal campuses" around the world: "France is our first effort. We want our students to understand how different people think and how interrelated the world is."

Martin said the university was investing about $200 million in the French portal campus and was considering Latin America for the location of the next one.

St Edwards was founded in the Texas capital by the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1885. Today it is a private Catholic liberal arts university which has grown from 3,000 students in 1999 to about 5,400 students now.

U.S. News and World Report magazine named it as one of America's Best Colleges in 2009 while the Princeton Review included it in its Colleges with a Conscience guide.

In Angers, administrative centre of the Maine-et-Loire department in western France, the St Edward's project has the support of the Pays-de-la-Loire regional council, and two academic partners.

The UCO, a leading Catholic university, has more than 9,000 students enrolled on its three campuses, and 400 teachers. Its international centre of French studies is known for its programme teaching foreign students the French language and culture. The other partner is the Institut Bois-Robert, an international upper secondary boarding school that offers holiday courses, language learning and distance education.

An enrolment of about 400 French, European and American students is expected when St Edward's is operating fully in Angers.

Its 'First year in France' programme will cater for European students who want to take an American degree. The preparatory studies, given mostly in English, will earn them up to 30 credits towards the three further years necessary for a US bachelor's degree, which they can take either at St. Edwards in Austin or at another US university.

During the year they will perfect their English, learn about American history and culture, and spend two weeks in the US. Average fees will be EUR7,800 (US$10,000), or about half the cost of a year at Austin.

St Edward's American students in Austin, who must now contract with an external agency if they want to study abroad, will be able to stay within the university's academic system while studying in France. They can take either a summer course or a two-semester programme.

All Austin-based students would have the chance to study abroad, said Martin, not just those who were rich enough, as was the case at other universities. "Our students will be able to study in France for virtually the same costs as studying in Austin. We also hope to make it easier for students from France to study in Austin, and bring students and faculty from around the world to internationalise the campus."

A joint St. Edward's-UCO graduate programme is planned from 2010, combining American MBA and European master's degrees in management, and environmental management and sustainable development.

St. Edwards will also run professional education courses for company employees in project management, information technology, general business and a new language programme, English at Work.

It is the only American university in France designated as an Apple Authorised Training Centre for Education, permitting it to use Apple's professional software as part of the official curriculum. Future projects include creation of a 'global classroom' where lectures and interactive seminars will take place simultaneously in the US and France using Apple videoconferencing technology.

www.stedwards.edu
jane.marshall@uw-news.com