It all stemmed from a dual degree articulation agreement with a member of the Vietnam National University in 2020 that led to the recruitment of students coming soon to the University of Minnesota Crookston campus. Chancellor Mary Holz-Clause and Global Programs Director Sok Leng Tan traveled to southeast Asia in late September 2022 to meet with a cohort of students who had just completed their first year of studies at University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and those students are looking forward to coming to Crookston in Fall 2023.
“On this trip we met with the president of the University and our first cohort of eight students to answer any questions they might have had regarding their transition to the Crookston campus next fall,” Tan explained. “Vietnam is an emerging student market for U.S. universities and bringing them to the Midwest will set the stage for more students to come.”
“USSH also connected us with An Giang University to discuss possible partnership for a joint program in early childhood and elementary education,” she added. “Later in the trip, we met with TransGlobal Education and Training to learn about the prospects of recruiting students from Hanoi (Vietnam) to the Crookston campus and then traveled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to meet with INTI University to discuss a pathway program with UMN Crookston.”
Tan mentioned she and Holz-Clause were also in Ho Chi Minh City for “Admission Day” where 12 additional students accepted their offer to come to UMN Crookston.
“The Vietnamese administrators were grateful that we could be present to meet with students and their families,” said Holz-Clause. “Those 12 students began their first year of studies in October and will transition to Crookston in 2024.”
Tan added there’s typically a small window for international students to apply after their national exam results are released, and, on Admission Day in Ho Chi Minh City, those students pay tuition on the spot as there is no financial aid.
USSH has three international 2+2 joint programs with UMN Crookston, Guangxi Normal University – China, and Deakin University – Australia. The 2+2 programs were developed for students to complete general education courses at their home university and then transfer to a foreign university to complete their bachelor’s degree. In the current academic year USSH welcomed 102 new students, and, because of the partnership, eight will come to Crookston in 2023 and 12 will follow in 2024.
“The USSH values these joint programs because they provide the country with high-quality workforce, reaching international standards,” Tan continued. “The international joint programs are also a part of the internationalization strategy in higher education at the USSH, VNU-HCM.”
