Virginia Commonwealth University and Navitas announce partnership to expand international education


RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Navitas and Virginia Commonwealth University today announced a partnership to support the University’s continued commitment to internationalization, including the development of a Global Student Success Program to prepare international students for future academic success. The partnership will increase VCU’s capacity to deliver specialized programs to this diverse and growing population of students and enhance the University’s brand as an international study destination.

The collaboration between VCU and Navitas will increase the quantity and diversity of international students on campus, provide the University with access to Navitas’ global teaching and learning and admissions expertise, and establish an on-campus Global Student Success Program (GSSP).  

The program – comprised of academic content, study skills development and high levels of social and academic support – gives international students the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to succeed in VCU’s rigorous environment. Students who successfully complete the Program will then be eligible to continue their undergraduate or graduate degree studies at VCU. The University will retain control of all academic aspects of the Program.

“Navitas was selected by VCU as an internationalization partner after a rigorous process that identified the organization’s experience in preparing international students to succeed in higher education as well as their ability to develop a solution that meets our goals,” said Gail Hackett, Provost.

Navitas has more than two decades of experience establishing successful pathway programs around the world and was the first to launch such a program in North America. VCU is Navitas’ tenth North American partnership.

In addition to recruiting international students to attend the VCU-GSSP, Navitas will recruit international students for direct entry into VCU.

“We are proud to partner with VCU because of its widely recognized commitment to internationalization and its commitment to further expand global learning opportunities on its campus for international and domestic students alike,” said Bev Hudson, President of Navitas North America.

About Virginia Commonwealth University and VCU Health
Virginia Commonwealth University is a major, urban public research university with national and international rankings in sponsored research. Located in downtown Richmond, VCU enrolls more than 31,000 students in 220 degree and certificate programs in the arts, sciences and humanities. Seventy-nine of the programs are unique in Virginia, many of them crossing the disciplines of VCU’s 13 schools and one college. The VCU Health brand represents the health sciences schools of VCU, the VCU Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Health System, which comprises VCU Medical Center (the only academic medical center and Level I trauma center in the region), Community Memorial Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, MCV Physicians and Virginia Premier Health Plan. For more, please visit www.vcu.edu and vcuhealth.org.

About Navitas
For over 25 years, Navitas has prepared students around the world to be study-ready, work-ready and world-ready. As pioneers in campus internationalization, we have more than 30 trusted partnerships with ambitious, forward-thinking universities around the world. Through our unparalleled global reach across 50 countries, we help our partners achieve their goals of a stronger, more diverse international student population, improved academic outcomes, superior student experiences, enhanced global profile and sustainable revenue. Our North American university partners include Simon Fraser University, University of Manitoba, University of Massachusetts Lowell, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, University of Massachusetts Boston, University of New Hampshire, Florida Atlantic University, University of Idaho, Richard Bland College of William & Mary, and Virginia Commonwealth University.

Avery Waxman
Navitas North America
206-949-8393
avery.waxman@navitas.com
                                                             Mike Porter
Virginia Commonwealth University
804-828-7037
mrporter@vcu.edu