593-955期美國分校

【826】暢談銘傳籌設美國分校進度

李校長高瞻遠矚 顏副校長接受美國塞基諾州立大學THE VALLEY VANGUARD專訪 編者案~本校國際化發展,在李銓校長的高瞻遠矚的帶領下,可以說是引領先鋒、獨步全台。在銘傳邁入55週年的歷史新頁之際,我們辦學的疆域已不再侷限在台灣本島或外島,而是積極展開創立美國分校的籌備事宜,藉以擴大校務發展格局,讓銘傳優質教育的美名跨洋遠播,也跨國樹立「銘不虛傳」的嶄新里程碑。 籌設銘傳美國分校的歷程,預計規劃二大階段進行,第一階段先與當地州立大學(Saginaw Valley State University)進行展業合作(joint venture),同步申辦註冊登記;核准通過後,旋即因應當地就學需求,試辦短期課程;第二階段,則俟課程範疇與就學人數達到特定規模後,著手籌辦獨立校舍並擴大招生。美國分校籌設計畫在李校長擘劃領導,行政副校長顏善邦積極奔走與協調下,已展現初步規畫。其中與姐妹校塞基諾大學(SVSU)的合作課程將在今年暑假推行,該校於2012/4/23發行的校園刊物《THE VALLEY VANGUARD》,以Studying abroad at home為題,介紹該校與本校的合作課程與相關計畫內容。本刊全文轉載並轉譯中文,讓銘傳師生搶先獲知銘傳美國分校的建校進度。 顏副校長表示,設立美國分校對銘傳師生的效益,除了讓美國認證產生加乘效果,促進美籍學生赴台就學意願;亦可增進銘傳師生在台美兩地的學術交流、就學或實習機會,落實師生國際視野的拓展;最終則可提升本校在美知名度與能見度,使得國際化的深度與廣度再創新高。 ﹣﹣﹣﹣ by Justin Brouckaert This summer, SVSU students will get a chance to take classes abroad without leaving campus. Two classes taught by faculty from Ming Chuan University, the only U.S.-accredited university in Asia, will be offered on the SVSU campus for the first time in July, free of charge for SVSU students. The classes, which will be taught by English-speaking professors from the Taiwanese school, will allow SVSU students to study with students from Ming Chuan who will travel to the United States to take classes for credit while being immersed in American culture. Startup Business Chinese will offer an introduction to the fundamentals of Mandarin Chinese, especially suitable for learners who want to do business or work in Chinese-speaking countries. In the five-week intensive training course, students will learn pronunciation, grammar and Chinese characters, with emphasis on the basic language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Introduction to Chinese Literature will cover four traditional genres of Chinese literature at an advanced level: Han and T’ang poetry, Yuan drama, the philosophical prose of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu and the prose romance of the T’ang dynasty. The five-week course will enable students to understand and enjoy the works, developing cultural awareness and sensitivity by looking through Chinese authors’ eyes. Beginning in late June, both classes will meet three times per week and will be offered free of charge for as many SVSU students who want to attend. “They’re welcome to sit in on a class, to audit, or to take the whole course,” said Robert Yien, who served as the vice president of academic affairs for SVSU for more than 20 years and now holds that same title at Ming Chuan. “We’d like to have as many students as are interested in this. If we have more than a reasonably sized class, then we will split into two or three.” The classes are being offered at SVSU this summer as a test run for a larger collaborative program between the two universities that would begin next spring. “We’re looking forward to working with our sister University, Ming Chuan …” President Eric Gilbertson said. “We hope that this will be a long and successful relationship that will enable our domestic students to have even greater contact and friendship with students from Asian nations.” Yien said that this collaboration has been in the works for several years. “About two years ago, President Gilbertson and President Lee (Chuan of Ming Chuan) started to talk about a joint venture, about bringing students here, taking courses from Ming Chuan,” Yien said. “In the meantime, those students could co-enroll at SVSU. “The students coming from Ming Chuan would be coming from a U.S.-accredited institution, where they could complete their undergraduate studies. That’s the part that both presidents are very excited about.” During this summer’s test run, 45 to 60 Ming Chuan students will come to study on SVSU’s campus. After they return to Taiwan, their feedback would go toward the planning of next year’s official program. “We’re going to find out from Ming Chuan students about their lives on the SVSU campus after they go back,” Yien said. “We’re going to review their comments and then prepare for the real start, which would be next spring.” The program would begin with at least four courses in two different programs, international business and teaching Chinese as a second language. Students from Ming Chuan would come to SVSU to take classes abroad, and SVSU students would also be able to take those same classes for credit. “When SVSU students enroll in the course, they will pay tuition to SVSU, and credit hours will be acceptable to SVSU because we are an accredited university,” Yien said. “I’m very excited because no one has done this before.” No one has done this before because Ming Chuan is the first Asian school to achieve United States-accreditation, a process which Yien facilitated after retiring from SVSU in March 2007. For Ming Chuan students, the collaboration provides an opportunity to take classes from their home university while co-enrolling in SVSU courses at the same time, with those credits also transferring back to Ming Chuan. “Overseas, in China and Taiwan, there is a new concept of offering courses away from the home campus,” Yien said. “It gives them the experience of being immersed in a different culture, rubbing shoulders with students from another country.” Yien said that he hopes to have SVSU professors participate in the program, as well. “My goal is to have courses team-taught by SVSU faculty and Ming Chuan faculty,” he said. “That will really encourage SVSU students to enroll.” Although this program would be the first of its kind, it is not Yien’s first experience with facilitating contact between students from SVSU and Asia. Yien became SVSU’s vice president for academic affairs in 1978, and was the first person to suggest that an overseas trip to Asia be included in the Roberts Fellowship Program, an elite leadership seminar for SVSU students formed in large part from a generous donation by Donna Roberts, former head of Dow Chemical Co.’s legal department and secretary to the Dow CEO. “I said, ‘If this program is preparing young people for a leadership role in any field, I think it is a very important thing that they should have a chance to observe abroad even for just a short while,” Yien said. “You can go to Europe any time, but when you go to Asia, you have to have some reason.” A visit to Ming Chuan University is included in the three-week trip that all Roberts Fellows make each May. Yien said that he believes it is important for young Americans to visit Asia for professional reasons. “The rising of Asian countries really makes the competition very keen for the United States, especially for the young people,” he said. “The earlier the young people in the United States get to know what kind of competition is ahead of them and who their real competitors are, that’s very important.” This summer’s test run program will also reach to the youth of the Great Lakes Bay Region, as well. Ming Chuan will also host a “Dance and Sing” Mandarin Chinese Summer camp on the SVSU campus for seventh through eleventh graders interested in learning Mandarin Chinese. Students interested in signing up for Startup Business Chinese or Introduction to Chinese Literature can contact Robert Yien starting May 10. ﹣﹣﹣ 今年暑假,密西根州塞基諾州立大學(SVSU)學生將有機會,不須踏出校門就可以一圓留學夢。亞洲第一所美國認證大學的銘傳大學,7月擬於SVSU開設2門課程,凡SVSU學生皆可免費上課。來自台灣的銘傳大學教授將以英語教授該課程,讓SVSU學生和銘傳學生有機會一同上課,而銘傳學生到SVSU上課拿學分的同時,亦可沉浸於美國文化。 本次開設課程包括,教授基本中文的「初級商業中文」。本課程非常適合想要與中文語系國家做生意或在中文語系國家工作的同學,為期5週訓練課程,學生不僅能認識中文發音、文法、字體,並同時強化對基本中文語言的聽、說、讀、寫技巧。另一門課程「中國文學導論」則包含四門傳統的中國文學:漢唐詩賦、元曲、老子與莊子哲學、及唐朝散文。課程中學生可了解欣賞這方面的著作,並發展對中國文化的全新體認與感受。 6月開始,這2門課程每週上課3次,免費提供想參與的SVSU學生。曾於SVSU擔任20多年的學術副校長,現任銘傳行政副校長的顏善邦表示,歡迎學生參與全程課程,或選擇旁聽,銘傳大學期望SVSU的學生對此課程感興趣,如果選修人數過多,校方亦可分為2或3班來上課。 今年暑假在SVSU所開辦的2門課程,將做為明年春季SVSU和銘傳二校間更大規模合作方案的基礎。SVSU校長表示,期盼與姐妹校銘傳大學建立長遠又成功的合作關係,讓國內學生與亞洲學生有更多的接觸與友誼發展。顏副校長表示,二校的合作已於幾年前就開展。大約2年前,SVSU校長與銘傳李銓校長就曾談及合營企業,以及二校學生互至對方校園上課等計畫。由於銘傳大學是一所由美國認證的大學,從銘傳來SVSU就學的學生,將可讓當地的學習成為他們大學生活的一部份,這也是兩所大學校長感到興奮的地方。 今年暑假的試驗方案將有45至60位銘傳學生,到SVSU上美國文化與文學選讀相關課程,而SVSU學生也可參與這些課程並獲得學分,另銘傳華教系主任楊小定將為SVSU學生開設商務華語或中國文學概論等課。顏副校長表示,因為銘傳是認證學校,故參與這些課程的該校學生付學費給SVSU,且學分可被SVSU承認。談起此方案,顏副校長感到相當興奮,因為這段合作歷程是他自2007年3月從SVSU退休所促成,同時由於銘傳是亞洲第一所美國認證大學,所以從未有人推動過類似的合作課程。此外,顏副校長也表示,在銘傳學生回台後,將調查這些銘傳學生在SVSU的生活情形,彙整他們的意見後,做為明年春季正式推動的依據。 對於銘傳學生而言,該合作計畫給予他們機會可以在銘傳上課但又可同時參加SVSU的課程,而這些學分也可被銘傳所承認。顏副校長強調,透過參與國外學校所提供的課程,將讓台灣與中國大陸的學生有個深入認識其它國家不同文化的機會。顏副校長也希望SVSU教授能參與此方案,他的目標是由SVSU教授與銘傳教授共同組成團隊授與課程,這將激勵SVSU學生的參與。 雖然這方案獨一無二,但非顏副校長第一次促成SVSU學生與亞洲學生間的接觸。1978年顏副校長擔任SVSU學術副校長開始,他就建議將亞洲之行納入Roberts Fellowship Program。Roberts Fellowship Program是一群SVSU學生由前任陶氏化學(Dow Chemical Co.)法務部首長、現任為陶氏化學執行長秘書的Donna Roberts所捐贈組成的精英領袖研討會。顏副校長指出,這方案是給專業領域的年輕領袖所預備,他認為這些年輕領袖至國外觀察與學習是很重要的。對SVSU的學生而言,任何時候都可以到歐洲,但是到亞洲卻必須有動機。 所有Roberts成員在每年5月的3週行程中皆有機會至銘傳參訪。顏副校長相信美國年輕人因專業原因至亞洲探訪是重要的。亞洲國家的崛起經驗,對美國年輕人有強烈影響力。美國年輕人若能越早認識他們的競爭者是誰、面臨什麼樣的競爭,對他們而言是重要的。 今年暑假的試驗方案還會延伸至五大湖灣地區(Great Lakes Bay Region)。銘傳大學將在SVSU校園中,針對對中文有興趣的國高中生舉辦「唱歌跳舞中文夏令營」。 如果你對「初級商業中文」、「中國文學導論」或「唱歌跳舞」有興趣的學生,請於5/10前寄email聯繫。

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