INTO University Partnerships and Oregon State University (OSU) are celebrating a momentous 15-year milestone of their partnership, a collaboration that has fundamentally transformed the educational landscape for international students.
This alliance, formed in 2008, sought to magnify OSU’s international appeal and has been successful in offering a wide-ranging suite of academic support and services to international students. This encompasses direct entry and customized preparatory programs across all undergraduate domains, as well as a diverse selection of postgraduate degrees, placing OSU among the top 1.4% of global universities and within the top 20% in the US for the earning potential of its graduates.
The INTO OSU Centre, situated amidst the historic environs of the OSU campus, emerges as a beacon of academic and personal development, facilitated by the unwavering commitment of its staff and faculty.
As the first of its kind in the US, the center has been crucial in fostering the academic accomplishments of over 11,900 international students from over 155 countries, steering them towards success in their chosen academic pursuits. Students affiliated with INTO OSU have notably spanned all 11 of OSU’s academic colleges at the doctoral level.
Edward Feser, Provost and Executive Vice President at Oregon State University and an INTO OSU Board Member, stated: “In 15 years of collaboration, the INTO Oregon State University partnership helped bring more than 12,000 international students to OSU. This has strengthened the university by enriching the intercultural experiences of domestic students; providing support for faculty hires, infrastructure, and study abroad opportunities; influencing improvements to our academic program mix; and elevating OSU’s global visibility and brand.”
John Sykes, CEO of INTO University Partnerships, commented: “Our partnership with Oregon State University marked a real breakthrough moment in US public universities’ approach to internationalizing the student experience. We could not be prouder of our partnership and what it has accomplished. It has been a privilege to watch the life-changing experiences this great American university has delivered to the thousands of Chinese students who made Corvallis their home.”
Bob Gilmour, INTO OSU’s Executive Director, remarked: “At INTO OSU, we’re so proud of the students we have supported over the last 15 years and the range of academic, personal, and professional successes that they have gone on to achieve. Over that time, it’s really been an honor to have been a part of a team of people at INTO OSU that shows up every day to put students first and provide them with the support and experience that they deserve.
“With both INTO and OSU’s combined efforts, this pioneering Centre has played a significant role in raising the standards and expectations for international student support in higher education from application to graduation and beyond. And as a team, we at INTO OSU look forward to the next 15 years with as much passion and excitement as the day this innovative model was conceived.”
This partnership continues to excel in delivering remarkable student satisfaction and retention rates. The 2020 initiation of International Direct Services by OSU, which tailors academic and personal support for all international undergraduates in their first year, has played a pivotal role in facilitating a seamless start to their degree programs at OSU. Since the establishment of INTO OSU, the retention rates for first-year students have remarkably risen to 95%.
INTO University Partnerships is dedicated to forging connections between ambitious international students and top-tier universities in the US, UK, and Australia. Since its inception in 2005, INTO has enabled over 150,000 students from 180 countries to pursue their dreams of obtaining a degree from prestigious universities worldwide.