VP works
to attract Mexican students
Vice
President for Student Affairs Eliseo Cheo Torres,
Ph.D, has just returned from keynoting a session at the
1St International Conference on Innovative Educational Programs
in Monterrey, Mexico.
Torres
is putting together two special programs to try to attract qualified
Mexican and Latin American students to the university.
One program,
planned for next summer, will be a three week total immersion
trip to the UNM campus for high school juniors and seniors.
The program will teach students survival skills, test their
language skills and help them understand which UNM programs
might be of interest.
Torres
said by targeting high school students he hopes they will be
able to learn more easily how to prepare for the cultural and
academic environment they will find on an American college campus.
It
is sometimes difficult for older students to come on campus.
They experience a sort of culture shock, he said.
Torres
is hoping the program will attract between 100 and 200 Mexican
students to the campus next July.
Another
program, now scheduled for Spring 2005, will be offered to international
high school students who want to study at colleges and universities
in the United States.
The program
will be a combination of regular class work and special courses
designed specifically for the students.
Torres
said he is hoping to attract between 15 and 20 gifted students
to begin the program. The students must be proficient in English.
During
his recent trip to Mexico, Torres visited three campuses to
stimulate interest in the programs.