ACADEMIC CREDITS

The CPI Spanish program is approved for transfer credits through the New Mexico State University (NMSU) for "Language Credit via Distance Education" program. Undergraduate credit for beginner to advanced courses is available and is transferable to other accredited universities. Graduate credit is also available.

Requirements and Policies for Students:

•  In order to receive credits for classes taken at CPI, students must contact the Office of Study Abroad at NMSU PRIOR to leaving for Costa Rica.

•  NMSU  Students may receive university transfer credits for classes taken at CPI Heredia, Monteverde, and Flamingo through the Office of Study Abroad at NMSU.

•  Students must take the 5,5 hour-program a day . For every three weeks of studies between CPI Heredia and CPI Monteverde , students may take classes at CPI Flamingo for one week.

•  W hen filling out your CPI registration form, please sign up as a NMSU (via distance education) student, in the credits part. You may send your CPI registration form at http://www.cpi-edu.com/application.htm

The NMSU system

New Mexico State University makes several programs available to non-NMSU students wishing to earn graded credit for intensive study of Spanish. Graded credit is issued by NMSU for Spanish 111-112 (beginning), 211-212 (intermediate), 305 (topics in Hispanic Civilization), 325 (advanced conversation), and a graduate-level 590 course (Advanced Studies in Hispanic Civilization and Cultures). Check with the NMSU for additional courses that may become available.

The course instructor uses a WebCT course for orientation and language skill evaluation to determine placement level. Then, students accepted into the program travel to the cooperating institution abroad (CPI) to pursue intensive instruction and integration in local culture. Course progress is monitored by e-mail correspondence, WebCT assignments, and at the end of the formal instruction the student returns to WebCT to take an exam and fill out a final evaluation.

Eligibility

Students who are not currently attending NMSU may apply as long as they are in good standing academically at their home institution. Students need to receive permission from their home institution to transfer NMSU credit to their university. Since students are not accompanied by NMSU instructors, students must possess the maturity of character and work ethic to succeed in a self-directed program. Students must comply with NMSU's pre-departure orientation requirements.

To obtain academic credit for classes taken at CPI directly through your university, you should follow the required procedures indicated below:

PLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU DO NOT ARRANGE THIS BEFORE STARTING YOUR PROGRAM, YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO EARN CREDITS FROM CPI. WE NEED TO KNOW THE UNIVERSITY’S REQUIREMENTS IN ADVANCE.

If you have further questions about obtaining university credits, click here.

For example, the following universities accredit CPI classes for their degree students:

• Olivet Nazarene University - Bourbonnais, IL
• Northeastern Illinois University, IL
• Anderson University - Anderson, IN
• Ohio University – Athens, OH

ADDITIONAL UNIVERSITY CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES AT CPI

Another available credit option includes the situation of university professors accompanying a group of students from their respective university. For some university groups the primary focus is Spanish language acquisition and for others, the concentration is Spanish language acquisition with a professional focus, such as medical Spanish, Spanish for social workers or Business Spanish. CPI has worked in this capacity with the following universities:

TEXAS A&M

Since 2000 Texas A&M has coordinated its Latin American summer semester abroad through CPI. The university sends professors to teach Texas A&M credit courses and CPI, in addition to Spanish classes, homestay, cultural activities and excursions, provides a cultural comparison course for which their students also receive course credit. The professors responsible for establishing this collaborative program are Dr. Laura Stough and Dr. Patricia Lynch.

JOHNSON & WALES UNIVERSITY

Dr. Leilani Baumanis had a vision for a full semester business course abroad and after 2 exploratory visits brought the first group of Johnson & Wales students, including students from all 4 JWU sites (Miami, Providence, Denver and Charleston) in 2008.  The 4 week course focus is on international business and corporate responsibility including Spanish classes, a 2 week homestay component along with corporate visits

ROLLINS COLLEGE

Rollins College students participate in a 2 week course which combines international business corporate visits and Spanish classes complemented with the homestay component.  A parallel goal of the program is to provide cultural insight into business practices within Latin America on both a macro and micro level

COLBY COLLEGE

Offering a specialized Jan-term, Colby College (Maine) was the first to initiate this particular type of program at CPI. The course requires the primary focus of students to be volunteerism with students dedicating the majority of their time to helping marginalized communities. Students also study 15 hours of Spanish per week and travel to tourist destinations on the week-ends.

ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Initiating a linguistic and culturally focused program in 2004 with four weeks of study at our Heredia campus, from 2005 until present day Arkansas State University students spend three weeks in Heredia followed by one week at our Monteverde site.

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT WILMINGTON

A three week program combining the CPI Heredia and Monteverde sites, the UNCW study abroad program developed by Dr. Powell includes a focus on language learning in general and second language acquisition; Spanish classes and cultural activities are complemented with local school visits.  Specific themes include but are not limited to: "Conditions for Language Learning", "Engagement", "Functions of Language/Introspection", "Teaching and learning a second language, planning engaging lessons", "Goal setting and assessment", "Hands-on, Minds-on Contextual learning", and "Learning Theory applies to ALL learners"

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO

Following our Social Work Seminar model, the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, brings a group of social work majors to Costa Rica for three weeks, spending one week at CPI Monteverde and two weeks at CPI Heredia. Future plans include adding an additional week of travel to incorporate a visit to Nicaragua as a comparison experience to their social service work in Costa Rica.

Indian River State College

A specialized program developed by Professor Veronica Tempone permits IRSC students to study Spanish for 2 weeks at the CPI Heredia campus and participate in a medical volunteership helping marginalized populations in the outskirts of San José.

University of North Alabama

UNA students spend 3 weeks at CPI Heredia focusing on improving their Spanish skills and learning about Latin American culture in general and Costa Rican culture specifically. 

University of Dayton, Ohio

During the four-week program in Costa Rica, students take classes at each CPI campus; the first two weeks are spent in Heredia, the third week in Monteverde and the last week in Flamingo.  This set-up enables students to see more of the country not only geographically, but also obtain a deeper understanding of the Costa Rican culture and family life as students have the opportunity to stay with three different Costa Rican host families.