CPI

ACADEMIC CREDITS

TRANSFER CREDITS THROUGH NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY

INTRODUCTION

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.

OVERVIEW

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 551 course (Advanced Studies in Hispanic Civilization and Cultures). Check with the NMSU Foreign Studies Advisor for additional courses that may become available.

Students contract with the course instructor who 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 predeparture orientation requirements.

Costs	Items	$	Notes
Paid to NMSU	NMSU Application Fee	250	Study Abroad application and processing fee (non-refundable) due at time of application. Fee includes non-degree admission to NMSU, ISIC card and two NMSU transcripts.
	NMSU Credit Charge	60 per credit	NMSU will bill students for the credits for which they wish to earn from NMSU. Transcripts will be released once program is completed, work is evaluated, credits are recorded, and all program fees have been paid to NMSU and the host language institute (whose charges are additional).
	HTH Insurance (mandatory)	40 per month

ACADEMIC CREDITS THROUGH YOUR UNIVERSITY

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

First, the student should inquire about the policies of the university in regard to acquiring university credits via Spanish courses offered outside of the country.
The student must inform CPI of the university policy as well as provide the name, phone number, and e-mail address of the university staff member responsible for approving credits. The name of the academic institution should also be included.
Upon receipt of the information solicited in point #2, CPI requests academic credit approval from the indicated university staff member as well as provides detailed program information and any additional documents that are required. CPI does not charge an additional fee for this service.
Once in Costa Rica, CPI follows the necessary procedures approved by the respective university. The student is expected to fulfill all university requirements, without exception.

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
Brookhaven College, TX

ADDITIONAL UNIVERSITY CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES AT CPI

Another available credit option includes the case of university professors accompanying a group of students from their respective university. For some university groups the primary focus is solely Spanish language acquisition and for others, the concentration is Spanish language acquisition with a professional focus, such as medical Spanish or Spanish for social workers. 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 professor who was responsible for establishing this collaborative program is Dr. Laura Stough.

Laura M. Stough, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Educational Psychology
Mail Stop 4225 TAMU
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843-4225
(979) 845-8257 (phone)
(979) 862-1256(fax)
lstough@coe.tamu.edu

STOCKTON COLLEGE

A professional seminar for social work majors of Stockton College (New Jersey). Dr's. Diane Falk and/or Lisa Cox, the professors of Stockton College, have restructured our Social Work Seminar to meet the course work requirements of their university.

Diane S. Falk, Ph.D., LCSW
Social Work Program Coordinator
Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences
P.O. Box 195
Pomona, NJ 08240-0195
609-652-4736
FAX 609-748-5559
Diane.Falk@stockton.edu

Lisa Cox
Lisa.Cox@stockton.edu

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 20 hours of Spanish per week and travel to tourist destinations on the week-ends.

The contact person for this course is:
Dr. Patrice Franko
Grossman Professor of Economics
Chair, Department of Economics
Economics Department and International Studies Program
Colby College
Waterville, Maine 04901
Office: 207-872-3347
pmfranko@colby.edu

ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Initiating the program in 2004 with four weeks of study at our Heredia campus, in 2005 Arkansas State University students spent three weeks in Heredia followed by one week at our Monteverde site.

Contact:
Dr. Ruth Owens
rsupko@fastdata.net

COLLEGE OF SISKYOUS

A three week program in which students studied at both our Heredia and Flamingo sites.

Contact:
Dr. Roberto Mazariegos
mazarieg@siskiyous.edu

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO

Following our Social Work Seminar model, the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, brought a group of social work majors to Costa Rica for three weeks, spending one week at CPI Monteverde and two weeks at CPI Heredia. In 2006 UNC hopes to add an additional week of travel and incorporate a visit to Nicaragua as a comparison experience to their social service work in Costa Rica.

Contact:
Dr. Dan Beerman
Department of Social Work
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
P.O. Box 26170
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
Phone: (336) 256-0528
Fax: (336) 334-5210
drbeerma@uncg.edu