On the right path | Letters | Times Higher Education

On the right path | Letters | Times Higher Education

Given USF’s vision of becoming a global research university, our ambitious 2009 strategic enrolment goals, and our recognition that we had neither the luxury of time nor sufficiency of expertise and resources to achieve them, seeking a proven partner committed to a long-term “insourcing” model guided by student success made best sense to enable USF to deliver on its global talent recruitment strategy.

This strategy is built around attracting the best and brightest intellectual talent (students and scholars) from around the world; expanding the global diversity of our student body to enhance the quality and relevance of our education; extending the global reach and international brand recognition of a young research university; aligning with US multinational companies’ desire to educate and train their future global workforce in the US; encouraging more USF students to explore and connect with the world, and facilitating educational and research partnerships with a small number of top universities.

Due in large part to USF’s joint venture with INTO, our total international student population has grown 20 per cent annually over the past two years – almost three times the US average of 7 per cent as reported by the Institute of International Education. The university currently enrols 2,648 international students from 140 countries.