Mary Hawkins, President of Bellevue University US, has established
herself as a leader and national voice in higher education since joining
the university in 1995. Before becoming University President in 2009,
Hawkins served as Vice President of Enrollment and Outreach until 2000.
She visited Kathmandu for the signing of an agreement between Himalayan
Education Network and Bellevue University. She talks to Sujata Awale of THT Perspectives
about the agreement and plans for Nepal. Excerpts: How has Bellevue University’s journey been so far?
We are celebrating our 50 th year and there has been lot of changes in education over the last 50 years, but the core value of the university staff and faculty has remained the same; it’s always been about the students and their success. At Bellevue University, our students are mostly studying business, technology and healthcare. We try very hard to make sure that the degrees they are earning are the ones that lead to good jobs. Besides college experience most students care about career opportunities in the future. They want to build their future.
How will the MoU signed benefit Nepali students?
Our hope is that students in Nepal in the Himalayan Education Network who wish to earn the US Bachelor’s degree can now easily transfer to Bellevue University and take a four- year programme that builds on what they have learnt. We are especially looking at health care, business and computer science right now but there are other choices if we grow the partnership but we want a start with leveraging what the students are learning here. The other thing that will happen for the students of Bellevue is they will be students from not only the United States but also from many other countries. We have students from 70 countries studying in Bellevue and we try very hard to connect the students with employers in the area. There are some major employers and they not only learn their academic subjects but they also benefit from learning and experiencing US business scenario. And sometimes that leads to internships and to jobs. It is a robust experience.
What is the significance of this MoU?
There’s basically the agreement to transform the education from Nepal and recognise level 12 here as equivalent to a US level 12 to find a smooth transfer in admission, visa and other documents and to make everything very efficient for students here. We are going to the US Embassy here to explain what we are doing so that they understand and support the partnership we have. The other thing that we are looking at is some financial opportunities and scholarship opportunities even though we don’t have everything ironed out.
I think one exciting thing is visiting professorships to share the teachings in US and teachings in Nepal and have faculty exchange. It will also be beneficial to students who don’t come to the US to study because their professors will have some experience from US. It will also be good for our professors from the US to get to learn about how Nepali education and the Himalayan Education Network works.
I think one exciting thing is visiting professorships to share the teachings in US and teachings in Nepal and have faculty exchange. It will also be beneficial to students who don’t come to the US to study because their professors will have some experience from US. It will also be good for our professors from the US to get to learn about how Nepali education and the Himalayan Education Network works.
How many students enroll in Bellevue University from Nepal? What are the basic requirements a student should meet to pursue a degree in the university?
We’ve had about 600 Nepali students over time. In total we have around 13,000 students. We have different centres so some of the students study at other centres. We also have online learning options and we have many students enrolled in those.
To be eligible to enroll in our university, the students certainly need to have a proficiency in English, because they’ve got to be able to keep up with the studies, the standards that the international students have and the same as the standard of US students. The other thing I think would be attention to basics, the fundamental classes. The Nepali education system is different from some of the international schools we work with and what I like about teaching here is that there is a lot of group discussions, group work and team projects which is similar to how we do it in the US. In the US it is not just lecture and test, it’s the types of things that you do here. So I think it would make for a smooth transition.
To be eligible to enroll in our university, the students certainly need to have a proficiency in English, because they’ve got to be able to keep up with the studies, the standards that the international students have and the same as the standard of US students. The other thing I think would be attention to basics, the fundamental classes. The Nepali education system is different from some of the international schools we work with and what I like about teaching here is that there is a lot of group discussions, group work and team projects which is similar to how we do it in the US. In the US it is not just lecture and test, it’s the types of things that you do here. So I think it would make for a smooth transition.
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| Photos: Bikesh Shrestha/ THT |
How is your university different from the others in the US?
Most universities in the US are in the public domain and classes are conducted in larger groups sometimes in a lecture hall with three to four hundred students whereas our professors work in classes with a smaller number of students.
The second is the fact that we are private, and we are able to respond to the students’ needs quickly. We can adopt to new technologies and new methods of teaching or experiment with a new programme faster than the public universities which have to go through a lot of government approvals.
We are credited by the United States Department of Education but because our budget is separate from the government budget we have a little more flexibility and that is important. One of the fortunate things about a private university environment is professors like to teach in private institutes because there is not so much red tape.
One of the important things about Bellevue University is that we encourage students to come and study and finish their degree; but we also want them to return to Nepal and apply their learning and build their economy and the country.
The second is the fact that we are private, and we are able to respond to the students’ needs quickly. We can adopt to new technologies and new methods of teaching or experiment with a new programme faster than the public universities which have to go through a lot of government approvals.
We are credited by the United States Department of Education but because our budget is separate from the government budget we have a little more flexibility and that is important. One of the fortunate things about a private university environment is professors like to teach in private institutes because there is not so much red tape.
One of the important things about Bellevue University is that we encourage students to come and study and finish their degree; but we also want them to return to Nepal and apply their learning and build their economy and the country.
What are your future plans for Nepal?
One is to get the agreement actually materialised with all of the procedures and processes and to work with the US embassy. Another is to identify curriculum paths. It’s figuring out how and what additional programmes to line up. I’m excited about the partnership and as we talk there are more opportunities that we are not thinking about now. We will start with basics and I have a feeling that will grow and take on a different path. That will be interesting and beneficial here and in the US.
(Published on THT Perspectives, July 10, 2016)
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