Nova Southeastern University Announces it will Offer Degree Programs in Southeast Asia; NSU's Fischler School of Education and Human Services Signs Online Teaching Agreements with Malaysian Universities

Business Wire, June 29, 2005

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Nova Southeastern University has become the first American institution to offer online degree programs in Malaysia, a country which has experienced explosive growth in recent years and is considered the gateway to more than half of the world's population.

In the winter term of 2006, students at two Malaysian universities, HELP University College in Kuala Lumpur, the capital, and Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris in Selangor, the country's largest and most populous state, will be able to take courses at NSU's Fischler School of Education and Human Services.

Under the historic agreements, NSU's Fischler School will offer master's and doctoral degrees to students and faculty at the two leading Malaysian institutions. At least some of the instruction will be in the field of instructional technology and distance education, offering graduate-level training in how to design curriculum and use technology to teach at a distance.

Upon graduation, students will receive degrees from both NSU and their home institutions. NSU faculty will also work collaboratively with Malaysian professors to infuse technology into Malaysian classrooms.

"The agreements with HELP and UPSI fit neatly with the Fischler School's strategic plan for expanding offerings and training into the Southeast Asian market, a region which is widely reported as the most promising opportunity for U.S. and other universities with expertise in distance education," said H. Wells Singleton, Ph.D., University Provost/Education Dean.

In 2004, NSU became the first and only non-Korean university to partner with a South Korean cyber university when its Fischler School signed an agreement with Daegu Cyber University in Daegu, South Korea. As a result of that agreement, a dozen South Korean students in Daegu are progressing through the university's Master of Science program in Instructional Technology and Distance Education.

Malaysia is the technology and economic center of a region which includes 500 million people. Government officials and business leaders there see education as key to expanding the country's economy. Earlier this year, Singleton joined NSU President Ray Ferrero, Jr., and other university administrators on Opportunity Malaysia 2005, a South Florida trade delegation which visited the country to foster cultural and economic ties.

NSU has a strong international student body, as well as global representation in its academic faculty and staff. In 2004, roughly 1,200 NSU students attended classes in international sites as far-flung as Korea, and as nearby as the Bahamas.