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COEHS Dean Bonnie Smith-Skripps, ITD Chair Hoyet Hemphill and CIS Interim Director Murali Venugopalan look on President Al Goldfarb signs the WIU-ECNU agreement.
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Western Establishes Agreement with East China Normal University

October 4, 2006

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MACOMB, IL – Students at East China Normal University (ECNU) are one step closer to obtaining their degree in instructional technology thanks to a new partnership with Western Illinois University.

An exchange agreement between Western and East China University will allow graudate students at ECNU who are studying instructional technology to take various WIU instructional technology and design (ITD) courses online, which will apply to their degree program from their home university. Hoyet Hemphill, ITD chair, recently traveled to China to meet with university officials to work out the details.

“Offering our courses through online methods is not a new concept for us; however, providing our courses to students on another continent is the beginning of our globalization efforts,” Hemphill said. “We are pleased to enter into the agreement with ECNU and look forward providing our quality courses to their students.”

Hemphill explained that the agreement is the first step in establishing a partnership with ECNU. Next on the agenda are discussions regarding student and faculty exchanges between the two universities.

“ECNU President Yu is excited about the cooperative arrangement between his institution and Western,” Hemphill added. “We are enthusiastic about this partnership and look forward to future exhanges with ECNU.”

WesternÂ’s IDT program, which is the only undergraduate IDT degree program in the state and one of the few in the country, can also boast to being the first IDT program in the nation. The program began in 1996 and in just 10 years has more than tripled its student enrollment.

For more information on WesternÂ’s IDT programs and minors, contact the department at 309/298-1952 or visit www.wiu.edu/itt.

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Posted By: Darcie Shinberger (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing