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Han Jung-ho, left, principal of Baekam High School, poses with Lisa R. Hunter, associate provost at the State University of New York at Fredonia, after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on partnership ties at the high school's campus in Yangcheon-gu, southwestern Seoul, Monday. / Courtesy of Baekam High School |
By Chung Hyun-chae
Baekam High School has established a partnership with the State University of New York (SUNY) at Fredonia to allow its students to enter the American school.
Han Jung-ho, Baekam's principal, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Lisa R. Hunter, associate provost at SUNY Fredonia, at the high school's campus in Yangcheon-gu, southwestern Seoul, Monday.
The principal said the MOU has two important meanings.
"The first thing is that Baekam, as an ordinary high school, not an elite school, set up a relationship with an American university so that some of our students can be admitted to it directly," Han said.
"Unlike some elite schools, Baekam hasn't had any special curricula for those who want to study abroad after graduation," he added.
Normally students who want to enter a university in the U.S. have to prepare themselves for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or TOEFL. These students usually attend elite schools specializing in foreign languages or science education.
Under the MOU, however, SUNY Fredonia has promised to give special consideration to Baekam High School students in the admissions process, even though they have no SAT scores.
"We can use high school GPA instead of SAT. That's one of the nice things of our special partnership with Baekam," Hunter said.
"I would like to show students that they are also able to enter American universities after graduating an ordinary Korean high school," Han said.
The second important thing according to the principal is that the high school can send their students to SUNY Fredonia for languages courses and have them trained during their summer or winter vacation.
"It will be great for our students to take language courses with students from other countries such as the U.S., Canada and Brazil. That will be beneficial for everyone," Han said.
"We're looking forward to working with your students and to thinking together as we develop joint programs," Hunter said, adding that she is happy to be creating this relationship and give the opportunities to students.
"Those are two things that are instantly beneficial and where we can see the results. This may start on a small scale but eventually will definitely elevate the reputation of our school. And we will attract a lot more excellent students to our school as well as to the U.S. university," Han said.