Sheffield International College

In his e-mail yesterday, Eric mentioned Sheffield International College. Linda's curiosity led her to check out this college on the internet. We eventually found some interesting information which I thought I would share here. Sheffield International College is operated in partnership between the University of Sheffield and Kaplan International Colleges (an affiliate of Kaplan that offers university courses and test preparation classes in the US). Kaplan has 5 international colleges in the UK, all affiliated with leading research-based universities. The colleges accommodate international students whose English language skills and/or academic preparation aren't quite sufficient to directly enter rigorous undergraduate programs at the partner universities. It sounds like most of the courses are English classes and study skills classes. Kaplan provides the teachers, and the University of Sheffield provides the facilities and program oversight. Students are guaranteed admission into a 3-year University of Sheffield undergraduate program upon successful completion of their Sheffield International College program.

The college only opened in the fall of 2006. I couldn't find any student demographic information specific to the college, but it appears they recruit heavily in China. The Sheffield branch of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (students from the various universities in Sheffield and the local Chinese community) has over 1000 members. The University of Sheffield's website says they have been welcoming Chinese students for many years. They have a three-week recruiting tour through China next month, where they will visit 10 cities and interview prospective students. This would suggest it is a pretty fertile field for them.

I thought this provided an interesting background to help understand the kind of students Eric is encountering in Sheffield. Obviously, the Sheffield International College students would be the ones whose English-language skills would be more limited, and hence would have greater need to be taught the gospel in Mandarin. This e-mail was the first time Eric mentioned the college, so it's unclear how many of the people they teach attend there vs. the University of Sheffield proper.

I hope someone will find this interesting. If you do, more information can be found here and here.