College pursuing student recruitment in India

While 3+1+1 is an awfully simple equation for an engineering student, Dean Sanjeev Kumar hopes the answer brings SDSU’s enhanced global footprint and increased enrollment to the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering and SDSU.

Kumar and Jon Stauff, assistant vice president, and Eric Leise, director of international admissions, both in the SDSU International Affairs office, recently visited India to promote a 3+1+1 plan to five Indian universities with large engineering colleges. The plan calls for students to complete three years at their school in India, take their final undergraduate year at SDSU and then complete an accelerated master’s degree program at SDSU.

The plan already has internal SDSU support and will be offered to schools that enter into a memorandum of understanding with SDSU, Kumar said. Kumar hopes to get final South Dakota Board of Regents approval soon and that a handful of students from India can be enrolled in the fall.

Fall follow-up visits to one school in northern India and two in Bengaluru are expected after the agreements are in place, he said. Agreements with other universities are also being pursued, he added.

Interest in India follows adoption of National Education Policy 2020 in the country, which, among its many provisions, makes credit transfer easy, Kumar said.

SDSU is represented in-country by Samantha D’Souza, an India native based in Mumbai, who will work with university officials and prospective students in India to promote SDSU and ensure smooth transition of students to SDSU.

While in India, the SDSU delegation also attended the SanamS4’s Global Gateway Summit, an international organization that helps with student exchange and partnerships.

Universitywide, SDSU already has more than 100 students from India.