US varsity to spread wings in Punjab

US varsity to spread wings in Punjab
JAGTAR SINGH

CHANDIGARH, DEC 6: If all goes well, the first ever overseas campus of the Wisconsin University, California, would start functioning from here in tie-up with the Punjab Government from the next academic session. And the university would also market Punjab in USA for inviting private investment.

The University would mainly offer courses in business management. However, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal would also like the university to train school teachers. Badal made this suggestion to Joel M. Rodney, Dean and Campus Extension Officer of the University, who called on him here in the morning. Rodney had later interaction with the Finance Minister Capt. Kanwaljit Singh also.

The Punjab Government would provide the necessary infrastructure while the academic faculty would be from Wisconsin. It would be the same syllabi with comparable fee structure. The fee would be the same as for the in-state students at Winconsin, said Rodney while talking to The Indian Express.

The idea is to capturethe vast Indian market to provide quality education and replace the teaching shops. For the in state students (students belonging to the state in which the university is located), the fee is about $2,600 dollars and for the students from the other states, it is $11,000 dollars per annum. For the in-state students, the fee structure is highly subsidised. The same level of subsidy would be provided to the students studying here. The fee structure would would be evolved keeping in view the income of the middle class families here.

``With the globalisation, the barriers are getting wiped out. Our idea is that the boundary the globe should be the boundary of Wisconsin. Wisconsin would reach out to various parts of the earth. It would also provide distance learning in groups by way of video conferencing and facilitate exchange of information over e-mail'', Rodney explained. And it would be the first campus of Wisconsin overseas.

All these facilities would be available to the students in the Chandigarh campusof the University. Initially, the Punjab Government would provide the infrastructure at the Punjab State Institute of Public Administration complex here.

The reason for focussing on Punjab? ``Wisconsin values the relationship with Punjab. There is a similarity. Both Punjab and California are agricultural states'', the Dean said. Moreover, Wisconsin already has a number of Punjabi students. It is also proposed to provide scholarships. Several NRIs from Punjab are already funding these scholarships for studies abroad.