College Signs Partnership Agreement with Republic of Costa Rica
November 12, 2021
Hudson Valley Community College and The Ministry of Public Education of the Republic of Costa Rica held a virtual ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 11 to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will expand and formalize the college’s educational and training outreach in Costa Rica.
The agreement allows the college to provide training for both teachers and students involved in two of Costa Rica’s national priorities: English as a Foreign Language and “Teach Her.” Hudson Valley will provide ‘train the trainer’ programs for educators teaching English as a Foreign Language programs in Costa Rican schools. The college will also directly provide distance learning classes for students in Costa Rican public schools’ “Teach Her” programs, a national project to provide opportunity and training in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) education for young girls in Costa Rica.
Hudson Valley Community College President Roger Ramsammy and several college leaders in academic and external affairs were joined on Zoom by officials from Costa Rica, including Costa Rica Minister of Public Education Guiselle Cruz Maduro, English National Advisors Alfredo Ortega, Marianella Granados Sirias and Ana Campos Centeno, International Affairs and Cooperation Office Director Yoselin Sánchez León and Advisor Ginnette Aragón Ramirez, and Education Consultant Peter Stember, to sign the agreement.
“Hudson Valley is proud and excited to continue enriching our partnership with Costa Rica through this milestone agreement,” said Hudson Valley Community College President Roger Ramsammy. “International partnerships are one of the college’s highest emerging priorities, and this collaboration will open many doors and create even more opportunity, both for students and educators in Costa Rica and for the college itself as we continue to strive to serve an ever-increasing global community.”
Since 2019, Hudson Valley Community College has been working to establish a cooperative relationship with government entities and public and private schools and universities in Costa Rica in order to provide educational services that fit the needs of Costa Rica’s national priorities and expand the college’s international outreach efforts.
During a visit to Costa Rica in February of 2020, President Ramsammy signed an MOU with Cámara Nacional de la Educación Privada (CANAEP), a consortium of higher education institutions in Costa Rica; he also signed MOUs with several private Costa Rican high schools. These MOUs, along with the one signed Thursday, formalize the college’s plans to provide education services and program delivery through various modes of instruction, and represent an important step toward continued collaboration.
The college already has several programs in place in cooperation with Costa Rica, as part of efforts to expand international outreach. With the support and assistance of the college Foundation, Hudson Valley Community College launched the Global Classroom High School Program (GCHP), in Costa Rica in July of 2020. Through the GCHP, high school students outside the United States can register to take college-level courses delivered asynchronously online, and upon completing the courses successfully, will receive college credit. Credits can be applied to Hudson Valley Community College programs or transferred to most four-year colleges and universities in the United States. Additionally, depending on the school, students may be able to transfer 15 credits or more. The program has been a success, and the college plans on expanding it in the future.
Additionally, curriculum for an Electric Vehicle Train-the-Trainer Program in partnership with Corporacion Educativa Automotriz (CEA) in Costa Rica was finalized in the fall of 2019, with participants scheduled to attend the inaugural session in June of 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this has been postponed until January of 2022.