Program Objectives

The Partners

University of Tampere (UT)

In 1925, the Civic College was opened in Helsinki, Finland, eight years after Finland's independence. In 1930, the school became known as the School of Social Science, and was transferred to Tampere in 1960. The School became the University of Tampere in 1966 and became part of the state in 1974. Currently, of five universities in Finland, the University of Tampere is one of the largest with almost 18,000 students. It consists of five colleges including Social Sciences, Humanities, Economics and Administration, Medicine, and Education, and several institutes. Its strength lies in its social science orientation. The University has many links to foreign centers of learning. The University Hospital serves a population of 1,150,000 people.

The Department of Nursing Science offers a Master's Degree Program in Family Nursing in four areas of concentration: Nursing Administration, Nursing Education, Psychiatric Nursing and Family Nursing. A Family Nursing course is included as core in all areas of concentration. The University also offers a Doctoral Program. All students are enrolled in the master's degree and/or the doctoral program. . The Nursing department has about 300 masters students (graduates about 40-50 per year) and 60 doctoral students (about 30 very active). Doctoral students take approximately 40 credits after the master's degree plus dissertation credits.

The master's degree program builds upon a basic nursing program completed elsewhere. It takes 4 years of study, includes the equivalent of a bachelor's degree, and ends with the master's degree. The master's program emphasizes theory and research, and management for the administration/track. Students also take basic and social science courses. Student learning is self-directed. It occurs through seminars, essays, and individual study in related-fields. Students develop a portfolio of their written work, incorporating themes, comments, and a learning diary.

UT is the only university in Europe where students can study Family Nursing at both the masters and doctoral levels. The University also has a Medical School and the Nursing faculty contributes to their education. Clinical sites for family focused primary care in Nursing include health care clinics in which public health nurses work with physicians and other health care personnel. The University collaborates with the University Hospital Clinics and Tampere Primary Health Care Clinics. Nurses in the clinics are also engaged in patient home visits. Practicum observation is arranged in health care government offices.

Nursing courses are available to working nurses in an "open" university: Distance and web experience available for working nurses to prepare them for university study. Nurses getting degrees in other fields (eg., social sciences) also have access to nursing courses. Web courses use a "team/group" approach to discuss literature and implementation of theory. Tutors in distant sites monitor the students. Learning objectives are broad. Students develop and follow individualized study plans.

Tampere University is heavily involved with exchange of scholars and students. Through the Socrates program that UT coordinates it has contracts with University of Rome and University of Middlesex, England. Through the Nord Plus program, UT is involved with the University of Bergen, Norway. Research Collaboration involves collaborative projects with Dr. Friedemann from FIU, Marjorie White from University of Florida, Nancy Hogan from University of Miami, Beverly Anderson from University of Calgary, and Sally Kendall from the University of Hertfordshire.

Student Services and supports for international students are very well developed. They include a Student Union and a peer tutor system. Accommodation for international students is guaranteed and health services are provided by the Finnish Student Health Services.

University of Witten-Herdecke (WHU)

Witten/Herdecke University, founded in 1981, is the first and only privately funded university in Germany. It is sponsored by industry, foundations, and individual donations. Initial courses of study, approved by the Minister of Science and Research was granted in 1982. Its purpose was to try out new ways and approaches to education, teaching, and management. It was planned as an experiment, and currently, is still continuing to experiment. Its goal is to examine the impact of science and scientific modes on human existence, society, and the environment. At present, 1,000 students are enrolled. Life at WHU is within a community of shared responsibility. The university promotes interdisciplinary work and an understanding of cultures other than the students' own. Projects abroad are encouraged.

Nursing has been a university program for 4 years; the Institute of Nursing Science is included in the Faculty of Medicine. Study for a bachelor's degree takes 6 semesters; 3 more semesters for master's degree. Nursing includes three main areas of concentration: 1) Internationalization; 2) Chronic Disease; 3) Family/Community nursing. All undergraduate students go to an underdeveloped country for a 6-week experience. All graduate students go for 2-4 weeks. Teaching occurs through a problem-oriented or problem-based learning model, not through traditional lectures. Case studies are used to identify all aspects of health problems. To broaden the knowledge base, courses such as art, political science, general science, and free-choice/electives are added. Science courses focus on how science affects people and the environment. Bachelor's graduates work as hospital research coordinators, consultants, teachers, etc.

The focus of advanced study is nursing education and health care administration with heavy emphasis on theory and research competence. Students work in groups on special research projects. Projects are initiated in the community, i.e. cooperating hospitals. The institute contracts with agencies that are able to provide a "coordinator for research". This person is in close contact with the Institute of Nursing Science to coordinate projects. Model projects have the purpose of developing new nursing perspectives for the future and preparing nursing students to improve the quality of care. Most graduates find employment in nursing research.

There is no central office for exchange students. Individual faculties each have an assistant responsible for foreign students, facilitating easy access to all relevant information. In addition, a special student group (Witten International Society for Exchange, W.I.S.E.) helps exchange students to organize their stay and settle in quickly by familiarizing them with the practical issues of settling in to work in a new country.

University of Rome "La Sapienza" (SDAI)

University "La Sapienza" of Rome is the State University, the largest in Italy, with 160,000 students and 4.388 faculty members. The university includes 14 faculties, 76 departments, and 56 institutes. The School of Nursing "Scuola dirigenti Assistenza Infermieristica" (SDAI) is lodged at the Hygiene Institute with the Medical faculty. It opened in 1965 with the aim of preparing in two-year master level nurses who already had five years of experience in nursing to teach and administer nursing services. The SDAI School at the University of Rome offers graduate programs in Nursing Education, Administration and Clinical Expertise with a focus on health maintenance and disease management.

The SDAI has participated in various Erasmus/Socrates projects since 1992 with Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, and Finland. It has offered intensive courses on culture. Since 1992, 25 guest students have been received at SDAI.

Other collaborations established with faculties and students internationally include:
Teaching mobility program through Erasmus/Socrates, visiting professors exchange from and to Finland and to Australia, Fullbright Fellowship at SADI with collaboration in research, collaboration with Loyola University, Chicago.

Capital University (CU)- A private Lutheran institution of higher learning.

Founded in 1830 as a Lutheran Seminary, and chartered as a university in 1850, Capital University is a Lutheran institution of higher learning. Located in Bexley, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. The campus is the academic home to over 4,000 students. Undergraduate divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, Conservatory of Music, and School of Nursing. Graduate divisions include the Law School, Graduate School of Administration, and the School of Nursing.

CU has about 120 undergraduate nursing students and 40 master's students. It also offers an RN completion program that includes distance education programs on two campuses in Cleveland (especially minority students) and Dayton Ohio. The MSN program was developed about 10 years ago. CU has no nurse practitioner programs. Students take core courses plus a concentrate in one of 8 areas: Administration, Family/community, Legal/Law, Occupational Health, Parish Nursing, School Nursing, Theological Studies/Seminary/Spirituality and International Family Focused Nursing. Dual degrees are offered in Nursing and Law, Nursing and Business Administration, and Nursing and Lay Ministry.

In addition to university-wide international student exchange, the School of Nursing has been sending undergraduate nursing students to Jamaica, Sweden, Great Britain, and Washington D.C. (for work with the homeless) to do clinical work in Psychiatric Nursing, Maternal-Child Nursing, Pediatric Nursing and Community Health Nursing. The university accepts academic credit from academic institutions abroad. The School of Nursing hosted an international teaching conference in 1999 with faculty from Malardalens University in Sweden and Luten University in Great Britain. A second conference was held in Sweden in August, 2000 and that a third meeting will be held at Luten in July, 2001. Graduate and undergraduate faculty have presented papers both nationally and internationally.

The International Education Office provides multiple services to students from abroad including:
Initial airport pick-up, campus tour, shopping excursion, and walking tour of the area,
strategies for personal safety and responsibility in the U.S., health information, information on academic issues pertaining to U.S. classrooms, technology, establishing e-mail accounts, etc., an introduction to student living and the transportation system and immigration information.
In addition, the Office of International Education continues to provide follow-up support to international students to assist them in having a culturally and academically successful experience at the University.

Florida International University (FIU)

FIU, now a Carnegie Research I University, admitted its first students 28 years ago. Since then, it has grown to over 30,000 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students. As a Hispanic serving minority institution it has an astounding diversity in student body and faculty. The student body includes 53% Hispanic, 22% White, 14% Black (African American, Caribbean, and Hispanic Black) students and others on two campuses. The main campus is on edge of the Everglades, the smaller Biscayne Bay campus on the water, adjacent to a nature preserve. FIU serves the urban area of Miami-Dade and surrounding counties. Its mission is to provide opportunities for leadership training awareness of cultural diversity and sensitivity to social issues and the first of five key strategic themes is International Education. FIU's 9 Colleges and Schools offer over 200 academic programs from the bachelors to the doctoral level.

The School of Nursing is a part of the College of Health and Urban Affairs that includes three other Schools: Social Work, Health (Dietetics, OT, PT, Public Health and Speech Therapy) and Policy and Management (Health Administration and Criminal Justice). The School of Nursing has about 700 students registered at any one time. About 130 Generic and 260 Masters students on Biscayne Bay Campus and about 270 RN-BSN students on Broward County satellite campus.
The master's program is practitioner/clinically focused. It leads to a blended role of advanced nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist. Preparation for functional roles of Nurse Administrators and Nurse Educators is also available. Students are enrolled full- or part-time. The master's program has three curricular components: Theory/core (one is culture); research/core (including research project); and clinical practice. Students get 600-1000 hours of clinical practice. A new Nurse Anesthesiology program will start in Fall 2001. An interdisciplinary certificate program is available in Gerontology

Available clinical sites include many possibilities to get hands-on experience with minority African American and multiple immigrant populations of ethnic origins such as Cuba and other Latin American countries, Haiti and the Caribbean. FIU uses sites such as homeless shelters, school clinics, parish clinics, public housing projects in addition to regional medical facilities.
Students can do their health care practica and observations in city/county health care organizations and planning offices as well as in private organizations.

Masters students are involved in faculty research projects or in cooperative project at their health care agencies. FIU promotes interdisciplinary research.

The experience of FIU in international exchange of students and faculty is extensive. In 1999, there were 2,800 international students at the University, 584 of whom were graduate students. Of these, 68 students were the health professions. These students come from practically every country in the world. The Office of International Student and Scholar Services provides counseling in the cultural adjustment process, an extensive orientation to University life, financial advice, academic advising, help with forms, letters, certificates and application for medical insurance, and employment for F-1 students. FIU also houses the Florida Caribbean Institute and the Florida-Mexico Institute concentrating on Education and Research, the Latin American and Caribbean Center and the Center for Transnational and Comparative Studies.

FIU has an excellent Instructional Media Services department with an Instructional Technology Center. Six electronic classrooms are being used and more are being developed. The College of Health and Urban Affairs is putting all undergraduate courses on the web, using a consulting firm. FIU will be connected to Internet II (free of business) in its trial phase.

University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire (UWEC)

A regional university of the University of Wisconsin System, 1 ½ hours from Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, UWEC's campus is in Northwestern Wisconsin near the lake country and vacation/resort areas. To its north is wood land and to the south farmland. Opened as the State Normal School at Eau Claire in 1916, UWEC evolved into a State Teachers College in 1927, the Wisconsin State College at Eau Claire in 1951, and attained university status in 1964. In 1971, the university became a full partner in the new UW system, which includes thirteen universities, thirteen two-year centers, and UW-extensions. It has continued to expand its mission of providing quality undergraduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business, education, nursing, human science and services, and pre-professional programs. The university is presently organized into the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business, and the College of Professional Studies which includes Nursing, Education, and Human Sciences and Services. Enrollment is 10,500 students. The university is ranked third in the Midwest in the best public regional universities category by U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges.

The School of Nursing was established in 1965. It has about 400 undergraduate nursing students, 100 per class; and 150 master's degree students, about 40 admitted each year. It also has an RN completion program delivered on the web and is working toward putting more graduate courses on the web.

Master's courses include core theory and research courses, specialization (family or adult), and role preparation courses (advanced practice, administration, education). Most students seek advanced clinical practice, which combines nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist preparation. About 600 clinical practice hours incorporated into the courses. Interdisciplinary clinical practica are available in two hospitals and clinics. Clinics and hospitals are part of large regional health care systems and networks. One local clinic is part of the Mayo Clinic System in Rochester, Minnesota. Students at UWEC participate in interdisciplinary evaluations at the Human Development Center on campus. A team of supervised graduate students in education, school psychology, communication disorders, and family health nursing evaluates children with developmental concerns. Family nursing graduate students conduct an assessment and design interventions for the family unit, along with any appropriate individual health assessments. Team meetings provide a setting for interdisciplinary learning. Research focus is on utilization of research in practice, and student projects are using components of the research process.

UWEC has a national reputation as a leader in study abroad programs. The 1998 Open Doors Report, published by the Institute for International Education, cited UWEC as one of the top 120 U.S. colleges/universities sending U.S. students abroad. Together, those 120 institutions send abroad over half the U.S. students involved in study abroad programming. With an extensive network of international exchange and study abroad programs, UWEC's Center for international Education (CIE) sends approximately 300 (11% of UWEC students) students on 22 study abroad programs each year compared to a national average of 1 -2 %. The CIE conducts intensive orientations for outgoing students and faculty, and is recognized for excellence in these orientations. On the receiving end, UWEC hosts approximately 150 students annually, representing 60 nations. These students are welcomed with a week-long orientation after arrival in the U.S. and are connected with a Host Family/Host Friend program organized by the CIE. This host relationship provides a significant cultural learning opportunity for the international students' community. Additional programming is open to incoming international students, such as the annual Fall Folk Fair, the International Speakers Bureau, and International roundtable. There is a very active International Students Association, as well as an active Veterans of Study Abroad network.