Cracking the Code: IMPAC University’s Unique International Degree Programs
American Degrees, International Languages
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Introduction
Among the many promises of distance learning, the “holy grail” has been the prospect that any student could, at any time, from anywhere, learn and improve their lives. The reality, though, has often failed to match the potential so far.

Due to language challenges, technology access, and academic delivery styles, very few schools have experienced success exporting their distance learning programs across national, language and culture barriers. And so far, the US distance learning market has been so lucrative that few have needed to try.

However, as the US market tightens and international opportunities abound, one school has figured out a very unique model for delivering its degrees overseas. It has figured out how to deliver American education to international students in their local language, while handling its delivery and administrative responsibilities in English.

IMPAC University, based in Punta Gorda, Florida, a nationally accredited graduate school, is currently offering its MBA program in Vietnam, in conjunction with the Center for Systems Development (CSD) and Vietnam National University. The program involves a fairly sophisticated development and translation model that permits IMPAC to deliver its programs in Vietnamese along side of English, enabling students to study in their native language.

Distance Learning Focus – Local Delivery
IMPAC University, primarily a distance learning institution accredited in the US by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), offers the programs through a combination of distance formats and local delivery. Students receive materials through distance methodology, yet study in weekend sessions at CSD.

“We’ve found that students like the combination of the independence they enjoy with distance learning and the camaraderie and guidance they receive by studying together on the weekends,” says IMPAC’s Vice President for Academic Affairs, Joseph Mazurkiewicz, PhD.

The weekend sessions are facilitated by local, academically-qualified tutors, who guide student discussions, advise students as to their assignments, and provide an initial review of student submissions. “The tutors perform the same role as graduate assistants in American grad schools,” says Mazurkiewicz. “They are crucial to the students’ experience and to our ability to provide academically credible programming.”

Translation and Language Benefits with Academic Integrity
In IMPAC’s delivery model, course materials are developed in English, and then translated into Vietnamese by academically qualified stateside bi-lingual faculty along with the tutors in Vietnam. The materials are provided to the students in both English and Vietnamese, which offers students the opportunity to study in their own language, while improving their English skills, if they desire.

The students complete their materials in Vietnamese and submit them for initial evaluation to the local tutors. The submissions are then sent to the stateside bi-lingual faculty, who are responsible for reviewing both the tutors’ and the students’ work.

Once they have completed this review, the bi-lingual faculty members translate a relevant sample of student work, which is presented to the US faculty for their evaluation. During the course of a semester, each US faculty member reviews the work of the students and supervises their course grades.

IMPAC University Professor Robert Koester
leads a case study discussion at CSD

“We believe that the translation and integrity loops provided by the tutors and bi-lingual faculty are crucial to the program’s credibility,” comments Susan Schran, IMPAC University’s President. “For years, schools have been looking for ways to provide their programs to international students without making them travel. We think we have found a method that is both innovative and credible.”

No Travel Requirements – No Visa Requirements
In the current environment, US graduate schools are losing foreign student enrollment due to post-9/11 student visa requirements. However, the IMPAC University program permits international students to pursue an American degree without leaving home.

“Our students study at home and at CSD on the weekends,” says Mazurkiewicz. “They work at their jobs during the week, and have family and social lives, just like resident American students. They have no extra travel requirements, nor do they have the costs in time or money of taking a year out of their lives to study overseas.

In effect, we are democratizing American education for foreign students. No longer will only the elite of foreign societies be able to afford an American education. We are making education accessible to the masses.”

While it may be some time before the international masses can afford to pay standard US tuition rates, it is indeed true that IMPAC has greatly reduced the time and financial cost of studying for an American degree overseas. “So far, the majority of our students in Vietnam work in state monopoly enterprises, so we have the opportunity to help them create and take advantage of market opportunities, which can make the per-student tuition quite a bargain over the long term,” Mazurkiewicz argues.

CD Delivery
Internet access is one of the major challenges facing distance learning schools hoping to operate internationally, especially in the developing world. IMPAC has addressed this challenge by offering its courses to students via CD.

“While most of our students do have adequate Internet service either at home or at work, we had to be sure that their access to our course materials was reliable,” says Schran. “We decided that, for now at least, CD delivery enables the distance experience while ensuring that no one is left behind.”

IMPAC University’s Dr. Joseph Mazurkiewicz
in Vietnam with CSD’s Dr. Pham Hung

Longer term, the Internet is just too attractive as a delivery mechanism to ignore. “We will keep our options open,” Schran maintains. “If and when it is appropriate for us to move to a Web platform, we will be quick to do so. The cost, communications, and relationship efficiencies are fantastic. It’s primarily an access issue at this time.”

In addition to its CD courses, IMPAC also regularly sends faculty members to Vietnam for short visits. “Our long term goal is to send one faculty member to each student group for each academic quarter,” says Mazurkiewicz.

“It is a bit of a balancing act. On one hand, this is a distance learning program, delivered using distance learning methods. On the other, we do understand that our students in Vietnam like to meet their American professors. So we seek to maintain that balance by sending faculty members to support the class case study discussions for their specific courses.”

Academic Credibility
Inevitably, an innovative education program will encounter resistance, including attacks on its credibility. IMPAC has anticipated this and works hard to build quality into its programs and communicate its vision constantly.

“We are somewhat fortunate that our accreditation agency already has other schools working with this sort of model, mainly in areas of ministry,” says Mazurkiewicz. “They certainly hold our feet to the fire, and expect the very best from us, but at least they share our vision for extending education to the entire planet. They provide substantial guidelines to assure academic quality and integrity, and they have ways to evaluate and monitor the quality of our efforts.”

While several DETC accredited schools offer programs internationally, IMPAC is among the first to attempt the multi-lingual approach.

“Ultimately, our reputation has to be built upon the quality of the programs we deliver, whether in the US or anywhere overseas,” Mazurkiewicz asserts. “We depend on our accreditors to measure and validate our performance; but at the end of the day, it will be our students’ performance and satisfaction that prove the value of this program.”

International Partnerships
With the Vietnam program now a year old, IMPAC faces the question of expanding its offerings into other markets. Logically, if the program is successful in Vietnam, it should also work well in other markets.

“Vietnam has been a great, first test for this approach,” Schran explains. “The challenges are significant, but manageable. We have worked through just about every possible startup ‘bug,’ ranging from language issues to course development to student expectations. Have we been perfect? Certainly not. But we keep at it, and we keep getting better.”

Mazurkiewicz concludes, “We certainly have a vision to spread this model all over the globe. We actively pursue agreements with international partners who can bring all of the elements of student support to the table. And we are very optimistic about several new markets.”

While Mazurkiewicz and Schran are coy about specific markets they might approach, their success in Vietnam certainly gives them the gravitas to pursue partnerships on a global basis. The IMPAC University model is both innovative and credible. It will be instructive to watch their expansion into other areas of the globe.

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