The Mission of Tokyo International University of America

Revised May 23, 2001

 

GENERAL STATEMENT

Tokyo International University of America (TIUA), established in Salem, Oregon, USA as a branch campus of Tokyo International University (TIU), Kawagoe, Japan provides an educational environment that enables students to pursue academic goals, develop inter-cultural awareness and explore personal values and interests.

With the cooperation of Willamette University (WU) and under the general direction of TIU,  TIUA offers an intensive English language program, an American Studies program and courses taught by visiting scholars from TIU.

Co-curricular programs in Residence Life and Student Activities are designed to offer students opportunities to learn through experience about other people and cultures.  As a result, students gain and share insights about their own traditions and values.

TIUA, in cooperation with Willamette University, also offers customized programs designed to meet the special needs of international corporations and organizations.

The main goal of the academic and co-curricular programs is to prepare students to become global citizens able to cross over national and cultural boundaries and barriers so so they can serve as models for others and help build a truly international community.

Goals

In order to more fully clarify its mission, Tokyo International University of America has established the following goals for students in its educational programs:

  1. Improve communication skills in English.
     
  2. Learn about and better understand the U.S. and Japanese societies through comparative studies in academic subject areas such as economics, politics, history, psychology, sociology, and literature.
     
  3. Study and understand the diversity of the cultures and lifestyles represented  in our global society.
     
  4. Encourage the development of interpersonal relationships among students, faculty, staff, and people in the local community, basing such relationships on the acceptance and appreciation of diversity.
     
  5. Facilitate, through participation in both formal and informal educational opportunities, the achievement of personal goals and the development of a renewed understanding of one's own identity and one's place in society.

Programs

To achieve these goals, the following components of the TIUA program have been designed and implemented:

  1. An intensive program in English language and American culture that gives students the opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills they need to become active community participants and to succeed academically while they are in the United States.
     
  2. A program in American Studies which emphasizes not only the study of various aspects of American Society but also a comparative analysis of the United States and Japan.  In addition, TIUA students have the opportunity to take a limited number of Willamette University courses from the curriculum of  the College of Liberal Arts.
     
  3. A variety of specialized courses taught by visiting scholars from Tokyo International University, with such courses being open to both TIUA and Willamette University students.
     
  4. Co-curricular programs in the areas of Residence Life and Student Activities that provide opportunities for experiential learning and that are supportive of students achieving personal goals in their own development and in their relationships with others, both within and outside of the TIUA/Willamette campus community.
     
  5. Special programs designed to meet the educational and professional development needs of those working in international corporations and organizations.

Results

Students who participate actively in the various programs and opportunities provided by Tokyo International University of America are expected to be able to:

  1. Become leaders in their chosen professional fields and in their communities.
     
  2. Accept and appreciate the cultural and ethnic diversity found throughout the world.
     
  3. Utilize a deeper understanding of intercultural relationships in order to be more successful when interacting with those who have different cultures.
     
  4. Develop a clearer vision of personal and professional goals and take steps toward achieving them, expanding such goals to include the welfare of others in their local communities and throughout the world.
     
  5. Be committed to life-long learning and to the idea that such learning can be beneficial for others as well as for oneself.
     
  6. Encourage others to develop a broader vision of the world and to contribute to our global society while seeking to achieve personal goals.
     
  7. While participating in educational exchanges, or other international activities, act with responsibility and demonstrate respect for the perspectives, traditions, and values of others.
     
  8. Contribute to the local community, both on and off campus, by sharing one's interests and cultural traditions and by taking advantage of opportunities to volunteer.