Rocky Mount, N.C.— North Carolina Wesleyan College will host four leading educators from Finland next week to work out an agreement that would establish a pathway for a seamless transfer to Wesleyan of students graduating from some of Finland’s two-year college-level programs and several high schools.

Administrators from Nash Community College and Edgecombe Community College also plan to meet with the Finnish delegation to talk about exchange possibilities for students interested in their programs of study.

An exchange of faculty for possibly as long as a semester will be considered as well.

Gary Sherman, vice president of enrollment management at Wesleyan, initiated the visit by two male and two female education officials from the city of Hyvinkaa, who will represent Finland’s National Board of Education. The guests will meet on Monday, March 26, with Wesleyan officials. The visitors are Mr. Ari Orelma, education CEO for the Hyvinkaa-Riihimaki region, a metropolitan area of about 90,000 residents, Mrs. Kirsti-Liisa Virta, vice president, Mrs. Hillevi Koivusalo, director of the service sector, and Mr. Sami Tikkanen, director of security and the safety sector.

Also on Wednesday the delegation will meet with local civic leaders at a meeting of the Rocky Mount Rotary Club. On Wednesday, March 28, the delegation and Wesleyan officials will meet at the College to complete a letter of understanding which will set forth plans for establishing a working arrangement between Wesleyan and schools in Finland’s Hyvinkaa region.

“There is a great interest in developing a relationship between North Carolina Wesleyan and the schools that Mr. Orelma directs,” said Sherman. “They have two-year courses in business, accounting, and other subjects that could transfer to Wesleyan, and the students from Finland could finish a bachelor’s degree at Wesleyan. Language will not be a problem, since students in Finland study English from an early age.”

Sherman said that a pathway to smooth the transition to Wesleyan and community colleges would offer an opportunity for cultural exchange. “We could send students there, and also a faculty member exchange will be discussed. This would be a chance to enrich our community by giving students the opportunity to experience other cultures, and conversely for students from Finland to come here.”

Finnish education leader Orelma stated in recent correspondence with Sherman, “There is a great mutual interest in developing a relationship between the educational schools…. A specific interest is in forging an agreement that would provide enrollment at Wesleyan for high school graduates in our region. We are also interested in discussing exchange opportunities for students and/or faculty between our colleges.”

Orelma said that the main educational fields of colleges in his region are engineering, business, social and health care, security, catering, and environmental technology.