PSU in Paraguay: New Director, New Opportunities

Key Takeaways:

• The PSU in Paraguay has a new director.
• There’s been decrease of Paraguayan students at Pitt State.

The PSU in Paraguay program is going to offer new opportunities for both Paraguayan and American students in order to increase the number of enrollments of Paraguayan students at Pittsburg State University, according to Angela Moots, the new director of the program at Pitt State.

Moots said Paraguayan students are able to take general education and undergraduate Pitt State classes taught by Pitt State faculty who go to Paraguay. There are nine classes every year between March and November, with each class lasting for three weeks.

Graciela Ocampos, who is the new director of the PSU in Paraguay program in Paraguay and of the statewide Paraguay-Kansas Committee, said that the program has been in place in Paraguay for more than 10 years.

“We offer this program always as an option to students who are interested in doing their degree in the U.S., “Ocampos said. “With the PSU in Paraguay program, the students can do up to two years in Paraguay before going to the Pittsburg campus.”

Ocampos also added that this program also helps students adapt to how classes are given in the U.S. and makes them more comfortable learning in another language.

“Normally, per year, we manage an average of 25 students that enroll [in the program],” Ocampos said.

However, lately there has been a decrease of students that opt to come to Pitt State. The majority of students who are part of the PSU in Paraguay program decide to transfer to a different university.

There are a few plans and ideas that both Angela and Graciela are thinking of to attract more Paraguayan students to Pitt State. These plans are not just for students back in Paraguay who are part of the program but also for American students.

One of their plans is to take American students to Paraguay so they can enhance their knowledge and practice Spanish. Another is plan will give scholarships to the students that are in the program.

“One thing we would like to try and do is to team up with the faculty-led study abroad programs to get our American students to go down to Paraguay,” Moots said. “That would be great for our Spanish minors and majors, to be able to practice their Spanish. It would also be great for our Pitt State students in Paraguay to have more of a connection with other Pitt State students, and that would help them want to come to Pittsburg.”

She said the program to send Pitt State students to Paraguay will likely launch in 2024.

Meanwhile, Ocampos said a separate plan is under development to give away scholarships to Pitt State students in the program. She said students that come here only stay a semester and then they transfer somewhere else.

“To improve the retention of students, for example, the university is granting scholarships to students that take several consecutive classes,” Ocampos said.

She added that if a student takes five or six classes consecutively, they are granted a scholarship of $500-$800 applied to the next class they take. She said at least two students stayed at Pitt State longer as a result of the program.

Juan Ignacio Mollo, a Pitt State student that went through the PSU in Paraguay program, said that a good way to attract more students to Pitt State would be through sports and to give an option to get a sports scholarship to these students.

“For example, I am in the rugby and soccer team, and we honestly need more people,” Mollo said. “Especially for soccer. Latinos are the ones that live most for soccer.”

Mollo also added that there are a lot of Paraguayans that want to come to study here but don’t want to give up soccer. He thinks that offering scholarships and offering opportunities involving sports would help in promoting Pitt State.