Applications open for fall Spanish for Higher Education Professionals course

Marquette University is again offering a free Spanish for Higher Education Professionals course to employees. The course will run over 12 weeks in the fall semester.

In-person instruction will take place from noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesdays from Sept. 13 to Dec. 6 (with no class on Nov. 22). The course includes additional asynchronous coursework via D2L. The fall cohort is limited to 16 participants.

This course has been designed to educate and prepare our higher educational professionals with the skills needed to support Marquette’s growing Latino student community as we move toward becoming a Hispanic Serving Institution. Faculty and staff enrolled in the course will develop a working knowledge of basic Spanish as well as a culturally sensitive understanding of our Latino student community.

Employees enrolled in the course will learn to:

Individuals who meet and agree to the following criteria will be considered for participation:

To be considered for the fall 2023 cohort, interested individuals should complete and submit the application, along with supervisor approval by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 1. Applicants will be notified of their status prior to the start of the fall term.

This course was made possible through the Explorer Grant Challenge and is the result of a collaboration among the University Staff Senate, the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures and the Department of Human Resources. Piloted in spring 2023, the course has already had a positive impact on the campus community.

Read what past participants have said about their experience:

“The modules — the cultural competency content as well as the language/vocab we focused on — were carefully and thoughtfully curated. I thought the content was spot on for what we would need in our jobs.”

“I feel driven and more confident to continue learning Spanish and interact with students’ families at programming.”

“Thank you so much for offering this course! It has been a great experience in not just expanding my knowledge, but in connecting with colleagues around the institution. I’ve felt very grateful to have had the opportunity to participate and hope that I am able to do good things with all that I’ve learned.”

For more information, please contact LK Pinhancos, teaching instructor in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures.