Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)*
While there are many reasons for this choice, the main reason is that, of the founders, two were born there and the other served his mission there. Accordingly, we are most familiar with the Argentine economy and are generally more aware of the educational environment and situation of our fellow Saints in Argentina. Confirming our decision, we have received the greatest response and interest from church members in Argentina. Finally, Argentina is the only country we are aware of where the Perpetual Education Fund has granted some loans to students seeking university degrees in addition to just technical degrees. We plan to encourage our student body to take advantage of the Perpetual Education Fund to get assistance to attend our university.
We equally want Saints in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, and all other countries (around the world) to have a similar opportunity in attending an LDS style university, but we believe our best chance of starting said school will be in Argentina. We are convinced that once we are successful in Argentina, others will be inspired to start schools in other countries.
We would like to create a university that caters mostly to members of the Church; however, a small proportion of members of other churches would also be encouraged to attend, as long as they are willing to live by church standards. We would also like the university to be accessible to the general body of the youth of the church instead of just the economic elites.
We hope the university will be sustainable in the long run and that it will grow substantially over time, without the necessity of constant donations. That is, we would like a self-sufficient financing model. To accomplish this objective, we have envisioned a private university; however, in an effort to keep costs down for students, we would organize it as a non-profit institution.
Since we would like the university to be accessible to members of all social classes we want to have in place different kinds of financing. So far, we have thought about having education loans similar to those offered through the Perpetual Education Fund of the Church (PEF). Additionally, we hope to work closely with the Church’s employment centers to facilitate finding jobs for students and thus be able to pay for part of their education.
Since the majority of the students will have to finance their education through loans, the degrees offered by the university will need to be highly demanded in the workplace and have a relatively high compensation to allow students to repay the loans. The degrees offered at first, will most likely center around business and technology; however, the degrees offered would expand to other fields over time.
The fundamental objective of this university is to create an environment that fosters intellectual as well as spiritual growth. To accomplish this, we would like to hire faculty who are members of the church with strong convictions of the principles the Church teaches. Moreover, we hope to integrate the study curriculum with the institute program. In order to graduate, the students would be required to attend a certain number of institute classes. Students would also be asked to live by church standards (integrity, dress and grooming, morality, etc.) as a requirement for admission and continuance in the university.
bellotaaroble@gmail.com
DISCLAIMER: Although the members of Bellota A Roble are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, this is not an initiative of the Church.