"Stick With The Knitting"

New Directions for Community Colleges, 2007

New Directions for Community Colleges, 2007

In the past few decades, internationalization of higher education and the focus on global citizenship and study abroad have changed drastically as a consequence of rapid globalization and regionalization of our modern societies (Hans de Wit, 2009, p. 226). Higher education institutions worldwide are under fierce pressure to expand; to become more efficient and effective; and to become more accountable and assessable in order to prepare ordinary citizens for the global realities (Moja, 2008; Reimers, 2009). Despite recent efforts to prepare more college graduates to become globally informed citizens, several past studies have concluded that a large number of institutions, specifically two-year community colleges, have failed to prepare undergraduates to become a part of our globally competitive workforce (Hunter, White, & Godbey, 2006; Green, 2012; Stohl, 2007). According to the National Geographic Society, young Americans sit next to last in their knowledge of geography compared with peers in other countries (Levine & Wojcicki, 2010). The Institute of International Education (IIE) recent 2012 Open Door’s report claims that less than 1 percent of Associate’s Degree students pursue education abroad during the 2010-2011 academic year. Despite the emerging role of U.S. community colleges in international education, numerous past studies have concluded that high socio-economic students often saw study abroad as a way to “find themselves”, while more disadvantaged students considered it a “luxury to obtain” (Simon & Ainsworth, 2012). Consequently, a large number of low-income minority students from two-year community colleges are less likely to partake in study abroad opportunities than four-year institutions. This policy report seeks to describe and analyze the recent trends of global citizenship and education abroad in U.S. community colleges; highlight lessons learned in assessing global citizenship at two year institutions; discuss key research findings on study abroad motivation among minority students’ at Santa Monica College; and explore future implications for international educators in addressing international education within an institutional context. It is important to note that this policy report does not contribute to new empirical data. Rather it relies on and refers to past studies that have been conducted on two-year community colleges, with special attention to the lessons learned from the Associate’s Degree (A.A.) program in Global Studies at Santa Monica Community College. In the end, this paper offers five innovative approaches that have been developed for two-year community colleges planning to universalize “global learning” in the 21st century: 1) Expand Programs and Initiatives to Promote Global Awareness, Training, and Development, 2) Encourage and Promote Inclusiveness Cross-cultural Workshops and Programs to all Groups, 3) Strengthen and Expand Student Support Services and Student Life Programming, 4) Establish an International Advisory Committee to Universalize “Global Learning” into Curriculum and Co-curriculum, and 5) Join Professional Associations, such as, Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA) and Community Colleges for International Development (CCID).

2017

New Directions for Community Colleges, 2013

New Directions for Community Colleges, 1990

2021

Community college campus internationalization is only represented in a small portion of the institutions in the U.S. Global Studies Certificates (GSC) are in an even smaller proportion of community colleges, but offers a credentialed program for curricular and co-curricular activities to be used to work with campus internationalization. This pilot study looks at 23 community colleges with established GSC programs. Building capacity for campus internationalization cannot be just a tiny effort, it must be a comprehensive effort involving administration, faculty, staff and students. Utilizing Raby’s (2012) International Education model and Schultz’s (1960) Human Capital Theory in education, GSC’s will be examined to determine the effectiveness to establish pathways for integration of campus internationalization into the mission, outcomes, and culture of the campuses examined.

2018

1992

2016