facing the education abroad challenges of community colleges

Facing the Education Abroad Challenges of Community Colleges Susan M. Atkins, Institutional Relations Manager, CAPA International Education

Steve Jacques, Coordinator, Office of International Programs, Leeward Community College Jane Thiele, Outreach Manager, Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship

Agenda

Panel Introductions ‘Models’ of Institutional Investment Access issues Meeting the needs of students and institutions Funding Resources Activity

Institutional Investment in International Education

Grass Roots Approach Working with the students in an atmosphere of

vague/non-existent administrative commitment Institutional Leadership Approach Working in a fully-committed ‘Internationalized’

Environment ‘Gang’ Approach Working with your like-minded colleagues on campus

At community colleges, it’s all about access

Non-stereotypic demographic Older Married/committed (possibly children) Lower socio-economic status First generation college student Fully or partially Employed

It’s all about access

Lack of awareness/understanding of EA opportunities OR belief that ‘study abroad is NOT for people like me.’

Small/understaffed Study Abroad offices Duration of program concerns FUNDING!

How can we try to meet these needs?

Understanding your student In depth initial interview (possibly involving

family members) Provide info about many different programs

especially those that have experience with non-trad students

Help students think ‘outside-of-the-box’, i.e. how spouses/children can participate (either by accompanying or not); how employers can be approached – perhaps even by you


Understanding your student Have ‘basic’ study abroad info available in other

languages for parents who may not be English speakers (or utilize international students on your campus to assist in other languages)

Connecting this experience with career and academic goals – transfer to a 4-year college, etc…. How to get from point A to B


Promote awareness of EA opportunities as often as possible On campus presence (tabling, flyers, class visits) Social media presence Use pics of your non-trad students in promotion

materials so they see other people like them Try to be part of campus new student

orientations/HS visits to campus Committees – get on strategic planning

committees, diversity committees, etc…


Find ‘like-minded’ colleagues on campus to do the promoting for you to ‘increase your manpower’ Faculty (language profs, global studies profs,

comp religion profs, etc) Financial aid officers Academic & Career counselors Student life/government staff

Partnering with International Education Organizations

Partner to diversify program offerings (customized/specialized, hybrid programs, semester/quarter programs, etc.)

Provide streams of financial support (scholarships, etc.)

Assist with supporting curriculum integration and discussing international education on campus with various constituents

Provide avenues of professional development (conferences, site visits, speaker series, etc.)

Support grass root activities


Duration of programs / Models that meet particular needs of CC’s Quarter Programs

Programs that focus on certain majors /disciplines –

specialized/custom programs Programs with Internships – practical skills Hybrid programs with a faculty – match dates of

program & sustainable financially

Community College Consortia Models

Funding Issues

Funding for Institutions (such as Fund for

Improvement of Public School Education – FIPSE) Scholarships for Students Affiliation Agreements Program provider scholarships Local Scholarships (Honda in HI) Grants (Japan Foundation, etc.) Diversity Abroad scholarships - diversitynetwork.org Federally-funded scholarships (i.e., Gilman – iie.org/gilman)

Diversifying Study Abroad Sponsor: U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs

Administrator:

Gilman Community College Statistics

Gilman Program Overview

• Arabic All dialects

• Chinese All dialects

• Bahasa Indonesia

• Japanese

• Korean

• Russian

• Swahili

• Persian Farsi, Dari, Kurdish, Pashto, Tajiki

• Turkic Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgz, Turkish, Turkmen, Uzbek

• Indic Hindi, Urdu, Nepali, Sinhala, Bengali, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Sindhi

Critical Need Languages include:

Study of critical need languages make students eligible to receive an additional $3,000 supplement for a total possible award of up to $8,000.

Gilman Award Statistics: Regions of Destination

Region Applicants Recipients Africa 413 198

Asia 1,587 722

Eastern Europe 253 91

Latin America 1,124 382

Middle East/N. Africa 247 133

North America 28 3

Oceania 361 65

Western Europe 4,420 736 Total 8,433 2,330

*For the 2011-2012 Academic Year

Selection Process Selection panelists are advisors and representatives in academia nationwide.

The following factors are considered when reviewing applications:

Non-traditional country of study

Diversity of student

Study of “Critical Need Language”

Longer length of study

Type & diversity of institution

Potential for impact on the student

Academic progress & performance

Underrepresented Students

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

14%

1%

14% 17%

39%

7% 4% 1%

8% 6%

79%

2%

Gilman Recipients National Study Abroad^

Black/Non-Hispanic Native American Asian or Pacific Hispanic White/Non-Hispanic Multi Racial/Other Islander

Ethnic minorities Students who attend minority-serving institutions Students who attend community colleges First-generation college students Students with disabilities

Underrepresented academic majors Students who chose to study abroad for an academic year

Encourage students to apply who are currently underrepresented in U.S. education abroad.

What makes an application competitive?

• Meet many of the selection criteria factors.

• Address why the study abroad location is critical to goals.

• Well-written, thoughtful and proofread essays that address all questions, as well as impact.

• Well-developed, creative, and achievable follow-on project.

Pitfalls to Avoid • Not selecting a program that meets Gilman

eligibility criteria.

• Not addressing why the study abroad location is critical to goals.

• Not addressing all the questions asked in the essay sections, especially the impact on the student.

• Producing a generic Follow-on Service Project that does not demonstrate careful planning and a reasonable timeline.

• Not having essays proof-read by an advisor for spelling and grammatical errors.

Resources for community colleges

Ways to internationalize faculty & staff Site Visits to programs Attending conferences Rotary GSE Fulbright opportunities Get involved in leadership – NAFSA & FORUM IIE White Paper Series: Expanding Education

Abroad at U.S. Community Colleges (Rosalind Raby, 2008)

Wrap up

Activity for the group Come up with two action steps on your campus Discuss with the members of your table about these

action steps Come back together and gather 1-2 from each table (time

permitting)