Globalizing: Getting Started
By Thomas Cardwell
Community College Journal
August/September 2006
Community colleges are increasingly popular in the United States because they are arguably the most affordable route to good careers. With the cost of higher education soaring, people are looking for the most cost effective way to acquire skills that will make them marketable. According to the American Association of Community Colleges, close to one-half of the nation’s undergraduates currently matriculate at two-year colleges. As community colleges continue to evolve, they are increasingly recognizing the importance of a global perspective for students and faculty. The world’s increasing interdependence has created exciting opportunities for new global markets. The focus of this article is a discussion of trends in higher education affecting community colleges, especially: 1) the exporting of technical and vocational education to other countries and 2) preparation of students to work in a global environment. The perspective is from one community college that is actively developing a more comprehensive global education program.
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In the views of some members of academia, international and intercultural education would be a special program of curriculum in which selected students would focus their academic work on international studies, preparing for careers in international activities. In the thinking of others, international and intercultural education would focus primarily on the business sector in as much as this is the arena in which a great amount of our international activities occur. However, the more widely accepted approach is to infuse an international and intercultural perspective throughout the curriculum and into each campus and each department. To achieve this, programs must be developed in support of faculty and administrative professional development opportunities and projects which support the internationalization of the curriculum.
From the Strategic Plan for International and Intercultural Education
Background Information and Rational; MCCCD website: Read the entire Strategic Plan
The International Education Office offers a variety
of support services for students and scholars. If you need assistance at anytime,
please contact the International Education Office at (480) 461-7758 or email at ie@mcmail.maricopa.edu.
