Internationalizing the Campus: A NAFSA Report Howard Community College Howard Community College (HCC ) began its international endeavors in 1995 with a Title VIB grant to launch an International Business and Education Center, geared to educating the business community about exporting. With this grant, the college also initiated, among other things, a student exchange with Sweden, a statewide community college international symposium and a training program for Hungarian teachers. In 1999, HCC made a further commitment to internationalize the campus. At that time, they became full members of CCID (Community Colleges for International Development) and MIEA (Maryland International Education Association), appointed an International Education Director, and initiated an International Faculty Grant Program. In 2000, the first Study Abroad Program (to Mexico) was launched. Since that time, 7 more study abroad credit opportunities were developed, 4 International programs of study were approved, World Language Department expanded its offerings, the English Language Institute (ELI) was created, the ESL Program expanded, and many courses across the curriculum are now incorporating international elements. I. Howard Community College has been widely internationalized across divisions and disciplines, for example: A. Each of the 7 academic divisions sponsors and/or participates in at least one international program abroad. 1. Business/Computers Division--Mexico, Denmark 2. English/World Language Division Mexico, Italy, France, China 3. Fine Arts/Humanities Division--China, Italy, Athens/Crete 4. Health Sciences Division Costa Rica, Ghana 5. Mathematics Division--Estonia 6. Science/Technology Division Denmark 7. Social Sciences Division--Rouse-Dickinson, Rouse-College of Notre Dame, Schulte Travel Fellowship B. HCC has a cross-functional International Advisory Board and an International Curriculum Board (Surveying all courses for international content). C. This year s Community Book Project, which adopted The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman (the Hmong culture), conducted numerous campus-wide activities including a Hmong convocation speaker, presentation by the book s author, and a Doctors Without Borders speaker. Courses in all divisions are using parts of the book for classroom instruction. A website is available to share teaching materials among faculty: www.howardcc.edu/bookconnection/resources D. The college opened a Multicultural Resource Center in 2003 to house international resources for students, faculty and staff, including an ongoing Multicultural Bazaar to raise money for the International Endowment.
E. Brown-bag lunches for the college community are held each semester- students, faculty and staff share international study and travel experiences. F. International Education Week, celebrated for the past 4 years, involves the entire college community in a week of international events. G. The Can Film Festival, a college-wide International Film series, cosponsored by the World Languages Department and the Mediation and Conflict Resolution Center, raised money for Study Abroad Scholarships. H. Students formed a Global Student Club in 2003 in an attempt to combine the activities of numerous ethnic clubs into one organization. I. Both credit (ESL Program) and non-credit (ELI-English Language Institute) programs were established to assist non-native English speakers to prepare for college-level coursework. J. Eight different Study Abroad Programs were developed in the past 5 years. K. International Website (www.howardcc.edu/international) promotes all international programs and activities. II. HCC has genuine administrative and Board-level support for internationalization. A. The HCC Board of Trustees and the Administration 1. Support HCC s membership in: a. CCID (Community Colleges for International Development). HCC President, Mary Ellen Duncan, is current Chair of the CCID Board. b. ACIIE (American Council on International/Intercultural Education). c. MIEA (Maryland International Education Association). d. TA3 (Consortium of European Technical Schools and US Community Colleges). e. M-BEC (Maryland-Baltic Education Committee). 2. Provide funds for an International Education Director. 3. Fund International Grants each year for faculty to study and/or work abroad. 4. Fund sabbaticals for faculty to study and /or work abroad. 5. Signed agreements with schools in Mexico and Denmark to provide student and faculty exchanges, and approved tuition exchange waivers to student participants. 6. Provided space for a Multicultural Resource Center. 7. Fund a full-time International Advisor in the Office of Admissions and Advising. 8. Funded a booklet to promote international/intercultural programs at HCC. B. HCC s Commission on the Future (the college advisory board of community members) makes recommendations to the college on global initiatives to incorporate into strategic planning.
C. HCC s Education Foundation supports International Education by providing: 1. Several thousand dollars each year for Study Abroad Scholarships. 2. $10,000 Schulte Travel Fellowship for 3 students to study/travel abroad. 3. Personnel for Multicultural Bazaar. 4. International Endowment Fund for Students and Faculty. III. The campus-wide internationalization has had demonstrable results for students, for example: A. The following numbers of students have participated in Study Abroad Credit Programs since 2000: 1. Mexico(Language)-99 2. Italy (Fine Arts)-30 3. Russia (History)-135 4. Athens/Crete (Fine Arts)-12 5. France (Language)-13 6. Costa Rica (Health Care)-6 7. Rouse-Dickinson-12 8. Semester Abroad: Mexico-(language and culture)-6, Denmark- (technology)-1 B. Outcomes- Students reported in formal outcomes assessments that their views of the world changed, their ideas about people and culture in other places shifted, and their views of themselves was positively altered as a result of their study abroad experience. C. English Language Institute-registered 82 students in Fall,2004, up from 4 in its first year. D. Growth rates of programs have been phenomenal. 1. World Languages-53% increase in enrollment from 2003 to 2004 with the addition of Korean, Arabic, Russian and Chinese to the curriculum. (Fall, 2004 enrollment=598) 2. ESL-830students in non-credit and 426 in credit for Fall, 2004 E. Admissions materials were translated into Korean, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese. IV. HCC s mission and planning documents contain explicit statements regarding international education. A. HCC s Mission/Vision states: We believe in providing our community with a global perspective, and including that perspective in our educational offerings and opportunities. B. Among the Commission on the Future s recommendations: The college should develop a definition of global competence and strive to have students acquire that competence. C. A cross-functional Multicultural Planning Committee- developed a comprehensive Multicultural Plan to guide international strategic and tactical planning for the next 5 years. D. The International Advisory Board developed an international education mission statement for HCC.
V. HCC s commitment to internationalization is reflected in the curriculum. A. Four International Programs of Study were approved in past 4 years (International Studies, International Business, Global Economics and Intercultural Studies). B. World Languages Program includes: Traditional (Spanish, French, German, Italian) and Critical (Korean, Russian, Arabic, and Chinese) as well as an Arabic Language Institute and a Chinese Heritage School. C. College adopted The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down for collegewide use in courses. D. International Business Seminar was accepted as General Education core course. E. Each of the seven academic divisions participates in at least one international program abroad. VI. HCC s campus-wide internationalization has had demonstrable results within the faculty by: A. Providing international grants for 26 faculty to 15 different countries. B. Supporting study/work experiences for nine additional faculty and staff with other funds. C. Sending five faculty on CCID Professional Development trips. D. Providing four sabbaticals for faculty to travel and study abroad. E. Sending two HCC faculty as guest professors with the Rouse-Dickinson Study Abroad Program. F. Sending fourteen different faculty accompanying students abroad. G. Sending four faculty to Mexico on Professional Development Exchange. H. Appointing two nurses as curriculum advisors to Premier Nurses Training College in Kumasi,Ghana. I. Welcoming guest professors to HCC from Mexico, Estonia and China. J. Entertaining visiting faculty groups to HCC from China, Russia, Malaysia, Turkey, UAE, Philippines, Spain, Estonia. K. Forming an International Curriculum Advisory Board with representatives from each academic division. L. Funding faculty/staff to make international presentations at CCID, NAFSA, ACIIE, TESOL, League for Innovation. VII. There is an international dimension in off-campus programs and outreach through: A. Community service learning projects- ESL, ELI, and Spanish Classes. B. Community Chinese School on Campus. C. Business training- Chinese. D. Malaysia and Italy- Emergency Medical Training by HCC faculty. E. Translation Services for business F. Elementary and secondary school connections- ESL. G. Defense Dept- Critical Languages Training.
M. ESL Program for parents of pre-schoolers. N. Arabic Institute 11 participants (8-week intensive language training). O. Multicultural Bazaar--community organizations helping raise money for International Endowment. VIII. Internationalization in research/exchanges is available to faculty through A. Faculty exchange programs with Mexico, Denmark, China, Estonia and Turkey. B. Faculty Sabbaticals, International Grants and research completed in Mexico, China, South Africa, England, Italy, Estonia, Lithuania, Germany, Turkey, Costa Rica, Greece, Ghana, France, Denmark, Russia in the past 5 years. IX. HCC supports education abroad as well as its international faculty, scholars, and students through A. The Faculty International Grant Program. B. Visiting professors to HCC (Mexico, Estonia and China). C. Exchange Students to HCC (given tuition waivers.) D Housing and subsidies for exchange students to HCC. E. Home Stay Program for ELI students. F. On-line marketing project with Mexican business students. G. Spanish/Business Internship in Mexico H. Russian Leadership Program (10 Russian Leaders visiting HCC.) I. Partnership with Premier Nurses Training College in Kumasi, Ghana. J. Partnership with Universidad Internacional in Cuernavaca, Mexico. K. Partnership with Niels Brock Business School and Odensa Technical School in Denmark.