Study Abroad
The Good of Going Global

The world has changed dramatically in the last decade and business is now more global than ever before. Just pick up the phone at work to call tech support, and the person on the other end of the line might be from India. Join a U.S. firm and it will likely have offices overseas, requiring employees to not only communicate but establish trusting relationships with foreigners.

For students to succeed in today's competitive marketplace, they should seek an education in which they are exposed to other cultures. Studying abroad prepares students for the increasingly global nature of the world in which they live and will work.

Do community college students—many of whom go on to four-year colleges, or who are just in community college to brush up on skills they've already developed—really need to study abroad? Can they afford to? Can they find the time?

The answer to each of the questions above is a resounding "yes." Educators at community colleges are increasingly finding, just as their four-year counterparts are, that exposing their students to a global education is no longer a luxury but a necessary part of preparing students for life and for work globally. Exposure to other countries and foreign students can open eyes and minds not only to different cultures and traditions but also to new ways of doing business and solving problems.

Nearly 50 percent of all students enrolled in college in the United States are attending community colleges. Many of these students will not go on to a four-year institution. Instead, when their community college education is over, they will go out into, or return to, the working world. It is a world that is global in nature, one in which knowledge of different countries, continents, cultures and customs is essential to success. More than 90 percent of Americans believe it is important to prepare future generations for a global society, according to a December 2005 national poll commissioned by NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

Those workers who truly understand the cultures and customs of those with whom they interact—even if it is only by telephone or e-mail—are those who are best prepared to interact with their global colleagues. And, by extension, they are those who are most likely to rise through the ranks and take on positions of increased responsibility and increased compensation.

The U.S. State Department acknowledged this in a 2004 report on the growing popularity of studying abroad. Commenting on the report in an official dispatch, State Department Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs Patricia S. Harrison said that studying abroad is "a sign that our students continue to recognize the importance of international study for their future careers and are eager to learn more about a world that is increasingly more interdependent. American students serve as the face of America to the world, especially to other young people, helping to counter stereotypes and misperceptions that may exist about our society and values."

A Growing Trend
According to the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program, one million U.S. students will study overseas by the 2016-2017 academic year. The report predicts that a good portion of those students will likely come from community colleges. But the report acknowledges that much progress must be made on the community college front in the next 10 years to achieve those numbers. While almost 50 percent of all U.S. college students are enrolled at community colleges, only 2.5 percent of students currently studying abroad are from community colleges.

How do we encourage more community college students to consider studying abroad? Many community college students are in the workforce and take courses part-time, often in the evenings. How can a part-time student who works full-time or a student with a spouse and children find the time to go overseas to study?

That it is challenging for students at community colleges to study abroad is not in dispute. Community colleges that offer study abroad programs have found creative ways to allow their students to sample life, language, culture and education overseas.

Some schools offer intense programs packed into a relatively short period of time, often over a vacation period such as winter break or during the summer. Other schools build a work component into their programs and extend the time period.

Ready to Launch
How does a community college launch a study-abroad program? It can start simply, possibly just with the interest of a professor who likes to travel and who invites students to come along, and build over time. Community colleges can also dip their toes in the water by starting with informal visits.

Some community colleges launch study abroad programs by forming partnerships with larger U.S. schools that already have programs, or with overseas universities looking to send students to our country for study abroad programs. Community Colleges for International Development Inc., whose mission it is to help develop global relationships that strengthen educational programs, hosts study abroad programs with colleges and high schools in the U.S. and abroad.

Finding Funding
I'm sometimes asked whether community college students can afford the cost of studying abroad. Cost need not be a deterrent.

Most programs allow students to pay the normal tuition rate at his or her college. The only added costs are travel and living expenses. We have begun to identify external funding sources so that finances are not a deterrent to students with limited resources.

I believe that the cost of not broadening one's education with a trip abroad—the cost of not gaining a global perspective on the world around you—can be much greater than the cost of traveling overseas.

Editorial provided by Carole M. Berotte Joseph, Ph.D. Dr. Joseph is the president of Massachusetts Bay Community College in Wellesley Hills, Mass., and the first Haitian-American to head a U.S. college. She has written extensively on bilingual education policy issues and has won numerous awards for her work in higher education.