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Internationalization Collaborative
Community Colleges
Palo Alto College
Palo Alto College (PAC), a college of the Alamo
Community College District (ACCD), is a federally designated
Hispanic-serving Institution located on the south side of San Antonio,
Texas, in an underserved and economically disadvantaged community. As a
public comprehensive community college, PAC provides exemplary,
accessible education and training to a diverse and aspiring community.
The college educates, nurtures, and inspires students through a dynamic,
supportive learning environment that promotes the intellectual,
cultural, economic, and social life of the community. The average age of
PAC students is 25; 62 percent are female, 68 percent are Hispanic, and
59 percent study part time.
Overview of Internationalization Efforts
I. Vision and Goals for
Internationalization
Vision
The Palo Alto College International Education Committee was formed in
1998 to ensure that PAC students gained international knowledge,
attitudes, and skills. The committee examined other community college
models for internationalizing the curriculum and campus and adopted one
that worked hand-in-hand with the ACCD International Programs Office
(ACCD-IPO). A PAC faculty member was provided release time to facilitate
committee work and serve as liaison between committee members, the
college president, and the IPO. Release time for this faculty member
continues and is now supported by the president’s office and a
United States Department of Education Title VI-A grant focused on
globalizing the district curriculum. The committee liaison works closely
with the ACCD-IPO. The office explores international opportunities,
seeks funding, assists with record keeping, and supports
internationalization efforts at the four colleges within its
municipality. Although all four colleges receive ACCD-IPO support for
their efforts, each is independent in its ability to explore
opportunities and implement strategies to internationalize curriculum on
its own campus, as well as seek and secure external funding.
Palo Alto College seeks to expand awareness and knowledge of a
greater world and, in so doing, empower all graduates to excel both
professionally and personally. Its mission is to “promote
international education opportunities towards increasing college
participation in international activities at home, as well as in other
countries, and...to provide programs, courses, and activities in support
of this mission.” Exposure to international education is critical
for Palo Alto students, faculty, and staff. In fall 2002, PAC’s
vice president of academic affairs announced, “International
education plays a critical role in the academic lives of our students,
and in our own professional lives. The college is committed to including
international experiences in the curriculum and in the professional
development activities of our faculty and staff. As contributing members
to our society, it is critical that we all have knowledge and
appreciation of cultures and values different from our own.” The
vice president of academic affairs then charged the International
Education Committee with expanding opportunities for international
experiences for all students, faculty, and staff.
Goals
- Include an international perspective in academic transfer and
workforce development curricula.
- Provide opportunities for students and faculty to engage in
out-of-country experiences directly related to coursework.
- Provide on-campus opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to
interact with students, faculty, and visitors from other cultures.
- Encourage faculty and staff to document international initiatives to
serve as an archival record of events and experiences.
- Actively seek opportunities to elevate internal work to engage in a
state and national dialogue on international education and its relevance
to higher education.
- Evaluate the success and effectiveness of internationalized
curriculum and the experiences of students, faculty, and staff. This
evaluation will be used to shape future international learning
opportunities.
II. Progress
Goal #1: Include an international perspective in academic transfer
and workforce development curricula.
By the end of 2003, PAC will have infused 19 existing courses and
increased faculty and student access to pertinent resource material in
international and foreign language studies by expanding the holdings of
the Ozuna Learning Resources Center at Palo Alto College and creating a
directory of other available resources. Some progress has already been
made with support from a two-year Department of Education Title VI-A
grant, “Internationalizing the Curriculum and Improving Foreign
Language Instruction,” received in July 2001 by the ACCD-IPO. One
project objective was to increase the number of internationally oriented
courses offered to students at each of the four colleges of ACCD. PAC
faculty competed for funds to infuse an international perspective into
existing academic and occupational or vocational courses across the
disciplines and to pilot-test these courses; eleven faculty members were
awarded funds.
PAC has created an International Studies Certificate, first offered
in spring 2003, that incorporates international curricula throughout the
college and provides students, regardless of major, with knowledge of
global issues and the cultural, environmental, sociological, spiritual,
political, and economical interrelationships of all people.
Goal #2: Provide opportunities for students and faculty to engage
in out-of-country experiences directly related to coursework.
Two business logistics and environmental technology courses provide
students an opportunity to travel to Mexico as part of their regular
coursework. PAC also recently established summer living and learning
arrangements with programs in Madrid, Spain, and Oaxaco, Mexico. Two
faculty members participated in a two-week study tour of South Africa in
2002 and developed world civilization and literature courses as a
result; one has returned to Africa to conduct life history research, and
the other will study African art at the British Museum and British
Library. Faculty members have served as Fulbright-Hays scholars in
Mexico, Costa Rica, Bulgaria, Turkey, Guatemala, Morocco, and Egypt, and
another will conduct research in China beginning in 2004.
Goal #3: Provide on-campus opportunities for students, faculty,
and staff to interact with students, faculty, and visitors from other
cultures.
Held each fall semester since 2000, the PAC International Education Week
(IEW) is coordinated by the PAC International Education Committee and
Student Activities department to coincide with the national IEW
initiative of the United States Departments of State and Education. Each
year, IEW draws attention to global issues and encourages the exchange
of ideas and dialogue, providing students, faculty, staff, and the
surrounding community with an international festival and related
events.
English Professor Ellen Shull internationalized her spring 2003
Multicultural American Literature class to include Arab-American and
Jewish-American literature, including The Chosen, by Chiam Potok,
Out of Place, by Edward Said, The Prophet, by Kahlil
Gibran, and Islam–A Short History, by Karen Armstrong.
Students wrote final examination essays to explore their understanding
of Arab and Jewish literature and how the course changed (or did not
change) their cultural perceptions; papers usually presented a better
understanding of these cultures. The students delivered their essays
orally at the “Peace Party,” which included student-cooked
and -shared Arab and Jewish food. Attendees included international poet
Naomi Shihab Nye, the daughter of a Palestinian father and an American
mother who visited Asia and the Middle East twice on behalf of the
United States Information Agency to promote international goodwill
through the arts; Nye conversed with students about international
education and global issues and shared her poems and short stories.
Another successful international initiative, the Cooperative
Association of States for Scholarships (CASS), is managed locally
through PAC’s Continuing Education program in partnership with the
ACCD-IPO. Funded by the United States Agency for International
Development and co-administered with Georgetown University in
Washington, DC, teachers from rural communities in Central American
countries are brought to the United States to work in Central and South
Texas schools and communities. The 2003 class of 22 teachers is the
fourth group to study at PAC through this program. A fifth group is
expected in 2004. Selected for their leadership potential, the rural
teachers participate in an intensive year of study through PAC’s
Continuing Education program to (1) strengthen basic foundations of
international education; (2) develop integrated courses of study; and
(3) build community-based school programs. In 2003, the ACCD Foundation
and the Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation funded the adaptation of CASS
courses into a series of institutes for Central and South Texas
educators. The first institute, “Group Creative and Critical
Thinking,” took place in July 2003. Expansion plans include the
establishment of regional learning networks at pilot sites in Central
America linked to PAC through distance education and service learning
programs.
Goal #4: Encourage faculty and staff to document international
initiatives to serve as an archival record of events and
experiences.
By spring 2004, a collection of documents—such as revised syllabi,
outcome reports, and student evaluations—will be compiled to
demonstrate how PAC faculty have internationalized courses.
Goal #5: Actively seek opportunities to elevate internal work to
engage in a state and national dialogue on international education and
its relevance to higher education.
Some individuals on PAC’s International Education Committee also
are members of the Texas chapter of Partners of the Americas, an
international organization that pairs 45 U.S. states with 31 Latin
American and Caribbean countries in bilateral partnerships. Partnerships
comprise at least two officially recognized volunteer chapters—one
from a U.S. state or area, and the other from a Latin American or
Caribbean country or area. The Texas chapter partners with chapters in
Peru and Mexico. During the coming semesters, PAC will actively seek
opportunities for further involvement and opportunities to acquire
funding from local and international organizations.
Goal #6: Evaluate the success and effectiveness of
internationalized curriculum and the experiences of students, faculty,
and staff. This evaluation will be used to shape future international
learning opportunities.
A funding proposal for a pilot study at PAC will be submitted to the
ACCD Foundation in fall 2003.
III. Successful Strategies
Teaching and Learning in International Settings
With support of the ACCD-IPO, faculty development has focused on gaining
significant international experiences that can be incorporated into
classes. For several years, faculty and administrators have traveled to
Mexico. It is important to note that as PAC began its development of
international programs, the college was closely connected with the
ACCD-IPO and its administration of the Title VI-A grant. Today, PAC is
more independent, able to develop its own international education
programs as well as seek its own funding sources.
Internationalizing Course Curriculum
With funding from the above-mentioned Title VI-A grant, PAC has
internationalized courses and increased library resources. As previously
stated, 11 faculty members were awarded grants ranging from $500 to $625
to internationalize their courses. Additionally, library holdings
increased by $1,250 worth of books and videos to support faculty
requests, and suggestions from the ACCD Workshop, “Teaching About
the Arab World and Islam.” With guidance from PAC’s
International Education Committee, efforts continue to internationalize
the college, independent of the ACCD-IPO.
Institutional Partnerships
In 1995, Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts, established a
study abroad campus in Madrid, Spain, as part of its College of Arts and
Sciences. An agreement between PAC and Suffolk University allows PAC
students to earn PAC college credit while experiencing the culture, art,
and people of Spain. PAC’s inaugural class of 12 students and one
instructor focused on a study of art appreciation during the 2003 summer
semester.
Because there is high demand for Spanish-speaking nurses in San
Antonio, PAC has entered into an agreement with la Universidad
Interamericana de Puerto Rico that will allow PAC’s bilingual
Hispanic students, who also are Allied Health students, to study nursing
in a Spanish-speaking setting at Interamericana. Students will
simultaneously learn about Puerto Rican culture and improve their
Spanish language skills while earning PAC college credit toward their
nursing degrees. PAC plans to implement the program within the next two
years. PAC also is developing a collaborative agreement with
Mexico’s Instituto Technologico de Estudios Superiores de
Monterrey (ITESM), commonly known as Tec de Monterrey, with a focus on
aligning comparable international business management courses taught at
each institution. Collaborative programs are expected to be offered
within the next year.
IV. Future Plans
To further its commitment to international education, Palo Alto
College plans to:
- Implement a comprehensive evaluation process to evaluate all
internationalized courses at PAC and develop a rubric for evaluating the
successes and challenges to internationalizing the curriculum.
- Continue to archive curricula that have been internationalized.
- Increase student interest in the international studies
certificate.
- Expand opportunities for faculty and students to share international
experiences during International Education Week and throughout the
year.
- Further the college’s participation in the Texas Partners of
the Americas by involving more faculty and staff from PAC’s
International Education Committee.
- Develop and produce an online international magazine highlighting
PAC’s efforts in international education.
- Develop and support more study abroad programs for students and
faculty.
*Please contact the institution directly if you have
questions about their institutional programs.
Please direct questions about this page to:
beth_burris@ace.nche.edu |
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This page last updated on:
6/16/2006
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