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Brookdale Community College
General Institutional Overview
Institutional Mission
Brookdale Community College is a comprehensive,
public community college providing affordable, open access to a wide
variety of high-quality associate degree and certificate programs for
both transfer and vocational entry opportunities.
Brookdale, located in Lincroft, New Jersey, was established in 1967
by the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders. The 225-acre
Brookdale Farm, at one time one of the most illustrious horse farms in
Monmouth County, was purchased by the Freeholders in 1968 to become
Brookdale Community College. The first classes were offered in 1969 and
the College was accredited by the Middle States Association Commission
on Higher Education in 1972. The College enrollment in 1969 totaled
3,881 and 257 students comprised the graduating class of 1970.
Today, the College enrolls more than 14,000 credit students per
semester, and 1,636 students made up the graduating class of 2007. As
one out of every three Monmouth County high school students chooses to
attend Brookdale, enrollment is expected to grow at 2.5% per year
through 2011. The College also provides personal and economic growth
through life-long learning, personal enrichment, and business and
community development activities, in both credit and noncredit formats.
The College has one branch campus and five Higher Education Centers
throughout the County.
Through partnerships with other educational providers, Brookdale
provides expanded access to post-associate degrees at the baccalaureate
and graduate levels, through joint admission and detailed course and
program articulation.
Background on Internationalization Efforts
In its forty-year history, Brookdale Community College has had a rich
involvement in international education, and today continues a tradition
of innovation and participation begun in its early years.
Initial interest in international education was sparked by
Anthropology faculty who received a grant from the U.S. Department of
Education in 1973 to "strengthen the international dimension of general
education" by establishing an administrative infrastructure which would
be closely tied to student services and to curricular initiatives. As a
result, the International Center (now the International Education Center
or IEC) was created, charged with working with faculty and staff,
students, and the Monmouth County community. During the three year grant
period, not only was the Center established, but a variety of courses
were created, chief among them Intercultural Communications and Culture
and Personality. In addition, intercultural workshops were held, a
foreign film series was begun, and the International Students
Association was created, recently celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Along with developments at the college, Brookdale collaborated
extensively with other two- and four-year colleges, and other consortia
to further its goals of offering more international opportunities to
Brookdale students and faculty. In the mid 1980s Brookdale became a
member of the College Consortium of International Studies (CCIS) and
serves as the program sponsor for programs in Scotland and Canada. In
addition, the College established an extension site in Guayaquil,
Ecuador, which saw students and faculty from both institutions
participating in a program that lasted until May of 2006.
Since its inception the IEC expanded its programs to include a
variety of study abroad opportunities, particularly the creation of
faculty-led, short-term study programs. For this, the College was a 2002
recipient of an Honorable Mention in the Institute of International
Education's Andrew Heiskell Award for Innovation in International
Education. Most uniquely, the Center's staff includes a faculty liaison
whose role is to provide the Center with a critical academic presence in
its programs and services.
A scholarship honoring one of the founders of the Center, Elaine
Baran, is used to support participation in study abroad programs. The
Center is advised by the International Educational Advisory Committee
(IEAC), comprised of Brookdale faculty, staff, and administrators,
meeting twice a semester with committees providing advice on
fundraising, scholarship, crisis-management, and curriculum. In 2001,
the International Studies Option, an interdisciplinary degree for
transfer students choosing careers in international/global studies was
introduced.
During its history, the Center has provided professional development
opportunities for staff and faculty, collaborated with the Monmouth
County community in sponsoring a wide variety of cultural events,
received a FIPSE grant involving Culinary students and faculty at six
institutions in the U.S. and overseas and provided support services for
in-coming international students and outbound study abroad
students. Thus, the Center is well poised to make even greater
contributions in the field of international education.
I. Vision and Goals for
Internationalization
Vision and Mission
Our vision is that an international or intercultural dimension will
be infused into the teaching, learning, service, and research functions
of the institution (Jane Knight). As the entity charged with leading
these efforts, the mission of the International Education Center is to
provide affordable, accessible, high quality international programs and
services for students, faculty, staff.
The College's commitment to international education is articulated in
its strategic plan with the aim to "increase curriculum initiatives and
international programs that emphasize cultural and global awareness and
diversity." Additionally, one of the College's core values is to promote
diversity, described by the Diversity Council as, "seek(ing) to identify
similarities and connectedness concurrently with promulgating an
understanding and respect for the different intellectual traditions and
social perspectives among the many diverse groups that comprise our
society and the multicultural global community." To that end, and in
conjunction with Brookdale's Core Competencies and General Education
mandates to develop greater global and cultural awareness, a range of
programs that "incorporate experience with and exposure to a diverse,
socially conscious, multicultural global society" continue to be the
focus of planning within the institution.
Goals
As part of its Educational Services Master Plan (strategic plan) for
2010, the College identified the following three major priorities for
the International Education Center:
I. Increase the participation of students, faculty, and staff in
international educational exchange;
II. Expand the scope of International Student Services;
III. Strengthen the role of the International Education Center in the
life of the College community.
II. Progress
Goal I. Increase the participation of students
faculty and staff in international educational exchange.
In recent years, the College has consistently ranked in the top
twenty associate's degree and specialized institutions that send
students abroad according to Open Doors: Report on International
Educational Exchange. For example, in 2005–2006, the college sent
107 students abroad on semester long and short-term study abroad
programs.
Goal II. Expand the scope of international student
services.
In April 2007, admission, orientation, immigration and on-going
advising for international students became part of the International
Center's portfolio. Prior to that time, these services were handled by
the admissions and recruitment staff. The Center now holds regular
orientations and workshops and has developed print and online resources
for these students. And, the Center has begun to advise other
administrative departments (academic advising & career services) on
issues pertaining to the needs of international students.
Goal III. Strengthen the role of the International
Education Center.
International student services were combined with study abroad and
faculty development in order to strengthen the role of the international
center. In addition, the name of the center was changed from
International Center to International Education Center to reflect the
broader scope of the office. Through the role of the faculty liaison,
international events (speakers, films, etc) are more closely linked to
the curriculum. For example each semester, faculty participate in a
Global Teach-In where members of the public are invited to sit-in on
lectures with a global theme.
III. Successful
Strategies
Support from the College's central administration and a dedicated
group of faculty and staff who comprised the International Education
Advisory Committee have been a key factors in the growth of its
international programs. In addition to this support, the following
examples highlight specific strategies related to the College's key
international priorities.
Goal I. Increase the participation of students,
faculty and staff in international educational exchange.
-
The Center has expanded the destination of faculty-led short-term
programs outside of Western Europe. In the past two years, programs have
been offered in Ghana and Japan. And, two new programs for Rwanda and
Egypt are planned for summer 2008. Of note, both the Ghana and Rwanda
programs have a significant service learning component.
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The College has begun to offer programs outside of the traditional
academic home of social sciences and humanities. The Rwanda short-term
program was initiated by a faculty member from the Radio-Technology
department.
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A listserv was created to disseminate information about research,
grant, professional development, and conference opportunities related to
international education.
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The Equal Opportunity Fund (EOF) department offers tuition grants
toward EOF students' participation in short-term study abroad
programs.
Goal II. Expand the scope of International Student
Services
-
The staff recently made changes in communication stream, timing of
pre-arrival information and the delivery of orientation workshop. These
changes resulted in a significant increase in participation in
orientation programming.
-
The Center now utilizes a social networking site for both
international students and study abroad students. Through the page
students are encouraged to share photos of their experiences. It is used
as another tool to communicate international opportunities.
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The Center held an open house co-sponsored with the International
Student Association to introduce members of the Brookdale Community to
international programs and welcome back returning study abroad
students.
Goal III. Strengthen the role of the International
Education Center
-
The faculty liaison role has been used to further collaborations
with academic units and interdisciplinary centers. For example, the
Center has co-sponsored events with Women's Studies, Center for World
War II and Conflict Resolution, Holocaust Center, English Department,
Women's Studies, Business and Computer Science Division, and the History
and Art departments to name a few.
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The Center has developed a workshop on international education
opportunities for faculty and staff co-sponsored by the College's Center
for Teaching and Learning.
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The Center also collaborates with Student Life and Activities which
provides funding for many programs.
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In collaboration with Marketing and Public relations, the Center
has developed a marketing campaign to promote study abroad.
IV. Future Plans
To further the College's strategic priorities related to
internationalization, the Center will continue with the initiatives that
have been mentioned above. Specific action items identified in the
strategic plan that will advance the internationalization agenda
include:
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Identifying funding/grant opportunities in support of international
educational exchange
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Assessing the international studies option major
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Developing relationships with new overseas partners
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Developing greater ties to the community in support of
international students
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Continuing to integrate international students into the life of the
community
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Increasing international student enrollment
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Continuing to link international and global events with curricular
objectives
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Expanding the International Education Advisory Committee to include
students and members of the outside community
*Please contact the institution directly if you have questions
regarding specific institutional programs.
Please direct questions about this page to:
jill_wisniewski@ace.nche.edu
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This page last updated on: 07/28/2008
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