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Internationalization Collaborative
Community Colleges
Riverside Community College
Riverside
Community College (RCC) is one of California's oldest two-year
liberal arts and science institutions. As a public community college,
RCC's mission is to provide transfer programs leading to baccalaureate
degree programs at four-year colleges and universities, career
preparation and occupational/technical programs leading to an
associate's degree or a career-oriented certificate, and community and
economic development services to local and regional businesses and
organizations. The college is located approximately 60 miles east of Los
Angeles in a region known as the Inland Empire.
As a multicampus district, RCC serves more than 30,000 students each
semester, with another 14,000 enrolled in noncredit community education
classes. In addition to being a comprehensive liberal arts and science
college, the Riverside campus offers a broad range of courses in
occupational and applied technology and is home to the largest two-year
nursing program in the state. RCC's two newest campuses are located in
the cities of Moreno Valley and Norco. RCC Moreno Valley offers special
programs in health, human, and public service and hosts a fully
accredited physician assistant program, the only such community
college-based program west of the Mississippi River. RCC Norco
specializes in engineering, manufacturing, and technology. The Center
for Applied Competitive Technology, one of only 10 centers in
California, is located on the Norco campus.
An integral part of local communities for the past 85 years, RCC has
forged strong ties with businesses in the region. Increasingly, these
ties are leading to innovative education/business partnership programs.
An excellent example is the establishment of automotive technology
programs with Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Toyota, which
train, qualify, and employ students within the industry.
The college also provides direct training programs for businesses
through its Economic and Community Development (ECD) office. Small,
mid-size, and large companies often contract with the office for
employee and management training, technology training, and business
practice workshops. One of the largest ECD programs is the Center for
International Trade Development, which works with clients to increase
international market share, develop distribution networks in other
countries, and develop multinational manufacturing operations. Many ECD
programs are funded by federal and state grants and awards.
Situated in a fast-growing, multicultural community, RCC is also
known for its strong commitment to international education.
Approximately 300 international students representing more than 60
nations attend classes at RCC. The college also operates a
well-established study-abroad program, sending students to Italy,
England, Japan, and Spain. For the past two years, RCC has worked with
the University of Asmara in the nation of Eritrea to help establish a
community college system in that country.
Overview of Internationalization Efforts
I. Vision and Goals for
Internationalization
The RCC District has a long history of commitment to international
education. The college aims to provide students with as broad-based a
liberal arts and science education as possible. The college is dedicated
to providing an internationally based education. It supports a
curriculum that infuses a global dimension is infused throughout all
subject areas to prepare students for success in the global community.
II. Progress
The college's commitment to international education has been
reflected in a variety of programs and activities throughout the years.
These include:
- Curriculum-based international education
- Study-abroad program
- International students and programs
- Foreign language study
- Model United Nations program
Curriculum-based international education. Although RCC is a
community college and thus unable to offer upper-division courses, it
does offer a significant number of courses that aim to increase
students' sensitivity to the international dimension of life in the 21st
century. These courses include:
- Comparative Government
- Introduction to International Relations
- Introduction to Political Economy
- Current Global Issues
- International Organizations
- Introduction to American Foreign Policy
- United States–Mexico Border Studies
- International Business
- International Management
- Modern Russia
- History of Mexico
- History of England
- History of the Middle East
- World Religions
These courses expose students to the international issues that affect
one's life. They help prepare students to deal with the complexity of
living in a global community.
Study-abroad program. At RCC, international education includes
all programs, projects, studies, and activities that encourage an
individual to learn, understand, and care about the world beyond his or
her community and to transcend culturally conditioned, ethnocentric
perspectives, perceptions, and behaviors. Serving students of every age
and ethnic and academic background, RCC's study-abroad program offers an
unparalleled international education experience. Programs in Oxford,
England; Florence, Italy; Salamanca, Spain; Sendai, Japan; and Costa
Rica offer students semester and summer study opportunities complete
with cultural excursions, host family living, and the chance to broaden
their travel experiences and world knowledge.
International students and programs. Each semester, 300
students from 60 nations attend RCC. Their interactions with fellow
students and faculty help enrich the international climate of the
campus. The Center for International Students and Programs coordinates
programs and activities related to international students. The center
organizes orientation classes and counseling and community activities
for RCC's international students. An international club provides a broad
range of activities, including social events and opportunities for
community service, on and off campus. The center also contributes to the
international dimension of the campus by presenting resource speakers
from the United States and abroad who address current world issues.
Foreign language study. The study of foreign languages is a
key element and an important cornerstone of a comprehensive
international education. Living in a global community requires knowledge
of cultures, customs, and languages. Speaking a foreign language
facilitates living and interacting in today's interdependent world.
Through the study of foreign languages, students are exposed to culture
and civilization as reflected in language, literature, art, history,
politics, customs, and social institutions. RCC offers instruction in 10
languages, including Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean,
Latin, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
Model United Nations program. Riverside Community College has
an active Model United Nations (UN) program. Housed in the Department of
Political Science, the program prepares students in diplomacy,
negotiations, and international affairs. Students take courses about
international organizations and then participate in simulations similar
to actual UN proceedings. Each year, some 20 students attend model UN
conferences in California and New York.
III. Successful Strategies
Three strategies the college has found particularly useful for
advancing its international agenda include:
- World Affairs Council
- Center for International Trade Development and California-Mexico
Trade Assistance Center
- Partnership with Eritrea
World Affairs Council. RCC hosts the regional World Affairs
Council of the Inland Empire. The council promotes discussion of
international issues through its regularly scheduled speaker series,
which includes many international speakers. The World Affairs Council is
a national organization with chapters throughout the United States. The
Inland Empire World Affairs Council, funded since 1964 by area colleges
and universities, is the premier forum presenting national and
international speakers in the Inland Empire. Diplomats, journalists,
business leaders, and others with leadership roles meet with council
members and students in the region. Today, 15 colleges and universities
are sponsoring academic institutions, and approximately 1,000
individuals are members of the World Affairs Council of the Inland
Empire. Because of the college's affiliation with the World Affairs
Council, RCC students and faculty can attend council programs and
activities free of charge and thus remain abreast of international
development and issues.
Center for International Trade Development and California-Mexico
Trade Assistance Center. RCC maintains an international trade center
devoted to the promotion of international trade in general and with
Mexico in particular. RCC's International Trade Center provides regional
businesses with the following services related to international
trade:
- Export readiness assessment
- International marketing plan development assistance
- Workshops on international sales and management
- Import and export regulations information
- Experienced international business advice
- Comprehensive international business library open to the public
- Assessment of clients' needs, providing a range of training and
nontraining solutions to address overall goals and objectives in
marketing to Mexico
- Assist with NAFTA logistics, including regulatory compliance,
documentation, transportation, and rules of origin determination
- Educational programs that include seminars on conducting business
with Mexico
Partnership with Eritrea. Operating with U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID) support and funding, RCC is working
with the University of Asmara in a variety of ways, focusing on
curriculum, joint teaching programs, and the development of a community
college system in the nation of Eritrea. For the past three years,
faculty and administrators from RCC and the University of Asmara have
participated in a series of visits to each other's campus. Other
partners include the University of California, Riverside, and Loma Linda
University and Medical Center.
The project is comprehensive in nature. Current proposals call for
the establishment of five three-year community colleges in Eritrea, each
located in a different city and geographic region and each with a
special focus. The partners anticipate that people who attend the
colleges will be qualified to either enter the workforce directly or
transfer to the University of Asmara for continuing work. The colleges
will specialize in technology, social and management sciences, health,
marine science, and agriculture.
The partners will collaborate to develop linked computer and business
courses supported by compatible computer laboratories and accessible
information technologies. The partners will develop distance
education-Internet, audiotape, videotape, and eventually broadcast
technologies to offer training for jobs in both communities. Primary
objectives will be:
- To increase the number of skilled workers in the community,
particularly in the fields of computer technology and global business.
Both communities have registered their desire to increase the number of
people trained in these fields.
- To develop field-tested distance learning capability to increase the
number of people who can be trained through workforce training
programs.
To demonstrate the connections of each community to the rest of the
world by incorporating information from another part of the world into
parallel (collaborative) courses through a "sister university"
partnership.
IV. Future Plans
The college is developing a program in international business. The
first two years of the program will be offered in Florence, Italy, in
cooperation with an Italian partner and the University of California,
Riverside. The program will include students from California as well as
from Europe. American students will be required to study Italian, and
European students will be required to study English. After two years of
study, every student will be eligible to enter the University of
California, Riverside, as a business administration major. It is
expected that the program will enroll 60 students. The program will
provide an opportunity for RCC students to interact with their European
counterparts. The program also will enhance RCC faculty members'
understanding of international education.
*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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