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Global Learning for All
San Diego Community College District
http://www.sdccd.edu/
Contents
General Institutional Overview
http://www.sdccd.edu/
The San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) is the second
largest community college district in California and serves a population
of more than 100,000 students through San Diego City, Mesa and Miramar
Colleges, and six Centers for Education and Technology (CET). The three
SDCCD colleges offer academic arts and science courses that lead to
associate degrees and transfer to four-year colleges and universities,
as well as certificate programs in specific occupational areas that
prepare students for entry-level jobs. A total of 46,531 students, 55
percent of whom are enrolled in degree and certificate programs,
participate in district courses that grant undergraduate college credit.
There are 24,840 students enrolled in the SDCCD associate of arts and
associate of science degree programs, and 771 are enrolled in
certificate programs. Of these 25,611 degree- and certificate-seeking
students, 53 percent are members of minority populations, 67 percent are
part-time students, and 37 percent are over 25 years of age.
As noted in the California Education Code, “A primary mission
of the California community colleges is to advance California’s
economic growth and global competitiveness through education, training,
and services.” SDCCD’s overall mission is to provide
accessible, high-quality educational opportunities in an environment
where student learning is the highest priority. As stated in the SDCCD
Master Plan, “Providing gateways to learning for all students is
one of the district’s six guiding principles.” This
principle focuses on “instituting outreach and recruitment
activities to identify and meet the diverse needs of learners from the
San Diego and global communities.” The SDCCD seeks to meet these
needs by providing a comprehensive offering of international education
experiences that are open to all students, faculty, staff, and community
members. The SDCCD is also committed to serving as an active force in
advancing regional, statewide, national, and international efforts to
promote economic and workforce development.
The SDCCD serves more than 20,000 self-proclaimed transfer students
each year. During the fall 2002 semester, 48 percent of SDCCD students
registered in credit-granting courses declared their intention to
transfer to a four-year college or university. Current data from a
long-term study that was initiated in 1994 by the SDCCD Office of
Institutional Research and Planning indicates that approximately 25
percent of SDCCD students eventually transfer to four-year colleges
within eight years of completingtheir coursework at SDCCD.
The SDCCD has established close working relationships and
articulation agreements with all of the major transfer destinations for
SDCCD students—these destinations include San Diego State
University, California State University-San Marcos, the University of
California-San Diego, the University of San Diego, National University,
and the University of Phoenix.
Overview of Internationalization Efforts
The SDCCD’s commitment to increasing global literacy and
providing all students with adequate international education experiences
is evidenced by the district’s efforts to infuse global
competencies across the curriculum and by the introduction of new degree
and certificate programs focusing on global and international
perspectives. The SDCCD is particularly proud of district-wide
internationalization efforts in four areas: new program development,
study abroad programs, faculty/staff development activities, and
external funding development.
New Program Development
San Diego City College recently developed an International Studies
Associate Degree and a Liberal Arts, Option III Associate Degree with an
emphasis on Global/International Studies. In 2000, the SDCCD initiated a
special program in which honors students may receive a certificate in
global competencies. San Diego Mesa College currently offers a
Certificate of Completion in Global Cultures and a Certificate of
Completion in International Studies and has plans to expand these
efforts into degree programs. In addition to the new degree and
certificate programs, the SDCCD has introduced a number of new area
studies programs as well as new language courses in Tagalog and
Portuguese.
Study-Abroad Programs
In the last three years, more than 25 SDCCD faculty members and 125
students have participated in over 15 semester-long and short-term
summer study-abroad activities at sites in England, France, Italy,
Mexico, Costa Rica, Australia, and Spain. In order to provide increased
access to study-abroad opportunities for local community college
students and ensure full program enrollment, the SDCCD formed a regional
study-abroad collaborative with other members of the San Diego/Imperial
County Community College *Association (SDICCA) to promote, staff, and
manage the semester-long study-abroad programs. Additional shorter term
summer study-abroad and intensive language study programs for students
and faculty are offered through the individual SDCCD college
campuses.
Faculty Development
Each of the three SDCCD colleges and Centers for Education and
Technology has a campus representative for international education.
These campus representatives are faculty members on release time and are
supported by district funds committed to the SDCCD International
Education Program. The campus representatives serve on the District
International Education Committee, which includes district faculty and
administrators as well as a number of community and industry
representatives. The campus representatives for international education
work with the Assistant Chancellor for Instructional Services and
Economic Development and with their campus committees to increase the
global competencies of faculty members. These faculty members will, in
turn, be more capable of transmitting these competencies to their
students by designing, developing, and promoting a wide variety of
international activities, including workshops on how to internationalize
the curriculum, cultural events, educational programs, and special
activities such as international career fairs and an international film
festival.
External Resource Development
Under the leadership of Chancellor Augustine Gallego and Dr. Kenneth
Fawson, Assistant Chancellor, the SDCCD has assumed a statewide
leadership position in global and international education. Since 1995,
the SDCCD has sought and received more than $700,00 in grant funding for
international education activities. In 1998 the SDCCD received a Global
Education Network award from the California Community Colleges
Chancellors Office to establish a local and regional infrastructure to
support global and international education. A number of federal agencies
and private foundations, including the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller
Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development, the
American Association of Community Colleges, and the U.S. Department of
Education’s Business and International Education program have
helped underwrite the SDCCD’s international education efforts in
the areas of economic development, workforce preparation, faculty
exchange, and technical assistance.
Internationalization and the New Majority Student
New majority students who are attending college on a part-time basis
are confronted with many challenges. Most part-time students work while
attending classes and are frequently under severe time pressure due to
the conflicting demands of work, school and family. They do not always
have time to attend special international events, travel, or participate
in other time-intensive activities.
Minority students often face financial problems and family pressures,
some of which are linked to language problems and cultural issues. Many
minority students have not previously been exposed to global
perspectives and are not aware of available international education
activities and/or potential career and employment opportunities in other
countries. Older students (over the age of 25) experience all of the
problems mentioned above. In addition, they are particularly focused on
the job relevancy and practicality of the skills they learn in the
classroom.
SDCCD internationalization strategies are particularly sensitive to
the special needs of new majority students. In order to meet time
constraints, SDCCD offers new degree programs, language, and area
studies courses that incorporate international perspectives and build
global competencies at different times during the day and evening and
are accessible to all SDCCD students. Efforts to integrate global
competencies across the curriculum provide students with opportunities
to explore global perspectives and develop critical thinking skills as
part of their regular studies and coursework. The yearly celebration of
International Education Week includes multicultural celebrations, art
shows, and special activities such as international film festivals and
international career fairs held on each of the three campuses. These
activities are informative and time efficient, allowing students to gain
cultural insights and investigate global employment options on their own
campuses without costly, time-consuming travel to other sites.
Short-term (two- to three-week) language immersion and study-abroad
courses offered by the individual SDCCD campuses are less expensive and
of shorter duration than SDICCA-sponsored semester-abroad offerings,
thereby providing new majority students with the opportunity to
participate in study and travel activities that are an important facet
of the international education experience.
Financial aid and student loans are available to help ease the
financial burden for low-income students, including those who
participate in study-abroad programs. Efforts are currently underway to
secure external funding, specifically for minority and under-represented
students and for paid internships, stipends, and scholarships that will
encourage students to participate in international study- and
work-abroad activities.
International Learning Goals
In spring 2002, the SDCCD International Education Committee approved
the following goals for global and international education.
- Provide SDCCD faculty, staff, and students with opportunities to
participate in a variety of international educational programs,
meetings, and cultural events that will develop global competencies and
internationalize the curriculum to include professional development
activities, academic (including language) and vocational classes,
study-abroad, technical assistance, and teacher exchange programs.
- Continue and expand current collaborative educational and economic
development programs with Mexico, including implementation of the
recently signed agreement between the Secretariat of Public Education of
Mexico and the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.
Pursue similar opportunities in other countries.
- Increase efforts to articulate SDCCD courses and programs with
schools and colleges in other countries to increase international
student enrollment, explore the potential for distance education, and
develop worldwide contract education.
- Continue and increase activities to secure external support from
regional, statewide, national, and international funding agencies that
will contribute to the growth and development of global education at the
SDCCD and in the San Diego region.
Assessing International Learning Goals
Current assessment of student achievement of international education
goals includes tracking the number of students who enroll in the new
internationally oriented degree and certificate programs and language
and area studies programs, as well as recording the number of students
who currently participate in study abroad and other international
education activities. Whenever possible, evaluation instruments are used
to measure student satisfaction with these offerings. In addition, the
SDCCD frequently conducts district-wide surveys to determine faculty and
student needs and interests related to international education.
Last updated: April 27, 2005
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