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Global Learning for All
St. Louis Community College at Forest Park
http://www.stlcc.cc.mo.us/fp/
Contents
General Institutional Overview
http://www.stlcc.cc.mo.us/fp/
St. Louis Community College (SLCC) is an open door two-year
institution designed to serve the local community. While some programs
have prerequisites, all persons who can benefit from higher education
may enroll. St. Louis Community College at Forest Park (SLCC-FP) is the
urban campus in the three-campus SLCC district. The campus is located in
the City of St. Louis, which, according to the 2000 census, has a 57
percent minority population. In addition, the city has experienced a
recent influx of immigrants, including large numbers of Bosnians and
Asians, in neighborhoods just to the southeast of the campus.
The SLCC-FP fall 2003 student body profile indicates that 42 percent
of those enrolled are African American; 4 percent are Asian/Pacific
Islander; 2 percent are Hispanic; and 4.7 percent are
“other”; for a total of 55 percent minority enrollment.
Approximately 10 percent of SLCC-FP students are new immigrants and
refugees from more than 90 countries. In addition, the fall 2003 profile
shows that nearly 49 percent of SLCC-FP students are over age 25. As is
common in the community college setting, many students balance family
and employment responsibilities with their education. Other statistics
of interest show that 33 percent of all students attend the college full
time, 65 percent are enrolled in a transfer program of study, and 85
percent of all SLCC-FP students are seeking a degree from the
institution.
Providing the academic and support programming necessary for the
success of new majority students is central to the institutional
mission. For the 2003–2004 academic year, one of the three goals
for campus global education states: “Initiate flexible strategies,
programs, delivery systems, and partnerships which permit the campus to
respond effectively to current, potential, and underserved student
populations, and to meet community needs.”
Partner Institutions
SLCC has formal articulation agreements with the following four-year
institutions located in Missouri: Central Missouri State University,
Fontbonne College, Harris Stowe State College, Lindenwood University,
Logan University, Maryville University, Missouri Baptist College,
National Louis University, Rolla Technical Center, Southeast Missouri
State University, University of Missouri–St. Louis, and William
Woods University. SLCC also has an articulation agreement with Capella
University, which offers undergraduate and graduate degrees online.
Overview of Internationalization Efforts
Over the last several years, SLCC-FP has made excellent progress in
ensuring that all students develop international knowledge, attitudes,
and skills. This emphasis has come naturally to the Forest Park campus,
because of the large and ever-expanding population of international
students that enroll, as well as the recognition that, in an
increasingly global economic environment, it is critical to the future
of the campus and its students to promote education for global and
intercultural competency.
SLCC-FP has created a campus atmosphere that promotes global
awareness and global learning. Examples of this include:
- Each year, students organize an international education week with
faculty and staff support. Local students interact with international
students from more than 20 countries. Authentic ethnic foods, art
displays, dancing, and singing are presented at the week-long series of
events. International education week has become the largest annual
campus event, attracting more than 1,000 students.
- Each spring semester, international students from two to four
different countries introduce their cultures through formal academic
presentations, arts and crafts, and foods offered at campus events. The
local ethnic community is involved in organizing the cultural
presentations.
- Students on the SLCC-FP campus are encouraged to participate in
study abroad opportunities sponsored by the SLCC District Office of
International Education. This year’s study abroad destinations
include Greece, China, France, Costa Rica, Thailand, and England.
- Flags of many nations hang in the campus cafeteria, representing the
countries of international students enrolled at SLCC.
- Arts and cultural events from many countries are presented in the
campus theater and art gallery. Examples include a Russian dance troupe
and exhibits by a Chinese photographer and a Chinese painter.
- SLCC-FP has signed a formal agreement with Hunan Normal University
in China to develop a cooperative relationship in faculty and student
exchange. To date, a professor of art and a dean of tourism from Hunan
Normal University have visited SLCC-FP. The art professor taught for a
full semester, and both visitors conducted numerous workshops on the
history and culture of China. In addition, two SLCC-FP faculty have
visited and taught at Hunan Normal.
SLCC-FP has made a staunch commitment to globalization of the
curriculum. In December 2002, SLCC-FP President Patricia W. Nichols
issued the following statement in the campus faculty and staff
newsletter: “The infusion of global education into our
curricula is one of our major areas of emphasis for the 2002–03
academic year. With the assistance and leadership of the SLCC-FP Global
Education Advisory Committee, we will begin to infuse into our curricula
aspects of globalization in all of our courses. Within three years, we
expect each faculty member to infuse global aspects in at least one
course they teach. Within five years we expect that all courses will
include some aspects of globalization. In addition to the infusion in
our curricula, we encourage the development of faculty exchanges and the
participation of faculty, staff, and students in planning and
implementing a wide variety of international education activities for
the campus and the broader community.” The statement was
affirmed for 2003–2004 by Dr. Smith, the acting president.
Infusing global content into curricula and educating future global
citizens is an ongoing process for SLCC-FP faculty. A Global Education
Institute has been set up to train faculty members in globalizing the
curriculum. Incentives will be provided to faculty for their
participation in the globalization process. In addition, funds have been
set aside for global education training and will be used to send faculty
to regional and national training workshops to learn how to infuse
global content in the curriculum.
SLCC-FP is a key player in the Missouri Consortium for Global
Education (the Consortium), a sub-group of the Missouri Community
College Association. The U.S. Department of Education awarded the
Consortium a grant under the Undergraduate International Studies and
Foreign Languages program (Title VI A) for the project “Enhancing
International Studies and Foreign Language Teaching and Learning at
Missouri Community Colleges.” This project will provide SLCC-FP
faculty with a variety of professional development opportunities through
the Consortium to further enhance their ability to incorporate global
learning into a wide range of courses and curricula. Under the grant,
six faculty members from SLCC-FP globalized six courses by April 2003,
and an additional five faculty members globalized their courses by May
2004. Six Forest Park faculty members will travel to China and three
will travel to Mexico for cultural immersion experiences that will
enhance the globalization of their courses.
SLCC-FP is a member of the Midwest Institute of International and
Intercultural Education (MIIIE), an organization representing more than
90 colleges in the Midwest. Through MIIIE, one faculty member
participated in a study tour of Vietnam in 2002, and one traveled to
Africa in 2003, funded through a Group Projects Abroad grant from the
U.S. Department of Education. Faculty also participate in
MIIIE-sponsored summer training in globalizing the curriculum. SLCC-FP
hosted the MIIIE 2004 Annual Conference.
In 1999, SLCC-FP received national recognition for its global education
efforts and achievements from ACIIE (American Council on International
and Intercultural Education). In addition, for three consecutive years
the League for Innovation in the Community Colleges gave an SLCC global
education program or project an Innovation of the Year award. This award
was established to recognize individual faculty/staff or teams who have
designed and implemented a significant innovation. The three awards were
as follows:
- The Global Camp for sixth graders from St. Louis public schools
(made possible by support from the Stanley Foundation) was chosen as the
campus Innovation of the Year in 1998.
- The Cultural Presentation Program, which offered multicultural
presentations during lunchtime and brought together diverse students,
faculty, and staff, was Innovation of the Year in 1997.
- The ESL program received the district Innovation of the Year Award
in 1996 for innovations in the areas of assessment, curriculum and staff
development in ESL across the district.
SLCC-FP also has a very active Global Education Advisory Committee,
which sets goals, oversees globalization of the curriculum, and develops
assessment tools. This committee was formed in 1995 by a group of highly
motivated faculty interested in promoting global education on campus.
Currently 28 faculty members from across all disciplines voluntarily
serve on this committee. The two committee coordinators have been given
release time to fulfill their duties. In order to speed up the process
of developing study abroad courses, a generic course for study abroad
has been developed by the Global Education Advisory Committee and
approved by the District Curriculum Committee.
Internationalization and the New Majority Student
Although formal planning is in the early stages, many of
SLCC-FP’s internationalization strategies meet the needs of the
new majority students. A few specific examples include:
- Many foreign language courses are offered via distance learning,
allowing for flexibility in time and location for students to
participate in the courses.
- Special events that promote global learning—during
international education week as well as throughout the year—are
offered on a varied schedule so that part-time students who attend
primarily in the evenings or on weekends have opportunities to
participate.
- Curricula in all areas, including developmental courses, will be
globalized in order to reach all students.
- International students—important members of the new majority
student population—are supported in numerous ways, including
having access to a multimedia learning lab and a comprehensive ESL
program. There is also a full-time member of the counseling faculty
assigned to work with international students. In addition, the campus
has held workshops for faculty members to learn how to teach non-English
speaking students.
- Five of the eight members of the Global Learning for All Leadership
Team visited San Diego Community College in December of 2003. The
visiting team met with the chancellor, the district personnel who were
involved in global education, the Global Education Consortium, and the
study abroad committee.
International Learning Goals
As mentioned, it is the responsibility of the SLCC-FP Global
Education Advisory Committee to set goals, oversee globalization of the
curriculum, and develop assessment tools. To date, there has been much
productive and exciting activity aimed at creating global learning
opportunities for students at SLCC-FP, but no comprehensive plan has
been developed. However, global learning goals have been set for some
discipline areas. For example, the General Education Program for the
SLCC district articulates the following competencies for students in the
social and behavioral sciences:
- Describe social institutions, structures, and processes and their
evolution across a range of historical periods and cultures
- Analyze and compare social, cultural, and historical settings and
processes
- Articulate the interconnectedness of people, places, and cultures
around the globe
- Develop an informed sense of self in relationship to the larger
world
In addition, there has been much discussion and use of specific
strategies for curriculum internationalization. These include
incorporating terms from other languages into courses and infusing
information from other cultures throughout entire courses, rather than
just specific units. These strategies have not yet been written into a
comprehensive plan for global learning.
The committee is in the beginning stages of developing a common set
of goals for international learning, outlining the need for specific
curricular changes, and setting a process for assessing student
achievement of the goals. As a first step, the committee is analyzing
what has already been done in the way of internationalizing the
curriculum, and what global learning goals are already being met.
Committee members are approaching this task with enthusiasm and look
forward to the opportunity to work with ACE and the other institutions
involved in the Global Learning for All project to develop an action
plan.
Assessing International Learning Goals
SLCC-FP’s planning process involves an annual plan that
dovetails with the college’s strategic plan. Campus planning
includes annual goal setting, endorsed and influenced by our campus
president. A new planning council has been created that is responsible
for recommendations to the campus leadership team, monitoring progress,
and communications to the campus community regarding the status of
strategies outlined by the president. The campus leadership team is the
final arbiter of the allocation of resources.
Last updated: April 27, 2005
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