ACIEE shares expertise and provides information on topics such as cultural diversity, multicultural relations, foreign student recruitment and exchanges, faculty exchanges, professional development programs and funding opportunities for international and intercultural activities. ACIEE help community colleges cultivate educational partnerships and participate in programs with organisations worldwide. ACIEE pursues this mission through annual conferences, a newsletter, a listerv and website, teleconferences and other programs and activities which foster the dissemination of information and networking among members. ACIEE’s member institutions are located in 36 states and territories, and include institution from England, Canada, Japan and the Netherlands.
The international student may not be familiar with us community colleges, since few countries have higher education institutions that offer the same range of programs and services. ACIEE’s member colleges are noted for their higher quality career and transfer associate degree programs including adult basic education, adult high school and the GED (secondary school equivalency programs) International students who enrol in community colleges will thus have access to a wide variety of programs not typically available in traditional colleges and universities, in addition to courses of study which parallel the first two years of a university education. Many of our career and technical programs include a practicum or internship experience, providing students with real world experience in the workplace.
Students who come to the US to study in a community college will be able to choose from many different locations and environments, from large, urban colleges, to suburban, to small, rural institution. Community colleges offer an educational experience of exceptional quality at convenient times and locations. Outstanding faculty, including many practitioners in their fields, deliver instruction to small classes, with ample opportunity for dialogue and individual attention. As they research the educational opportunities available in community colleges, prospective international students will see that these institutions have developed a sophisticated array of support services, co curricular and extra curricular activities, student clubs and organisations and instruction in English as a Second Language.
Over the past twenty-five years more and more community colleges have expanded their global education missions to provide study abroad programs for their students, international faculty development opportunities, exchanges and contractual training agreements with educational institutions and governments abroad. They embrace the presence of international students on their campuses as yet another way to enrich the college experience for native and international students alike.
In delivery educational programs, community colleges recognise that individual learning styles are different and require methods of instruction. Therefore, instructional delivery is implemented through self-instructional programs, specialised curriculum materials and customised learning modules utilising multimedia resources for individualised instruction. The range of instructional media/materials include workbooks, slides, films, audio and videotapes, computer assisted instructions and the use of the Internet and World Wide Web.
Community Colleges have much to offer the international student – outstanding faculty, quality instruction in a vast array of disciplines, reasonable cost, and convenient locations. An ACIEE member college is ready and waiting to meet your higher education needs
Contributed By: Linda Korbel
Executive Director ACIEE
