University Business - March 2007 - (Page 40)

Warning : session_start : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : session_start : Cannot send session cache limiter - headers already sent output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 10 COMMUNIT Y COLLEGES Beyond Borders Two-year institutions should build study-abroad programs to help students succeed in workplaces near and far. By Carole M. Berotte Joseph HE WORLD HAS CHANGED dramatically in the last decade and business is now more global than ever before. Just pick up the phone at work to call tech support, and the person on the other end of the line might be from India. Join a U.S. firm and it will likely have offices overseas, requiring employees to not only communicate but establish trusting relationships with international workers. For students to succeed in today’s competitive marketplace, they should seek an education in which they gain exposure to other cultures. Study-abroad experiences prepare students for the increasingly global nature of the world in which they live and will work. As president of Massachusetts Bay Community College in Wellesley Hills, I am sometimes asked why I believe that a study-abroad program should become a part of my community college or any community college, for that matter . Do community college students—many of whom go on to four-year colleges, or who are just in community college to brush up on skills they’ve already developed—really need to study abroad? Can they afford to? Can they find the time? The answer to each of the questions above is a resounding “yes.” Educators at community colleges are increasingly finding, just as their fouryear counterparts are, that exposing their students to a global education is no longer a luxury. Rather, it’s a necessary part of preparing students for life and for work globally. Exposure to other countries and foreign students can open eyes and minds not only to different cultures and traditions but also to new ways of doing busi- T MassBay Community College Professor Edward McCourt back row, center and his students visited the famous Coliseum during a January winter session study tour of Rome, Florence, and Venice. Exposure to other countries can open eyes and minds to new ways of doing business and solving problems. ness and solving problems. Nearly 50 percent of all students enrolled in college in the United States are attending community colleges. Many of these students will not go on to a four-year institution. Instead, when their community college education is over, they will go out into, or return to, the working world. It is a world that is global in nature, one in which knowledge of different countries, continents, cultures, and customs is essential to success. More than 90 percent of Americans believe it is important to prepare future generations for a global society, according to a December 2005 national poll commissioned by NAFSA: Association of International Educators. Those workers who truly understand the cultures and customs of those with whom they interact—even if it is only by telephone or e-mail—are those who are best prepared to interact with their global colleagues. And, by extension, they are the ones most likely to rise through the ranks and take on positions of increased responsibility and increased compensation. T h e U.S. State Department acknowledged this in a 2004 report on the growing popularity of studying abroad. Commenting on the report in an official dispatch, State Department Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs Patricia S. Harrison said that studying abroad is “a sign that our students 40 | March 2007 universitybusiness.com MP 13:60:21 70/12/2 04 ddni.703ytmmC Warning : Unknown : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in Unknown on line 0 Warning : Unknown : Failed to write session data files . Please verify that the current setting of session.save_path is correct /var/lib/php/session in Unknown on line 0 http://universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - March 2007

Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
Stats Watch
Sense of Place
Viewpoint
Marketing
Human Resources
Financial Aid
Money Matters
Community Colleges
Title IX Turns 35
It’s Electric
Lost in Space
Transportation Trends
Details of Retail
Business Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business - March 2007