Today’s Demands for Global Awareness: The Community College Dimension.

Our failure to give students an adequate education in national and global concerns creates low political participation and general cynicism. International exchanges in education can illuminate the connections between world events and the day-to-day lives of students and teachers. Brookdale Community College (BCC) in New Jersey sponsors a program in Ecuador’s largest city of Guayaquil which allows Ecuadorian natives a quality college-level education in English and Spanish, and gives American students and faculty the opportunity to learn about Ecuadorian culture, history, and business. The Brookdale/Guayaquil (BCC/G) campus has an enrollment of about 250 Ecuadorian students, 50 American students, and 15 faculty members. Enrolled Latin American students can earn up to 45 semester hours and can obtain an associate’s degree by completing the last 15 credits at Brookdale’s New Jersey campus, the University of South Carolina, Edison State College of New Jersey, or other schools. Fifty Ecuadorians have graduated from colleges in the United States since the program began in 1984. BCC/G also serves as host to the “Partnership for Service Learning,” an international program where students live with local families, study local culture, and volunteer in community service and development projects. Brookdale faculty members also offer classes for Ecuadorian elementary and secondary teachers to strengthen curriculum development and teaching skills. (KP) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document.