Higher Ed Utah

(David Bell, The Globe Online) — Just like at any bigger school, Salt Lake Community College students will have the opportunity to study abroad in the spring of 2012, but preparations can begin now.

The program begins with an orientation that is actually three credit hour INTL (International) classes. In these classes, students will study the culture and listen to lectures about their chosen destination.

“These are Salt Lake Community College courses,” Sandra Kikuchi, Director of Faculty Services and Study Abroad said.

The countries that students have to choose from are England, Japan, China, and Vietnam. The students will visit these countries for three weeks during spring semester, from May 5 to May 27. The program for traveling to Vietnam is somewhat different, as this class will travel for about two and a half weeks during the month of March. What the students will learn in the country that they visit depends on the syllabus created by the full time faculty member teaching each class.

There has to be a certain number of participants taking these classes and visiting the countries in order for a particular class to be held. For example there has to be a minimum of ten students taking the England study abroad class in order for the class to be held, with a maximum of fifteen students for this class. Depending on the year sometimes the study abroad class will be held with fewer students.

Students must meet certain criteria to enroll in the classes. First, they must be registered as an SLCC student. Students must have at least a 2.0 grade point average, and any student wanting to go must be registered for the course.

Students will be required to do extensive walking, hill climbing, and deal with stairs. While in these countries the students will go out on excursions to experience the country, and then write a paper, or a reflection, on their experience of the outing.

The reason SLCC has the program is because a huge effort is being made to internationalize the school’s curriculum, and for students to learn cultural competency. More…