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Polish students interested in studying in the U.S. will want to visit the Community College Fair in Warsaw October 8 from 16:00 to 20:00. The Fulbright Program is co-sponsoring the event, which we be held at the Radisson SAS Centrum, ul. Grzybowska 24.
Various community colleges will offer information and advice on enrollment, tuition and transfer of classroom credit to other academic institutions.
Why Students Choose U.S. Community Colleges
Community colleges provide the first two years of a university education, leading to students being able to transfer to a university for an additional two years to complete the Bachelor’s Degree. This system is called “2+2.” These institutions are an important sector of the U.S. higher education system. There are nearly 1,200 accredited community colleges with an enrollment of 11 million students.
Increasing numbers of international students are choosing to begin their higher education in the U.S. at community colleges. During the past decade, the growth of international students attending U.S. community colleges increased by 57 percent.
Open Doors 2003 Report on International Education Exchange reports that more than 96,000 international students were enrolled in associate degree programs in 2002-03, representing about one fifth of all international students in the United States.
Most community colleges have adopted a global focus and embrace the value of an international perspective in educating students for the 21st century. The key features that are clear-cut advantages to international students are: easier entry, a more supportive learning environment, affordable costs, entrepreneurial spirit, and community responsiveness.
For international students, community colleges are the “gateway to higher education in the United States” - an opportunity to study for two years, obtain an Associate Degree, and then transfer to a four-year university to study for a Baccalaureate Degree.
The reasons why international students select a U.S. community college include:
- Opportunity to transfer to 4 year universities upon receiving the Associate Degree
- Significant savings in tuition fees
- Lower TOEFL scores, with the opportunity to take ESL classes on campus to upgrade English skills
- Latest technology for use in instruction and assessment
- Focus on Student Learning (i.e. qualified professors teaching classes and small class size)
Special international student support office students
Community college alumni include such notable persons as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California; George Lucas, Producer/Director; Tom Hanks and Clint Eastwood, Actors; Walt Disney; Calvin Klein, Designer, Genome Scientist Craig Ventnor. Other alumni include U.S. Congressional representatives and other high level U.S. government officials, space shuttle pilots, television news anchors, and chief executive officers of Fortune 500 corporations.
Community colleges also create strategic partnerships with corporations such as Microsoft, Disney, Coca-Cola, Hewlett Packard, and SunGard SCT, Inc.
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