Colleges and universities are vital institutions for addressing political, social, and economic concerns, be they at a local, national, or global level. While embedded in their communities, they contribute substantially to a nation’s competitiveness and operate within an increasingly international environment that links people and institutions together across borders. Colleges and universities are arguably the most resilient and the most sustainable institutions not only for advancing modernization and prosperity but also for ensuring the foundation and continuance of civil society. As such, they are gateways into a future that is in our own hands.

The goal of the GCP Program for College Faculty and Administrators is to explore the factors that may either support or restrain a comprehensive approach to global education within community colleges and to jointly develop strategies for those teaching within community college systems on how they can incorporate a more comprehensive approach to global education. The three main areas of focus are:

Institutional Policies

• Is global education part of the institution’s mission statement?
• Are the college presidents/chancellors and the trustees committed to global education as a priority goal, and are they publicly communicating and propagating this goal?
• Is the issue addressed in a coordinated effort (a strategic plan or an institution-wide committee) and are resources (money, staff time, etc.) allocated to implement activities that will raise global awareness on campus?
• Has the college established partnerships with other educational institutions, as well as community groups, civil society organizations, and business, to share experience in global education, learn from them, listen to needs etc?
• Is the commitment to issues of globalization by individual faculty being encouraged and rewarded by the college’s leadership and made a criterion for hiring new staff?
• Does the college practice what it preaches by adhering to a policy that engages faculty, staff, administration, and students proactively in embracing values of multicultural understanding and sustainability?

Curriculum Enhancement

• How do we make students see the interconnectedness between their consumption and career choices and the effect on others around the world?
• How do we effectively engage our students to be active citizens in the global, national, regional, and local arenas?
• How do we help students sculpt their life-long self-concept to include being an engaged global citizen – and what learning activities will be best suited for addressing these questions?
• Is global education an additive, or is it a pervasive element throughout the entire academic program?
• How can existing programs be recalibrated to include global awareness?
• Where does one find educational materials, tool-kits, etc. for different academic subjects to integrate global awareness into the curriculum? Apart from content, do we need a new didactical approach to teach global citizenship?
• How can global competency be made a measurable outcome of students’ learning experience?
• How can colleges make use of their increasingly international and diverse student population to increase awareness of other cultures and world outlooks?
• What roles can students generally play to bring about transformative change on their campuses?

Faculty Development

• Is the faculty prepared to change and to reorient its teaching and research around issues of globalization and the immediate and future impact of globalization? How can faculty members who are willing to be involved be identified?
• Are faculty development opportunities being provided by the college that could be a basis for common and coordinated action (faculty seminars, sabbaticals, opportunities for exchange, etc)?
• Within the given institutional framework, would it be possible to reallocate faculty work load assignments to provide for development of global competency and involvement in international activities?
• Do job descriptions and tenure and promotion requirements have to be adjusted in order to reward work towards integrating a global agenda into the college’s study program?
• What is needed most to initiate and sustain the commitment of faculty to global education?

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