Maintaining Global Perspective in an Ever-Closing World

By Gregory Malveaux, Collegewide Coordinator, Study Abroad; Professor of English, Montgomery College

A Rude Awakening

As college-wide coordinator of Montgomery College Study Abroad, I approached the spring 2020 semester with enthusiasm about the implementation of coming short term abroad programs (one to three weeks in length), including a program to Japan.  Despite reports of a widespread virus in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, I remained confident in our programs because I had accrued a healthy dose of risk management experience against overseas viruses.  As coordinator, I had successfully navigated Montgomery College (MC) students from exposure to various foreign pandemics, from Swine Flu to SARS, Ebola to the Avian Bird Flu, and seemingly everything in between. Yet Covid-19 turned out to be unprecedented. Even the University of Maryland, a proponent of global education and host to some 3,600 international students (“International Student”), cancelled all of its spring and summer study abroad programs. Soon after, the MC study abroad program to Japan would have to be cancelled. Though disappointed, I figured that I could still provide other regions of the world to our students to do overseas studies. Then the outbreak spread rapidly throughout Europe, South America, Africa, and around the globe. In my field (and many others), the world had shut itself off.

The Advantage of Study Abroad

So why is study abroad important for students in the first place? This high impact learning approach provides higher education students a top notch education, prepares them for a global job market, and can bring new and immeasurable maturity to students. I recall various times students who mused, “I have never left the District (of Columbia) before going abroad,” or reflected, “Prior to this experience abroad, I had never left the state. Now that I have seen the world, I will never be the same.” There is no greater joy that comes than seeing struggling students completely shift their academic and employment trajectory. Studies tell the same story. Undergraduate students who study abroad see their GPAs rise twice as quickly as a result of going abroad compared to students who stay in town. In addition, college graduates will find a job 50% faster, earn on average $7,000 more per year with a first job, and will far more likely be placed in leaderships positions by employers if they have studied abroad (What Study Abroad Statistics Show, 2020).

Impacts of the Pandemic

With the spread of COVID-19, the study abroad industry may have possibly altered forever. US study abroad remains at a standstill. Fortunately, there are signs that study and travel may be a possibility next summer. My study abroad colleagues from around the world and I are pondering how we can provide students study abroad or international education experiences when they are stuck at home. Closure of international flights, travel agencies, and international businesses; coupled with social distancing, has completely taken the physicality out of study abroad. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The good news is that study abroad coordinators, faculty leaders of study abroad, and international education leaders are resilient, and have come up with intelligent and creative virtual program approaches that give students enriching substitutes for valuable parts of traditional study abroad programs.

To serve study abroad students, I have always espoused the idea of open-mindedness and flexibility when taking on study abroad and global education. More than ever, that theory is being put though the test since dormancy is not an option. The next sections detail options for Montgomery College students as we all face changes to study abroad and global learning experiences.

Option One: Global Exchange through Social Media

Though not the perfect solution, one way to continue to bring global perspective and culturally-rich exchanges to students is by bringing the world to them; and with an approach that they really embrace–social media. I have been working with the College Consortium for International Studies (CCIS) to bring to MC students casual, yet edifying exchanges with international students, instructors, and/or global community members. Here is a sample week of activities:

? Tuesday, June 16th, 10:30 am ET – Virtual Tour with Institute of American Universities (IAU) in New Zealand on Facebook Live

? Wednesday, June 17th, 11:30 am ET – Universidad Veritas Webinar on their *new* Online/Hybrid Programs on Zoom

☕ Thursday, June 18th, 11:00 am ET – Scotland Coffee Break with the University of Dundee and the University of Stirling on Zoom

? Thursday, June 18th, all-day – University of Canterbury Instagram Takeover.

The hope is that international exchanges may bring students newfound interests with research, academic studies, or work opportunities with a global context.

Option Two: Virtual International Internships

The job market has substantially decreased due to COVID-19 related closures of businesses and companies. Therefore, it is extremely important to give students as much exposure as possible to work and internship opportunities; as a result, they will be more attractive prospects for employment in this lean market. Virtual internships provide this; it was essential to hav

e the best organization put in to place for serve our students. The British Council Generation UK-China Initiative, or CRCC-Asia, is a leading provider of study abroad internships, and has adjusted well to COVID-19 restrictions. My colleagues and I were able to attend their “Asia Virtual Internships” webinar. This provider was also aware that overseas internship participation is on the rise and gives young professionals a needed advantage to enhance their global employability (CRCC-Asia, 2020). CRCC-Asia is a standout with overseas internship offerings in eighteen career fields at well-established entrepreneurial companies throughout the world (CRCC-Asia, 2020). These internships provide the type of flexibility necessary to accommodate MC students—busy with family, work, and limited time in their daily schedule. Internships may be one, two, or three-month placements, part or full time (twenty to thirty hours a week). A bonus to the internship is that with additional contact hours and costs, students may also earn three, six, or nine academic credits from St. Peter’s University in New Jersey. Overall, the virtual international internship opportunity from this provider has been a positive addition for the MC students who desire improved marketability and experience in the global workforce.

Option Three: Instructive App for Global Experiences and Safety

Students can engage in instructive global activities while taking ownership of their own safety. MC Study Abroad can partner with the company, OffWeGo, to provide our students a central data management platform, or application, to track and manage the risks associated with travel, while offering a fun and engaging social tool to track educational venues and itineraries (OffWeGo, 2019). Students use this application while doing in-country travel. Risk management is very relevant for summer travel in the US. We have potential hazards: areas that are hotbeds of protests and demonstrations, closed lodging and sites due to COVID-19 restrictions, and other obstacles. This app allows students to discover unique, safe, and current international activities and venues in-country, while receiving notices on the safety and political climate of the area. Of course, this app will expand in its use when overseas studies re-open.

While providing important information and safety for student users, the application also allows me greater awareness of their goings-on, or overall duty of care. Incentivizing students to submit the required travel data, the application automatically aggregates students’ travel itinerary and travel data, and sends it to the administrator (me).

Staying Informed and Connected

What has been an unforeseen positive outcome with the pandemic is the innovative and effective delivery of global education that has resulted while limited from travel. It has been a fun journey attending virtual international conferences, engaging in professional presentations given by leading global agencies, and holding Zoom meetings with study abroad and international education developers at various colleges and universities around the country. Even when physical study and travel reopens, I will continue to keep much of the current international initiatives and approaches in place. This time period has revealed that I am in good company: my global education colleagues have shown new openness to sharing professional approaches, and the result has been a more unified effort to deliver international opportunities to our students. For example, with the consortium that I co-Chair, the Maryland Community College International Education Consortium (MCCIEC), our group recently won a $35,000 Department of State (DOS) grant; I will complete the African diaspora portion of a study abroad plan to take place in Ghana or Tobago. Since there is a good chance that students will not be able to physically go to these countries, we will arrange for specialized, online courses and activities through the overseas institutions. More news on this is to come. The point is that now is the perfect time to lean on the resources you already have. Thankfully, amidst great restrictions have come increased outreach, innovation, and collaboration which have strengthened the study abroad and international education field.

Embracing Challenges Ahead

It used to be the case that when study abroad and international education leaders spoke about a “shrinking world,” we fondly considered the increasing accessibility, global community, and improved interconnectivity maintained with other nations and their people. We appreciated sharing these foreign resources with our students. In our new COVID-19 world, we have been cut off from all that we once knew.  If we as study abroad leaders fall into the wrong mindset, we will begin to think that at-risk students who have never gone beyond the border of the greater Washington DC area will never be able to become global citizens. We are challenged with a new reality. Study abroad coordinators and international educators are facing, embracing, and working through it. As our students are physically restricted from exploring the world, we are taking it upon ourselves to bring the world to them.

 References

CRCC-Asia. (2020). https://www.crccasia.com/

DeRosa, Katie. (2020, May 6). International-Student Enrollment Plunges, Teachers Facing Lay

Offs. Times Colonist. https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/international-student-enrolment-plunges-teachers-facing-layoffs-1.24130292

International Student & Scholar Services. (2019). University of Maryland. https://globalmaryland.umd.edu/offices/international-students-scholar-services/internationalstudents#:~:text=The%20University%20of%20Maryland%2C%20College,100%20majors%20and%20degree%20programs!

Knudson, Annalese. (May 6, 2020). International Student Struggles among Coronavirus—‘I’m

Literally Stuck Here. Silive.com https://www.silive.com/coronavirus/2020/05/international-student-struggles-amid-coronavirus-im-literally-stuck-here.html

OffWeGo: Student-Centric Risk Management. (2019). https://www.offwego.io/

What Statistics Show About Study Abroad Students. (2020). University of California, Merced. https://studyabroad.ucmerced.edu/study-abroad-statistics/statistics-study-abroad

Dr. Gregory F. Malveaux is a professor at Montgomery College, has been a study abroad coordinator and international education coordinator in higher education for over a decade and a half, is co-Chairperson of the Maryland Community College International Education Consortium, and serves on the board for the College Consortium for International Studies. In addition, he is an accomplished writer; most recently, he edited, Study Abroad Opportunities for Community College Students and Strategies for Global Learning (IGI-Global, 2019), and is currently editing a new book, International Students at Community Colleges: Challenges and Future Directions (Routledge Press, 2021) as part of a fall sabbatical project. He has traversed more than sixty countries and has led student, faculty and community-based study abroad programs to Africa, Asia, Central America, South America, and Europe. His passion to be a global citizen led him to pursue overseas studies in Africa, teach ESOL throughout Southeast Asia, Chair the English and U.S. Business Department at Nation University in Thailand, and serve as a study abroad specialist in American higher education. He is dedicated to cultivating strong program accountability among study abroad program leaders, as well as safe overseas opportunities for all.