Southwestern College students can study in Chula Vista, National City, San Ysidro and Otay Mesa. Not to mention Paris, Florence, Italy and Cape Town, South Africa.
Studying abroad can be a powerful experience. Southwestern College's Center for International Studies Program (CISP) encourages students to study abroad regardless of their economic situation. SWC students would be wise to take advantage of this life-changing opportunity.
CISP's main focus is to help students study in other countries and support international students who want to study here.
One thrust is to keep prices as low as possible. Some students at SWC take their general education classes with the hopes of eventually continuing onto more prestigious universities. CISP looks over the intersegment general education requirements to ensure that courses satisfy transfer requirements for CSU and UC schools. CISP help students apply for scholarships to raise the money they need to travel internationally.
Students may be concerned about the money involved. Understandable. Studying abroad may seem expensive, but on average SWC students pay about $6,500 a semester. CSU and UC expenses can top $12,000, so it is a bargain. As four-year institutions require students to study abroad for specific majors, students should consider studying through SWC to get the same experience at a better price.
Students will also have the opportunity to make life-long friendships. SWC's CISP is part of the San Diego and Imperial County Community Colleges Association (SDICCCA) consortium, which offer students semester-long study abroad opportunities. Members are Cuyamaca, San Diego Mesa, San Diego City, Miracosta, Grossmont, Miramar and SWC. Students will also be able to make friendships abroad. Daniel Puentes, 21, a public administration major, still talks to his roommates from studying in Florence, Italy last semester.
Students can find comfort taking advantage of this opportunity at SWC. The number of recruited students makes it evident that SWC's CISP values their students, giving more reason for students to take this program into consideration. On average, each school should recruit eight students to reach the 50-student requirement. SWC has once been able to recruit 17 students for one program.
"If it doesn't serve the interest of students on this campus, there's no point to be here," said CISP Director Carla Kirkwood. "It's like teaching in a classroom to what, nobody?"
Kirkwood said CISP is like an extension of a classroom.
"It's about giving the students the experience they need," said Kirkwood.
CISP personnel spend countless hours making the program possible and affordable for SWC students. Students are number one on CISP's agenda and frankly, students today would prefer their teachers to know exactly what they want with the education they are paying for.
"We work really hard given our limited resources and everything goes towards students," said Kirkwood. "I don't spend a lot of time with many other people than students."
Who wouldn't go for low prices, new friends and life-changing experiences? Daniel Puentes said he enjoyed the value in learning abroad.
"I see things in a different perspective," he said.
Puentes said his experience abroad made him grow more independently as a person. He said it has influenced his interest to work in some foreign country in the future.
"Now I can see what is out there," said Puentes. "It was a better learning experience. Not only would we see it in books, we'd actually see it in real life."
Take the time to learn about the CISP. Students will be wise to consider the three types of programs CISP offers. In fall 2009, students will study abroad in Paris, France. In Spring 2010 SDICCCA plans to study in Florence, Italy with SWC as its host. The short-term program in Cape Town, South Africa took place March 31 to April 13.
"The world is global," said Kirkwood. "If we've learned anything in the economic crisis, it's that nobody stands alone. For you to be competitive in the field, you want to have an awareness of this global reality. And living in it to some degree is going to increase your transfer, resume and your ability to work in multiple cultural situations."
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