[ti:The Community College Initiative Program]
[ar:Jerilyn Watson]
[al:Education Report]
[by:www.21voa.com]
[00:00.00]From VOA Learning English,
[00:02.52]this is the Education Report.
[00:05.57]Last week, we reported about
[00:08.07]community colleges in the United States.
[00:11.37]Some educators say these two-year colleges
[00:14.64]may be a good choice for international students
[00:18.05]who have finished secondary school
[00:20.10]and want to study in America.
[00:22.51]Today, we tell about program
[00:25.27]at some American community colleges
[00:27.83]for students from several nations.
[00:30.79]It is called the Community College Initiative Program,
[00:34.85]it lasts one year.
[00:36.92]It is for students from areas underserved
[00:40.19]in education and skills training.
[00:42.70]Since 2007, about 2,100 students from sixty nations
[00:49.11]have taken part in the program.
[00:51.07]The Bureau of Educational Affairs
[00:53.66]of the United States State Department
[00:56.22]provides for their needs.
[00:58.42]Three consortia or organizations of community colleges
[01:03.27]administer the program with the Bureau of Educational Affairs.
[01:08.27]Schools across the country take part.
[01:11.06]Syedur Rahman is project director of the Community College Consortium
[01:16.99]led by Northern Virginia Community College.
[01:20.70]He says United States community colleges offer possibilities
[01:25.52]for foreign students whose governments can not do so.
[01:29.29]He says many students in poor, rural areas
[01:33.34]do not have an equal chance to succeed.
[01:37.14]They have few resources than students in big cities.
[01:41.34]At the start of their stay in America,
[01:44.69]students deepen their knowledge of English,
[01:47.34]and learn about their school's surroundings.
[01:50.35]They have several fields of study to choose from,
[01:53.70]including Information Technology,
[01:56.37]Business Administration and Agriculture.
[02:00.07]Other areas open to them include the Hotel and Visitors Industries,
[02:05.48]Media and Journalism, Engineering and Health.
[02:09.49]Students attend classes and study at school.
[02:13.54]But they also are active in other school activities.
[02:18.50]They hold internships at businesses and nonprofit organizations.
[02:23.72]Program members at Muscatine Community College
[02:27.17]in Iowa are a good example.
[02:30.13]They can complete internships at businesses
[02:33.48]from local farms to large companies.
[02:36.69]Students also give presentations
[02:39.14]about their countries to other students,
[02:41.79]and to local communities.
[02:43.70]And they do many hours of community service.
[02:47.20]At Miami Dade College in Florida this year,
[02:50.95]Community College Initiative Program students took part
[02:55.18]in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of National Service.
[02:59.84]You can get more information about the program
[03:03.13]from the Public Affairs Section of the United States Embassy
[03:07.59]in your country.
[03:08.70]That's the Education Report from VOA Learning English.
[03:13.84]For more stories about education,
[03:16.76]visit our website, 51voa.com.
[03:23.82]I'm Jerilyn Watson.
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