The educational horizon shifts south for U.S. border colleges

Black Issues in Higher Education, March 6, 1997 by James E. Garcia

AUSTIN, Texas -- Inspired by - the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), community colleges throughout the Southwest are developing curricula catering to a growing number of students seeking careers linked to hemispheric trade.

School officials in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas say the increasing integration of the North American economies have provided a new sense of urgency to efforts to expand ties with Mexico.

The rush for cross-border collaboration -- exchange programs, sabbaticals, cultural tours and enhanced foreign language programs has a distinct, trade-oriented spin.

Dr. David Pierce, president of the American Association of Community Colleges, says schools believe that the term "community" -- mentioned in most schools' mission statements -- no longer should be defined in a narrow, geographic context.

"Not only are local communities composed of growing numbers of immigrants," he writes in a recent report on burgeoning international programs, "but also the economies of these communities are increasingly dependent on effective relationships with other countries."

San Diego Community College District Chancellor Augie Gallego recently returned from meetings in Mexico with university officials interested in expanding exchange programs.

"We cannot simply mouth the words globalization and internationalization of education," Gallego says "We need to see it, touch it, and do whatever we can to promote it."

San Diego, for example, sends faculty to Guanajuato, Mexico, where they teach Mexican university instructors about the latest technological and educational advancements in their respective fields.

While sending its faculty to Mexico helps improve the educational system there, Gallego says the program goes a long way toward "demystifying and dispelling myths about the people Mexico."

Says Dr. Nanette Pascal, director of the International Language Institute at Richmond College in the Dallas County Community College District: "When NAFTA came along, our program really began to grow."

And now, NAFTA may be expanding its reach into South America. The Clinton administration has indicated in recent weeks that it is committed to admitting Chile into the NAFTA fold. Some economists believe Argentina and Venezuela can't be far behind.

Richmond created a two-semester program for students who want to study business-Spanish. Designed for intermediate and advanced Spanish-language majors, it also is used at four-year universities in Texas and one of Mexico's most prestigious universities, Technological Institute of Higher Studies in Monterrey.

Monterrey is northern Mexico's major industrial and financial center, and "Monterrey Tech" and Richmond hope to develop a joint international business management certification program.

"Our university has become very interested in developing more contacts with (U.S.) schools," said Elsa Hinojosa, director of the standardized test development at Monterrey Tech, which has gained acclaim for the development of a standardized proficiency test for Spanish majors from the United States who plan to teach in Latin America.

In Tucson, Arizona, the Pima County Community College District is developing several cooperative programs with Mexican colleges and universities, says Lisa Nutt, who heads international projects.

Pima already sends English-as-a Second-Language instructors to Oaxaca in the summer to teach English to Mexican language instructors The population of Oaxaca, located on the border with Guatemala, is largely Mayan an Indian and the state has some of Mexico's lowest literacy rates.

Another program allows Pima's international business students to spend two semesters abroad -- one in Canada and one in Mexico Nutt says universities in those countries agreed to make similar arrangements for their students.

Nutt says her job also entails boosting enrollment by Latin American students. Attending a community college along the border makes sense, she says because students may feel more comfortable culturally in Southwestern states, all of which have significant Latino populations.

Studying international business at a community college also is far less expensive for Latin American students, who often pay much higher tuition rates in their home countries.

Pima also has developed close ties with Mexico's education department, which promises to serve as a conduit to the country's 400 or so technical schools.

Cooperating with U.S. schools could bring changes to Mexico, which does not operate a U.S.-style community college system, says Dr. Rebecca Brown, director of international education at the Maricopa County Community College in Phoenix.

Guadalajara officials, for instance, are in the early stages of discussions with Maricopa administrators about using the United States second-largest community college district as a model to develop Mexico's first community college district.

The growth in cross-border relations, not surprisingly, created a need for a U.S.-Mexico organization dedicated to community college issues.