From faculty exchanges to study abroad programs, Virginia's Community Colleges are making international education a integral part of their program. Lectures, international travel presentations, faculty and student exchange programs, and study abroad all help students develop a fundamental understanding of the interdependent world in which we live.
Travel or study abroad opportunities have included Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Belize, Nicaragua, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Greeze, England, Ireland, Wales Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Ghana, Egypt, Turkey and Hong Kong.
Faculty exchanges through the VaCIE-VCCS international exhcange program have taken participants to the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, to Jadavpur University in Kolkata, India and to Sunyani Polytechnic in Ghana. Every faculty member is matched with a Dutch, british, Indian or Ghanaian faculty member, preferably from the same discipline. In addition, institutional partnerships have been created in Russia and Manchester, England; and faculty have received travel awards to Czechoslsovakia, Ecuador, Mexico and the University of Rowanda.
Cultural awareness days and international student lunches are held on campuses all over Virginia, allowing students, faculty and staff to share food, national dress and their cultural heritage. Lord Fairfax Community College sponsored a "global awareness day" in March 2008 that featured speakers from over 35 countries.
Colleges often offer scholarships to allow more students to participate in travel abroad opportunities. At Danville, for instance, up to 10 students have the opportunity to travel and study in European nations through the Barksdale-Rorrer Study Abroad Endowed Scholarships.