Since community colleges are unique American institutions of higher education, it is important for international students to understand the various avenues available to them upon attaining their associate’s degree or certificate.

Community colleges offer a vast range of career options for both American and international students. Most of the 10.3 million students who are enrolled at America’s community colleges know exactly why they are there. In fact, the reasons students attend community colleges are often as varied as the backgrounds they represent.

A student may opt to enroll at a community college to obtain an associates degree. In this case, it is possible for that student to transfer the final two years of his or her education to four-year college or university to complete his or her education and receive a bachelor’s degree. This may be the case with someone pursuing an engineering degree. Another option may be for that student to enter the professional world. For example, a person studying graphic arts may only require an associate’s degree to enter the workforce to earn a living.

In the case of occupational courses at community colleges, students enroll for the express purpose of obtaining a certificate, which would allow them to enter a specific career within the workforce. Students enrolled in non-credit courses are doing so because of a need to further their skills in a certain area for either professional or personal reasons.

Once a prospective international student weighs the options available at a community college, he or she should have a better sense of either a future academic or professional goal. Fortunately, there are counselors available for students to help them chart their course. In fact, according to a national survey conducted by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), 63% of the responding colleges provide specialized guidance and counseling services for international students and faulty.

Personal guidance and counseling is especially necessary for international students. Studying in another country can be, at best, an initially confusing experience, and at worst, a very disturbing one. In addition to choosing a major, international students may encounter many other obstacles such as language barriers and managing cultural differences. Once these issues are addressed through guidance counseling, a student will be able to concentrate on his or her academic goals.

Community colleges provide smaller classrooms for students to interact with their peers and their instructors. Better individualizes attention is given to students, as courses are taught by an actual professor most of the time. In the university this task often falls upon a teacher’s assistant.

It is not terribly difficult to believe that misconceptions about community college exists in other countries, since many people in the United States are do not fully comprehend their mission and purpose. Because of the open enrollment policy at community colleges, a prospective international student may think that enrolling at a community college provides an easier avenue to study in the United States. However, these types of institutions are serious, and provide a high-quality education at a very affordable cost, It can also be said that the flexibility of a community college education should be viewed as a benefit to international students. It provides the opportunity for a student from another country to become acclimated to the American system of higher education before potentially proceeding to a four-year institution.

If an international student does wish to transfer from a two-year to a four-year institution, he or she should make sure they know his or her course of academic action. If a student from another country is applying for a student visa to enroll at a American community college and that student does not know exactly why he or she wishes to attend such an institution, then the visa application is likely to be denied. If a student does not answer questions posed by a visa officer clearly, he or she may be viewed as a student who is not serious about their studies in the United States. Or the visa officer may think that the student has little or no intention of returning home, which, again will most likely result in a visa denial.

A student is more likely to have his or her visa approved, if that student has a clear idea of how he or she will benefit from attending a community college, and knows how that type of education will nurture a future career. It is important for a visa officer to know that there is a distinct purpose behind a potential student’s enrollment at a community college. Another way of looking at the issue is that by obtaining an education at a community college, especially an occupational program, a student accrues significant skills before he or she returns home and embarks on a professional career.

International students may also benefit from the community service options offered by community college. Many colleges offer service learning opportunities, which allow students to work in businesses and organizations within the local community so that they understand this type of course and interact with members of the local community, as well as their fellow American students, independently from the classroom environment.

A challenge come international students face while debating whether or not to enroll at a community college is the concern of where they will live. Thirty-three percent of community colleges do have dormitory facilities. This is not an overwhelming number of colleges, however, may colleges offer homestays for international students. This provides an additional opportunity for them to meet other Americans and observe cultural differences.

International students who wish to study at an American community college should have a thorough understanding about the college in which they want to enroll. They should be familiar with the college’s programs, both academic and extracurricular, and they should know whether or not they wish to transfer from a community college into a four-year college or university. Conversely, they should also know if they plan on returning to their home-country with their degree and obtain employment. Students should sort these academic and professional matters out before applying for a visa to study at a community college. But they should also know that some flexibility will exist, should they change their career paths, once they are granted student visas and are enrolled at the college. In any case, a prospective international student should have a clear sense of what he or she will gain from attending a community college.

While a community college is certainly not the right choice for all international students, it can provide many unique opportunities for a student who wishes to obtain a high quality education very inexpensively. And it allows him or her the chance to interact closely with fellow classmates and the community at large.

Author : Audree Chase, Coordinator of International Services for the American Association of Community Colleges

Please visit: http://www.aacc.nche.edu

This article first appeared in Educational Courses in Britain & America