FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 19, 2004
CONTACT: Kay Hendricks, ACCD Coordinator of Communication, 210/208-8006

ALAMO COMMUNITY COLLEGES TO ASSESS EFFECTIVENESS OF EFFORTS TO INTERNATIONALIZE THEIR CURRICULUM

Palo Alto College, a college of the Alamo Community College District, has been awarded a U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) grant to participate in the project, “Lessons Learned in Assessing International Learning.” Palo Alto will serve as the lead institution for ACCD on the three-year international project, administering the grant monies and providing matching funds. Palo Alto and the other ACCD colleges—Northwest Vista College, St. Philip’s College and San Antonio College—will each put together teams to participate in the project activities The American Council on Education (ACE) will oversee the project that received a grant totaling $528,211.

The objective of the project is to document global competence and assess student progress in selected courses, with the goal of graduating students who are knowledgeable about global issues and perspectives. Graduating globally competent students has been a goal of many of America’s colleges and universities for many years.

“This grant will help us to further our goal of internationalizing our curriculum in order to best prepare our students for success in a rapidly shrinking world,” said Dr. J. Terence Kelly, ACCD chancellor. “We are committed to providing our students with a global perspective which will serve them well in every aspect of their lives.”

Dr. Thomas B. Baynum, Palo Alto College vice president of academic affairs, said, “Palo Alto faculty are active participants in this national dialogue to integrate global views into our curriculum. With the collaboration of the colleges in the project, Palo Alto will be able to assess our effectiveness in internationalizing our curriculum for the benefit of our students.”

According to Paul F. Hassen of ACE, “During the first year of the project, the teams will translate a set of international learning outcomes into performance indicators, develop assessment procedures, and initiate the first assessment. In the second year, the project teams will assess student achievement, discuss lessons learned about the assessment process, and consider how to use the results to formulate recommendations for improvement. During the third year, the teams will develop plans to improve student learning at each institution and the dissemination of lessons learned to the larger higher education community.”

Palo Alto is one of six institutions of higher education chosen to administer funds for the grant. The others are Dickinson College (PA), James Madison University (VA), Kalamazoo College (MI), Kapi’olani Community College (HI), and Michigan State University.

ACE is a comprehensive association of colleges and universities dedicated to issues and advocacy on behalf of quality higher education programs with more than 1,800 members including accredited degree-granting colleges and universities, related associations, organizations, and corporations.

Northwest Vista College, Palo Alto College, St. Philip’s College and San Antonio College, the colleges of the ACCD, offer day, evening and weekend classes, plus Internet courses and telecourses. Several of the colleges also offer weekend degree options that allow students to earn a two-year associate’s degree on weekends.

The four ACCD colleges are conveniently located on the southside, northwest, north central and eastside of San Antonio. Classes are also offered at St. Philip’s College’s Southwest Campus near KellyUSA, at the Northeast Campus at 7990 Pat Booker Road, at the district’s Advanced Technology Center at KellyUSA and at off-campus locations, including local businesses and military bases. Tuition at the ACCD colleges is the lowest in Bexar County, and a wealth of financial aid, including scholarships, loans and grants, is available for qualified students.