Internationalizing Courses: A Case Study of Community College Faculty.

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that contribute to faculty commitment to internationalization and the approaches faculty take to internationalize their courses at a community college. “While community colleges are historically focused on serving their local communities, the local community has become increasingly global, as community businesses expand overseas, immigration flows increase the ethnic diversity of towns, and worker mobility is an expected reality” (Green & Siaya, 2005, p. 1). Institutions of higher education in the United States recognize the need to internationalize their campuses, and faculty are encouraged to internationalize their courses to prepare students to serve as global citizens. This qualitative study was based on interviews with key faculty members who were actively engaged in the process of internationalization on a south Texas community college campus and in their classrooms. Themes that emerged in an analysis of the resulting data are presented and related to the research questions and professional literature. Conclusions were drawn and general recommendations were made with specific recommendations made to administrators and faculty