from VCCA Journal, Volume 3, Number 1, Spring/Summer 1988, 34-35
© Copyright 1988 VCCA Journal
Although Blue Ridge Community College is presently at the "awareness" stage, the first of seven acknowledged stages in the development of an international/intercultural program, several activities have been implemented or completed at the college to foster its development.
Among these are a survey made of faculty to determine the use of international source materials in classes, a survey of area high schools which found that forty-six students had studied in a foreign country, and a grant application made by ten BRCC instructors to provide a faculty training program for international/intercultural approaches in instruction.
The interaction between the college and its service area has also been an attempt to promote international and intercultural awareness. Elementary students were offered two classes last summer in Soviet and African culture, area businessmen were invited to participate in global-trade teleconference series, and the BRCC nursing program has received funding for a workshop on nursing patients of different cultures. Preliminary discussions have been held with the Valley Arts Alliance to present an international festival in the Shenandoah Valley. Also, instructors at BRCC, Mary Baldwin College, Fishburne Military School, and Spotswood High School have joined together to create the Central Shenandoah Foreign Language Collaborative.
In the future, Blue Ridge Community College plans to increase its offerings to enhance international and intercultural appreciation and to formally establish a working consortium with area colleges. Specific areas to be shared will include development of international courses, exchange programs for foreign study, expanded foreign language offerings and creation of forums, and inservice training for faculty and staff.