Northwest Arkansas Students give high marks to college's partnership with Italian school

Evelyn Jorgenson (left), president of Northwest Arkansas Community College, poses with fellow travelers in front of the Colosseum in Rome during the first NWACC in Italy study abroad program this summer.
Evelyn Jorgenson (left), president of Northwest Arkansas Community College, poses with fellow travelers in front of the Colosseum in Rome during the first NWACC in Italy study abroad program this summer.

BENTONVILLE -- Some Northwest Arkansas Community College students had the opportunity to study in Italy this summer through a new partnership the college has forged with a university there.

photo

Courtesy Photo/MILES FISH

A group associated with Northwest Arkansas Community College poses in June with a statue of composer Giacomo Puccini outside the Puccini Birth Museum in Lucca, Tuscany, in Italy.

Twelve students spent four weeks in June at the Universita per Stranieri di Siena -- translated as the University for Foreigners of Siena.

Study abroad

Northwest Arkansas Community College is offering four study-abroad programs in 2017:

• Caribbean Societies in Haiti: May 27-June 4

• World Civilization in Greece: May 24-June 8

• Multidisciplinary studies in Thailand: June 3-24

• Music, photography and language in Siena, Italy: June 1-July 1

Source: Northwest Arkansas Community College

They took an Italian language course taught by a university faculty member and a music appreciation course taught by Miles Fish, a Northwest Arkansas Community College music professor. They received a total of six credit hours for the two classes.

The college runs other study-abroad programs, but its relationship with the Siena school -- one that allows students to take courses from both a Siena instructor and an instructor from the college -- makes the Italy program unusual, Fish said.

"Personally, I don't know of another study-abroad program exactly like it," he said.

Community colleges nationwide reported 6,404 students studying abroad for academic credit at their home institution for the 2013-14 school year, according to Sharon Witherell, director of public affairs for the Institute of International Education. The figure is up from 5,907 -- an 8.4 percent increase -- the previous year, she said.

Italy was the top destination for community college students studying abroad during the 2013-14 school year at 13.1 percent. The United Kingdom was second at 11.3 percent, according to the institute.

Fish has traveled to Siena every summer since 2001 to attend classes, lead tours and conduct research, particularly on Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi. He met with the university's school language director last year to finalize the "NWACC in Italy" summer program for 2016.

Fish said he's proud of how the students performed and behaved on the trip.

"They left here as citizens of Arkansas. By the time they left Italy, I think they felt like they were citizens of the world," he said.

Julia Ayala, 19, of Rogers was among the students who participated.

"When I got back, I felt like the trip had opened my eyes," Ayala said. "I wanted to go everywhere when I got back. I was like, I'm ready to go on another trip. Let me leave my suitcase packed, because I want to go somewhere else."

Ayala and several other students who were part of the program said they hope to return to Siena for the next summer session.

Valeria Rueda, 20, of Rogers is eyeing a career in international business. She appreciated the chance to glimpse how business is conducted in another country.

"I like learning. I like seeing how different things are done and that makes me want to return, especially now that I kind of know the language," Rueda said.

Evelyn Jorgenson, the college's president, joined the group for part of its trip. She and two other adults audited the classes and went on excursions with the students.

The language class met Monday through Friday for about five hours each day. Only Italian was spoken in the class. Jorgenson said she hung in there as best as she could.

"Personally I would have found it helpful if they had used a little bit of English to help me out," she said, with a laugh.

Jorgenson called the program a fabulous opportunity for students to gain a larger perspective on the world.

"If all they know is living here in Arkansas, and they haven't traveled much, they really don't have an appreciation for how big and how diverse and how different the world is," she said.

Asked about the program's benefit to the college, Jorgenson said anything that helps students helps the college.

"But if you want to look at it from another perspective, we are providing the students with high-caliber learning experiences. And that is what a college needs to do. And I don't want anyone to think that the only way they can get high-caliber learning experiences is by going to a big university," Jorgenson said.

When they weren't in class, the Northwest Arkansas group took field trips to places such as the Birthplace Museum of Giacomo Puccini, a great opera composer; the Colosseum in Rome; and the city of Florence.

The NWACC in Italy program will continue next year provided enough students sign up for it. Victor Chalfant, a photography and graphic design professor at the college, will teach a photography course in Siena. Fish also will teach a vocal ensemble course.

The courses offered by the college in Siena will change each summer so students may return for several years without repeating courses. Allowing other college instructors to participate and teach different subjects on a foreign campus is an important aspect of the program, Fish said.

"So far we've offered music and photography. In the future we want to also offer painting, art appreciation, history, philosophy, literature. The possibilities are unlimited," he said.

Program fees are listed as a range of $2,982 to $3,327 on the college's website. That includes tuition and fees for two classes, language tutors, accommodations at the university, day-trip excursions, and project supplies and materials. It does not include airfare or meals.

The program is open to college-age adults and older. Community members and students from all colleges may participate. They may study for college credit or audit classes.

News of the powerful earthquake that shook central Italy and killed more than 200 people this week came as a shock to the Northwest Arkansas students who were on this year's trip.

Though Siena, part of the Tuscany region, was not affected, "I think all of us were affected by it when we saw it because we love Italy. We love the Italians," Fish said. "I think it was especially shocking knowing they are going through such a terrible time right now."

Northwest Arkansas Community College is offering study-abroad trips to Haiti, Thailand and Greece in addition to its program in Italy in 2017. Applications are due Jan. 15.

The trip to Greece is already more than half full and is the college's most popular. Several applications have been submitted for Italy and Thailand, said Jeremy Youmans, director of international programs.

Youmans expects between 40 and 50 students will participate in the college's four study-abroad programs next year, which would be a record for the college, he said.

"In five years I expect us to have at least eight trips going, if not 10," Youmans said.

The college has worked over the past few years to centralize its study-abroad programs to ensure proper procedures and protections are in place, Youmans said.

Any time a faculty member of dean proposes a trip, that proposal must go through the college's Global International Steering Committee. The committee's 10 members grade the proposal individually; the composite grade must hit a certain standard in order for the proposal to move forward, Youmans said.

NW News on 08/27/2016

Upcoming Events