Community College Pilot Program
From AFSWiki
OVERVIEW
AFS-USA is committed to increasing its hosting capacity through non-traditional program models. One hosting program that is being piloted in the coming year is the Community College Program with a focus on English & Culture. We are proposing pilot clusters with 3-5 students each. One pilot will be in Howard County, Maryland.
In the pilot year, 2012, AFS USA will accept 10 students, and we envision this evolving into a much larger volume program in subsequent years. Currently, the following partners have been invited to participate: Argentina, Belgium-Flemish, Belgium-French, Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, and Turkey.
Students will be placed only with AFS Teams that have sufficient commitment to support this new program. Teams that are interested can contact Jenny Davis (see contact info below) for further information and discussions. Co-support payments follow the core hosting rubric. Teams with some public transportation and/or a good relationship with their community colleges are ideal candidates.
OPTIONS FOR PARTNERS WITH HS GRADUATES
This program pilot has been made a priority to be able to offer partners that send graduates an alternative option. The reality of placing these older students in secondary schools is an increasingly significant challenge. Community colleges in the USA are able to host foreign students and consider this a growing potential market for themselves.
This program pilot is targeted at the graduate who is 18 years old by September 1, 2012. The ideal student for this program will need language learning classes. Participants should be serious about school and see coursework in English as a Second Language (ESL) as important for their future career. Students should also have an interest in interacting with other students from around the world. Course work on this program will assist students in taking the TOEFL exam, and position them to enroll in an academic program leading to an Associate and/or Bachelor Degree.
Community College tuition will be negotiated by AFS USA and paid by AFS USA. Program fees to AFS Partners and their participants will include an uplift for the cost of the tuition.
CULTURAL IMMERSION IN AN ACADEMIC CONTEXT
AFS-USA will identify established and reputable institutions with which to partner on this pilot. Since community colleges are typically smaller campuses with students that commute from home, these placement will provide a robust cultural environment within which the AFS exchange students 1) immerse themselves in the culture and experience a homestay, 2) study English and develop their conversational skills, 3) enrich their global competency through connections with many cultures, 4) learn some US history, geography and government, and 5) are included with the high school students for orientations and AFS local team activities. Intercultural learning components will be delivered in conjunction with core students, with slight modifications for the older age group.
AFS USA is committed to finding volunteer host families for these students, and our goal for all the pilot families is to find typical, unpaid, AFS host families. Students will enter the USA on an F-1 visa provided by the community college. After the pilot, we will determine if this program will require family placements with stipends. Participants are expected to use public transportation to get to and from school.
Participants will travel with high school program participants for NH Arrivals and Departures. Application deadlines and procedures will follow the core program applicant with the addition of needing a skype interview with an Admissions Officer at the college. Volunteer teams will be responsible for finding host families.
Contact Jenny Skillman Davis, Program Development Manager
Address AFS-USA Eastern Service Center in Baltimore
Phone 800-876-2376, ext. 122
Email JDavis@afs.org
Skype richjennyAFS
Contact Tara Hofmann, Sr. Business Strategist
Email Tara.Hofmann@afs.org
