BMCC Kicks Off Bold Plan to Expand Study Abroad Through Partnership With CIEE

Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) has formed a partnership with the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), a nonprofit intercultural exchange organization that creates opportunities for Study Abroad students and facilitates their understanding of communities and cultures in the countries they visit.

The CIEE team travelled from Maine, Pennsylvania, Boston, New Hampshire and Harlem to join BMCC leadership, faculty and staff for a speaker program and luncheon in Fiterman Hall on January 24.

Dr. Sanjay Ramdath, Vice President of Enrollment Management at BMCC, hosted the event, which opened with remarks from BMCC President Anthony E. Munroe.

“We are creating a unique partnership between BMCC and CIEE,” said Dr. Munroe. “We embark on this journey to create global experiences and experiential learning for our students through open dialogue and in the spirit of collaboration.”

James Pellow, President and CEO at CIEE, spoke about CIEE’s history and the connection with BMCC.

“Today CIEE has Study Abroad and internship opportunities for students in 40 locations around the world,” said Dr. Pellow. “All of that comes from conversations like we’re having today. We are here to listen to what is important to you and your vision; what you envision for the experience of your students and how we can whittle that down and make it all work.”

CIEE works with over 225 college programs providing Study Abroad internships in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.

Meeting materials prepared by CIEE and based on an earlier meeting with BMCC leadership reported that by 2028, the BMCC Study Abroad program with CIEE will provide a global experience “for every BMCC student that wants one.”

Patrick Moran, Vice President, College Enrollment, CIEE said collaborative efforts to expand Study Abroad will be grounded in and reflect BMCC’s vision for global education.

Allison Moroney, Executive Director, Institutional Relations, CIEE, described goals to scale and expand BMCC’s current Study Abroad program, adding a thousand students to the program over the next four years.

This expansion of Study Abroad and internship experiences will involve developing curricula across many disciplines, to embed in the international experience.

By 2028, she said, BMCC will have Study Abroad partners and programs offered “at the right time of year, at the right length, the right price, and which will be relevant to what students are studying and outcomes we want them to achieve.”

“We’re going to do all that by helping to create a global curriculum and culture here on campus,” said Ms. Moroney. “We build this culture alongside everything you are doing with your curriculum and student life here at BMCC.”

Other CIEE staff at the meeting included Stacy Benjamin, Director, Professional Development; Sara Hart, Manager, Institutional Relations; Nora Larkin, Director, Custom Programs and Maureen Sullivan, Director, Institutional Relations.

Erwin Wong, Sr. Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost at BMCC, spoke as part of the program and pointed out that the BMCC slogan “Start here. Go Anywhere,” could also be phrased, “Start Here. Learn Everywhere.”

“As many of you know, BMCC’s mission is always about student success,” said Dr. Wong. “Everything that a student does at our college is geared toward building their success after college, whether they transfer to a bachelor’s degree program or enter the workforce.”

He added that while BMCC students have challenges—40 percent qualify as Pell grant recipients, and are living at the poverty level—the data also show that BMCC graduates experience increased economic mobility, a rise in two out of five quintiles, a measurement used to assess household income in the United States.

“We want students to succeed, to get a better life and contribute,” said Dr. Wong. “Study Abroad can help make that happen. Providing students with global perspective is a challenge, but Study Abroad provides our students with opportunities they wouldn’t get, otherwise.”

Marva Craig, Vice President of Student Affairs at BMCC, said that Study Abroad is a funding priority at BMCC and reflects the blend of cultures at the College.

“If our students were sitting around the tables with us right now, saying what country they or their families are from, we could go two or three tables and get no repeats,” said Dr. Craig.

Even so, she explained, students at BMCC could benefit from the opportunity to develop a more global perspective, one that goes beyond their own experience.

She also stressed the importance of Study Abroad being affordable for students.

“Our Study Abroad program recognizes that some of our students can’t afford to pay for both the course credit and travel expenses,” said Dr. Craig. “We can change this through a different model of funding.”

For more information on Study Abroad at BMCC, please contact Sandra Cortez, BMCC Experiential Learning and Study Abroad Program Manager at scortez@bmcc.cuny.edu.