You can now view Calendars of Events for today and upcoming weeks? A complete and up-to-date list of local events is now available on every section of PressRepublican.com.
PLATTSBURGH — Clinton Community College officials have signed an agreement to start enrolling Chinese students, a partnership inspired by a natural disaster.
The articulation agreement will bring students from Beijing University of Business Administration to Clinton Community College for two years before they transfer to Plattsburgh State, which also signed an agreement with the delegation from Beijing.
Under the agreement, Chinese students will start arriving at CCC in fall 2010.
"The presence of international students on campus adds great value to the education that we provide to our local students," CCC President John Jablonski said. "It is one of the important tools that we use to prepare our students for life in the global economy."
BOOST TO CAMPUS
Last year, State University of New York schools enrolled 150 students from China's Sichuan Province, which was devastated by an earthquake in May 2008. Ten of those students attended CCC.
"This college was enriched by the experience," Jablonski said.
"Academically, these students were top-rated, and having their presence in the classroom set a tone of academic seriousness and rigor, and all students rose to the occasion.
"Culturally, it was a great opportunity for local students to interact with people from a different part of the world and learn things they probably wouldn't have learned in a textbook."
BRIDGING A GAP
CCC Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Stephen St. Onge visited China this past October as part of a SUNY group. He met with Guixiang Ping, president of Beijing University of Business Administration, and the pair discussed opportunities for Chinese students to study at CCC.
"There is a growing interest in American education for Chinese students, but many lack English proficiency," St. Onge said.
Nationwide, colleges and universities, including Plattsburgh State, have seen a significant rise in Chinese students at their institutions.
"Clinton Community College can act as a bridge," St. Onge said.
The school presents China with an open door to American education, he said.
"It adds great cultural and learning value for American students. Our students are going to work in a global workplace, and this helps prepare them.
"And, obviously, it helps to maintain our revenue stream."
The students will pay non-resident tuition.
PACT WITH PSU
The six people from Beijing University of Business Administration were slightly delayed Thursday, driving up from New York City over sometimes slippery roadways.
Once they arrived, Jablonski and Ping signed agreements.
Ping, speaking through a translator, said CCC was a good place for his students to study.
The group later signed an agreement with Plattsburgh State, where President Dr. John Ettling thanked St. Onge and CCC for including them.
"It is my hope to demonstrate a seamless articulation of credits and transfer partnership that allows a student to progress from China to CCC to SUNY Plattsburgh," St. Onge said.
"This is a model that we are pursuing with other Chinese partners, and many Chinese institutions are now looking at community colleges to help Chinese students successfully enter American higher education."
E-mail Stephen Bartlett at: sbartlett@pressrepublican.com
Bacteria Keep Swimmers Off Some Fla. Beaches
Police: Houston Found Under Water, Unconscious
Sandusky Can See Grandkids, Have Local Jury
Obama Unveils $3.8 Trillion Budget
Raw Video: Israeli Embassy Car Attacked
Coroner: Don't Know Houston's Cause of Death Yet
Valentine Greetings Sent Worldwide From Loveland
Greek Austerity Measures Spark Riots
Raw Video: Obama Budget Goes to Capitol Hill
Arab League Wants U.N. Help in Syria
Nordic Festival Puts North Korea in Spotlight
'Rumor Has It' Adele's Rolling in the Grammys
Grohl, Grammy Nominees Cut Up on the Red Carpet
Greece Passes New Austerity Deal Amid Rioting
Raw Video: Greek Rioting Ahead of Austerity Vote
Raw Video: Child Rescued After Kosovo Avalanche
Pop Music Superstar Whitney Houston Dies at 48
Whitney Houston's Church Mourns Her Passing
Reaction to Houston's Death at Clive Davis Party
79 Turtles Seized at Shanghai Airport
