WNCC 2010 Self-Study Report - Western Nebraska Community ...

alternative energy education, the goals of the ambitious conservation and development project are
to preserve the biological, paleontological, and archaeological resources for the future generations.
These types of activities allow WNCC to meet its educational mission, especially in areas like
historical and cultural studies, along with alternative energy, since the Eiseley Center addition is
projected to incorporate photovoltaic technology as well as wind power from a generating turbine
located at the Nature Center. This installation will serve as a model for possible research and
training, just as the proposed wind turbine fields in Banner County, south of Scotts Bluff County,
will provide regional employment and affiliated educational opportunities for WNCC.
Study-Abroad Opportunities
In an effort to extend the experiences of students beyond its geographic service area, WNCC
supports study-abroad opportunities. Over the past decade, 60 students have traveled with faculty
members and chaperones to Mexico, France, Spain, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Peru. In 2008,
students traveled to South America, where they were immersed for 21 days in the culture,
language, and experiences of the Ecuadorians and Peruvians.
Students traveling abroad through arrangements made by WNCC actually enroll in language
institutes located within the country where they study the native language and participate in formal
and informal cultural experiences. A foreign-language instructor hosts the trips, recruiting students
through classroom notices, posters, and ads on the announcement monitors who are interested in
exploring different countries, as well as those wanting to specialize in a particular language.
The College has developed a Western Nebraska Community College Short-Term Study Abroad
Handbook (RR 100) to be distributed to all students participating in international travel, in order to
ensure that students are aware of the educational purpose of the trip and to provide them with
information about security and planning. In most cases, students earn transferrable credit or a
certificate from the hosting language institute.
International Student Enrollment and Contributions
In 2009, the College enrolled 37 international students, reflecting diversity in the classroom. Over
100 international students have enrolled since the fall term of 2005. WNCC’s students and the
community at large benefit from interaction with international students and from learning about
aspects of other cultures, languages, customs, prejudices, religions, and politics. International
students are also popular with other students and with community members, not only because they
are interesting since they are exotic to the Panhandle but because they normally model extreme
dedication and scholarly aptitude. In order to get where they are, most of them have applied
themselves in their home countries and they are driven by a spirit of adventure to travel thousands
of miles from home to a strange country, much less to an isolated rural area.
The eventual goal for WNCC will be to host about 100 international students in any given academic
year, since that seems to be the number that the current structure can adequately support. Many
of the international students are here to participate in athletics, but some of them come to WNCC
on their own to study. International students do not receive any special benefits, discounts, or
institutional advantages. Occasionally, those who don’t go home during the breaks seek to work
on the grounds crew at the College during the summer because they are not eligible for outside
employment due to their visa status, but they do not receive hiring preference for those jobs.
Western Nebraska Community College Page 143