Home News VGCC joins Scholar of Global Distinction program through UNC

VGCC joins Scholar of Global Distinction program through UNC

UNC World View The Scholar of Global Distinction Program - developing global educators. Pictures of global maps

Vance-Granville Community College has joined the “Scholar of Global Distinction” program, a partnership between community colleges and UNC World View, a public service program of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

As part of this partnership, community colleges and their faculty commit to develop and offer globally intensive courses and activities through which students can earn a global distinction credential. UNC World View mobilizes the international resources of UNC-Chapel Hill to help community colleges create truly global campuses, representing a national model for university-community college collaboration in global learning.

World View and its UNC partners – including UNC’s five U.S. Department of Education-funded area studies programs, called National Resource Centers, and UNC University Libraries – provide support and access to knowledge, networks and grant funding needed to develop certain course offerings and support students’ global education.

As a “Scholar of Global Distinction” college, VGCC will allow students the opportunity to earn a “Graduated with Global Distinction” notation on their transcripts by:

  • Completing at least 15 credit hours of globally intensive courses;
  • Participating in eight international activities and dialogues;
  • Gaining 30 hours of global experience in a study abroad or domestic intercultural experience; and
  • Completing a capstone presentation related to their two-year global learning experience.

Examples of globally intensive courses are foreign language courses, as well as courses with “World,” “Global,” “International,” “Comparative” or “Cultural” in the course title.

The program seeks to develop students’ abilities to:

  • Investigate the world beyond their immediate environment, framing significant problems and conducting well-crafted and age-appropriate research;
  • Recognize perspectives, others’ and their own, articulating and explaining such perspectives thoughtfully and respectfully;
  • Communicate ideas effectively with diverse audiences, bridging geographic, linguistic, ideological, and cultural barriers; and
  • Reflect critically on their role as a member of the global community and pursue ways to create positive change.

For more information, contact VGCC’s World View liaisons: instructor Frankie K. Frink at frinkf@vgcc.edu or 919-528-4737; and instructor Jason Damon Bryan at bryanj@vgcc.edu or 252-738-3538.

–VGCC–