As local high schools graduate fewer and fewer potential students, Ocean County College has established innovative pathways to create opportunity. For example, Ocean County College, Kean University, and Ain Shams University in Egypt have undertaken an innovative triple-degree program. Ocean County College is a two-year community college; Kean University offers baccalaureate and graduate degrees; Ain Shams University is the second largest research university in Egypt.
Diminishing college-age populations have changed the education landscape from a seller’s to a buyer’s market. With the accelerated evolution of online classes and improved infrastructure across the globe, previously inaccessible markets for American institutions are now within reach. Opportunities for new partnerships and collaborations internationally can provide a much needed remedy for lowering enrollment trends and stagnating growth.
Ocean County College and Ain Shams University have broken the traditional dual-degree mold. Through articulations among Ocean County College, Kean University, and Ain Shams University, Egyptian students have many new educational opportunities available to them. Ocean County College and Kean University are offering online courses for Ain Shams University students using an innovative hybrid-flipped classroom cohort model. The three partner institutions bridge cultural gaps with technology and innovation.
Egyptian students enroll in degree programs at Ain Shams University, Ocean County College, and Kean University. Ocean County College and Kean University deliver courses online while Ain Shams University professors facilitate the coursework. Simultaneously, students take coursework from Ain Shams University. The students first complete the Ocean County College e-learning coursework required for an associate degree in business, after which Ain Shams University instruction is delivered face-to-face, followed by students, as a cohort, beginning their Kean University coursework online. This allows students to gain an accredited American associate degree from Ocean County College and two baccalaureate degrees, simultaneously, from Ain Shams University and Kean University.
Future iterations of this program will also utilize OCC’s close relationship with the New Jersey Institute of Technology by making robust STEM offerings available to students. Other partners coming onboard, such as William Patterson University and others, will bring opportunities to the program such as Computer Science and Health Studies.
In this concurrent session, members of Ocean County College’s International Outreach team will share their experiences in creating successful partnerships with multiple institutions on the Middle East North African Region. This presentation will outline the history of OCC’s international outreach, which has garnered hundreds of new student enrollments for the college. The session will consider both the applied and strategic aspects of recruiting, enrolling, managing, teaching, and servicing students from the MENA region.
Members of the International Outreach team will share strategies and teaching best practices with session participants. Teaching English as a Foreign Language, both online and in blended environments, will be one of the many topics discussed.
Presenting at this session from Ocean County College will be:
- Hatem Akl, Associate Vice President of e-Learning and Learning Enterprises
- Dr. Maysa Hayward, Assistant Vice President of International Programs
- Dr. Jack Kelnhofer, Dean of e-Learning