At the end of their 10 months in the United States, Community College Initiative (CCI) Program participants receive a certificate of completion to recognize their success in academics, volunteering, internships, and cross-cultural exchange. As they return home, however, participants know that their personal and professional growth is far from over. CCI alumni build on the momentum of their exchange year by pursuing further education, advanced technical training, and ongoing professional development.
In response to CCI alumni’s desire to advance their professional skills, the CCI Program launched the CCI Alumni Certificate Programs in January 2018. Through a partnership with the American Management Association (AMA), a global leader in professional development, all CCI alumni can take online courses in topics such as leadership, project management, business writing, finance, and more. Alumni can also earn 10 different AMA certificates by completing at least two courses in a particular learning track.
CCI alumni have responded enthusiastically to this opportunity to keep learning and growing. During the first six months, 312 alumni from 20 countries enrolled in 1,200 courses. Collectively, these alumni completed 362 AMA certificates. One alumnus, Haitham Ahmed of Egypt, led the pack. Haitham completed certificates in all 10 learning tracks offered by AMA.
Haitham studied business at Edmonds Community College in 2010-11 and in recent years, he worked as a supply and resources manager. Haitham said that the AMA programs gave him insights on a wide range of business topics. For instance, the courses in the Level-1 Finance certificate taught him new terms, such as debt-to-equity ratio, while the “HR 101 for New Managers” taught him about the importance of two-way feedback with employees.
“(Two-way feedback) gives the chance for employees to express about what they do (well) and what they need to improve for the next task,” Haitham explained. “In addition, the manager tells them about their weak points and their strength points. The two-way feedback is really helpful to improve and develop the performance of employees quickly.”
Haitham is now pursuing a career shift toward human resources and executive coaching. He said that the knowledge and skills he gained from the AMA courses will help him “to be a very successful manager in my future career.”
For more information on the CCI Alumni Certificate Programs and other alumni opportunities, visit http://www.nvcc.edu/ccip/opportunities.html