The Community College Initiative (CCI) Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, provides opportunities for individuals from other countries to develop leadership capabilities, professional skills, and English language proficiency, while studying at a community college in the United States.
Academics
For one academic year, CCI participants complete academic coursework at their U.S. host community college in select CCI Program fields of study and, when possible, pursue professional certificates. Current fields of study include agriculture, applied engineering, business management and administration, early childhood education, information technology, media, public safety, and tourism and hospitality management.
Service Learning
Service learning is a key component of the CCI Program that helps participants integrate into their campus and local communities. CCI students participate in local community service activities with nonprofit organizations, join student groups to practice leadership skills and promote causes they care about, and contribute to large-scale national service events such as the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.
Internships
CCI participants learn about American culture and share their cultures with the people they meet through formal and informal activities. Students participate in a weekly “Culture, Society and Institutions” course that includes organized excursions which introduces them to people and organizations in their local U.S. communities. CCI participants also attend local arts and culture events, tour historical sites, visit local schools, and join student and community clubs.
Cultural Exchange
CCI participants build hands-on professional experience through internships in local businesses and organizations. Through the application, interview, and participation phases of their internships, participants build their professional skill sets in resume writing, networking, interviewing, and working in the context of U.S. business culture. These experiences help CCI participants explore their academic fields of study and plan for their future careers.
Leadership
Throughout their exchange year, CCI participants are encouraged to seek out leadership positions on campus and in their host community. They are also given the opportunity to develop leadership skills through exclusive CCI leadership programming. The CCI Program’s mid-year Pathways to Success Program is a consortium-wide leadership program designed to build participant skills in leadership, reflection, and goal-setting.
Action Planning
Since 2010, the Community College Consortium has strongly encouraged its CCI participants to develop an action plan to be implemented upon their return home. By developing a project, portfolio, or community outreach plan during their exchange year in the United States, CCI participants return to their home countries ready to take action and contribute to their home communities.
During September, participants of the Community College Initiative (CCI) Program are commemorating the September 11 National Day of Service and...
The Community College Initiative Program recently welcomed 136 participants from 15 countries to the United States. For the program’s 17th...
For the second year in a row, Community College Initiative (CCI) Program participants completed Community Impact Projects (CIPs), which provide...
During their program year, CCI participants are required to complete at least 75 hours of volunteer service in order to give back to their host...
During the 2023-24 program year, over 140 CCI participants have interned with organizations and businesses across the United States. As part of...
Growing up in the lively neighborhood of Aya Nagar, Delhi, Mansi Lodhi (India, Northern Virginia Community College – Annandale, Media,...
Throughout mid-January until mid-February, Community College Initiative (CCI) participants celebrated the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service...
Community College Consortium Logo
The Community College Consortium (CCC) logo is the culmination of Community College Initiative (CCI) participants coming together to design a logo that represents their program. A competition was held by the CCC, and the insignia above won the prize. The focal point of the design are the three C's of the Community College Consortium intertwined with one another. Within each "C" a primary element of the CCI Program is represented—Education, Community and Understanding. These three elements of the program intertwine with one another to create an enriching, once-in-a-lifetime experience for the participants. Lastly, the colors selected represent the most dominant common flag colors of CCC CCI countries.
This is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government, administered by Northern Virginia Community College in cooperation with the Community College Consortium.
