International Appeal

CityU’s role in global education

By Melissa Hoyos
Communications Specialist, City University of Seattle

In 1973, City University of Seattle, then City College, emerged as a small, not-for-profit university for Washington state’s working adults.

Students chose from a modest selection of undergraduate classes taught by industry professionals in satellite offices along the Interstate corridor. For a time, CityU of Seattle held courses on-board a Washington ferry as commuters crossed the Puget Sound.

Today, more than 42,000 CityU alumni worldwide, along with current students, can attest to the university’s commitment to flexible education with an international perspective. Click here to read alumni profiles.

Unlike other top international colleges, CityU provides identical programs throughout the U.S. and 10 different countries, including Mexico, Switzerland and Australia. Under this academic model, students may easily attend classes at CityU in Athens, Greece and later transfer credits to finish up their degree in CityU in Trencin, Slovakia.

Those who don’t have access to a CityU location abroad may pursue an American-style education by choosing from many online classes.

“Very few institutions in the world are positioned as CityU is to offer students the opportunity to study the same program with the same intended [learning] outcomes in a seamless and potentially uninterrupted manner across more than one country,” says Fernando Leon Garcia, CityU’s International Division Chancellor.

Organizations devoted to international higher education consistently recognize CityU’s increased global presence.

The university hosted the American Council on Education’s (ACE) Internationalization Collaborative Regional Meeting last month. Special guest panelists included CityU President Lee Gorsuch, Fairleigh Dickinson University President J. Michael Adams and Western International University President Michael Seiden.

“City U was recognized as a leader in international programs and branches abroad,” says Antonio Esqueda, CityU’s International Programs Academic Coordinator and meeting planner.

CityU’s international appeal also attracts U.S. students, including future business entrepreneurs who seek a worldly education and want to travel. The university allows Americans to attend one of the multiple CityU sites abroad because classes are taught in English and don’t require a language proficiency in the respective country.

Academic and career opportunities exist locally for those from other countries. Seattle’s Fortune 500 companies, such as Starbucks, Boeing, Microsoft and Amazon, continue to entice those abroad who wish to relocate to Washington state, earn their degree and start a local job search.

Many students hope to secure jobs with Seattle’s top-tier corporations after graduation, says Sabine Saway, CityU’s International Admissions Director.

This fall quarter, CityU accepted 79 new international students from 24 different countries into various programs. According to the admissions office, popular degrees among international students include the Master in Business Administration (MBA), the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA), the Bachelor of Arts in Management (BAM) and the Master of Science in Project Management.

In these programs, international students also interact with faculty members from all over the globe.

Glenda Campos, a CityU alumna and native of Mexicali, Mexico, says her experience last year learning from an instructor from another country taught her to pay attention to others’ views of the world.

“This without a doubt helps you in the working world since it gives you a wider view of how every country does business,” says Campos, who studied business.

Recently, the admissions office kicked off the International Student Mentor Program to serve students like Campos who are new to the U.S. The mentors - all international graduate students - answer questions on textbook purchases and student activities and take new students on a tour of the Seattle area.

“We saw a need for this because we know it’s sometimes hard for international students to leave their families and start over in another country,” Saway says.

This fall, four international graduate students signed up to serve as mentors to nine new students. Mentors receive a stipend for helping students over one quarter.

More information on the program and mentorship opportunities can be requested from CityU International Admissions Coordinator Inese Woodward at iwoodward@cityu.edu.

American CityU students, like Lauren Fambrough, who shared a classroom with international students say they’re better for prepared for the global workplace because of this daily interaction.

“It was very interesting learning about their culture in comparison to the U.S.,” says Fambrough, who studied ethics at CityU’s Everett campus with Japanese and Indonesian students. “I learned how corrupt some countries are due to wealth and how some things seem ethical in our country but would be (looked down) upon in another.”

Throughout the academic year, Chancellor Leon Garcia expects to develop more international-focused programs, including partnerships in Latin America and the Asia/Pacific region to stay globally competitive.

Says Leon Garcia, “CityU (is) in a very select group internationally.”

Genoa Sibold-Cohn also contributed to this story.