On Friday, Nov. 14, President Don Green, along with several other representatives from GHC, met with DK Wu of the Chinese Association of American Community Colleges —CAACC.

The meeting was the first step in determining the possibilities for a future relationship that would yield a higher number of Chinese international students attending GHC.

Wu is in the process of building CAACC and hopes the organization will be operational sometime next year. CAACC will endeavor to educate Chinese high school students and their parents on the rewards of two-year colleges in the United States. His plan to connect perspective students with U.S. colleges stems from the desire of Chinese employers to hire a more well-rounded workforce with a greater emphasis on liberal arts education.

Wu said, “Previously, when Chinese students came to the U.S. to complete their higher education, they went to a four-year university, but I think two-year colleges have a lot of merit that the Chinese people do not understand. They may even have a misunderstanding about the two-year image. I would like to help change their mind about attending a four-year university and persuade them to begin their education at a two-year college.

“The purpose of this meeting was fact finding. I am trying to learn the specialties of Georgia Highlands College. Why should a Chinese student choose this college as their first stop of higher education in the United States?”

Jeff Davis, vice president of Finance and Administration; Bronson Long, director of Global Initiatives; Chris Wheelus, enrollment management specialist; and Mark Greger, associate professor, also attended the meeting held at the Cartersville campus.

“With today’s global economy it is valuable for our students to understand different nationalities and cultures,” Green said. “One way we can assist is by globalizing our student population. Our conversations with Mr. Wu are preliminary but may lead to Chinese students studying at Georgia Highlands.”