My daughter is interested in the different study abroad programs offered by CCCS the Center for Cross Cultural Studies. One of her advisers recommended their programs but one of her professors has discouraged her from considering them. Apparently, CCCS is a privately owned company that runs courses in other countries for American college students. They are not an actual school or university, and their bottom line is profit. I know my daughter's school offers many different options for students to spend a semester in another country, including some exchanges at foreign universities. All things considered, I'm hesitant to send her to study with a private company in another country when there are so many real universities offering accredited classes.
What are your thoughts? I would appreciate input from any parents or students who have experience with this type of company.
Hi James,
I just wanted to answer some of your concerns about CC-CS. As a former intern for this company and now a program assistant I have a good idea of what they are all about. First about the accreditation, you are correct, they are not a degree-granting institution; however, most universities and colleges will accept a CC-CS transcript. If they won't, then the student is instructed to request their transcript through CC-CS’s School of Record: Heidelberg University. CC-CS has over 70 affiliations with colleges and universities all over the US, as well as well as many students from non-affiliated schools. As far as them being out for money, it is a for-profit business, BUT I often saw them bend over backwards to meet the needs of the students, all the way up to the Academic Director. Also know that this is a family owned company that was started in 1969 and is has always been about academics. In fact, the couple who started it still has a day to day hand in its inner workings, not to mention one of their sons runs the Seville, Spain office and the other one runs the U.S. office. It's a small company, so to me, it seems like everything is more personable and the staff is very helpful, so if you even wanted to call and ask the same questions to them, they would answer you without hesitation. I hope this helps!
Dear Erinn,
Years have passed since I first posted that message and you replied. As I was sifting through my email inbox I got a reminder about this website and decided it would be worthwhile to respond. My daughter is now out of college and in the workforce. She ended up studying abroad in Madrid, Spain with a university exchange program offered by her school. She had a very positive experience and we are thrilled that she was able to include a semester abroad as part of her college career. She really improved her Spanish skills and is using Spanish in her new job today.
I appreciate your thoughts about your employer and am glad that you support the company you work for. However, we are very glad that our daughter ended up choosing a non-profit university program, and not a private company which offers courses abroad. While it is definitely possible that your company offers high-quality courses and teaching, it is also possible that, as with any private business, decisions will be made that ultimately benefit the owners' personal agenda and aren't necessarily in the best interest of academics. My wife is a college administrator herself, and we both feel that higher education should be principally focused on the intellectual development of students. Sure, colleges and universities need to be financially sustainable. But private businesses need to be not just sustainable, but profitable for their shareholders.
When a school is accredited, a government-authorized agency has periodically reviewed the coursework and administration to confirm that the education meets certain standards. Private businesses which offer college courses might voluntarily work to meet those same types of standards, but the lack of accreditation means that no one is watching them to confirm this and to hold them to those standards. So while many courses could be really great, there's a high risk that some courses, teachers, students, etc. could fall through the cracks. Even if 9 out of 10 courses are good quality, that one "joke class" really undermines the overall integrity of the coursework. I'm not saying that your company necessarily has this type of issue. But I firmly believe that it is risky to pursue education through your type company.
The fact that one family owns the company is also somewhat concerning. Whatever good intentions they may have, in the end, running this company isn't just a professional endeavor for them. It's a family affair. It's inevitable that sometimes family drama and emotions will come into the mix. That may not really matter when the family business is a local grocery store. But when it is a school that is teaching students, then there's a lot of room for problems.
I am not fooled by the above "concerned parent". You must be brain dead if you do not pick up this veiled smear attack. And let's be real, nobody expects anyone to work for free. Any and all businesses in the world operate for "a profit". People often pay other to do what they themselves cannot or are too lazy to undertake on their own.
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