In July, the College of Education’s Center for International Education (CIE) hosted a meeting in Montague House to jumpstart a new partnership between CIE, the Universities of Herat, Balkh and Nangahar in Afghanistan, and faculty from Greenfield and Holyoke Community Colleges that will work to develop associate degree programs in business marketing, business administration and business accounting to be offered in Afghanistan.

The partnership is coordinated by Matt Glennon from the UMass Amherst Isenberg School of Management.  The Business Associate Degree Partnership is one of four partnerships CIE is responsible for under USAID’s third largest higher education project, University Support and Workforce Development program (USWDP), a $92 million, five-year project (2014-2019). CIE has a $23 million sub-contract with FHI360, acting as the lead technical partner for the overall project.

Each of the three community college faculty members is paired with one of the Afghan universities and will work with faculty from the Afghan university to develop the courses in the associate degree to be offered there. The faculty will travel to Afghanistan to meet and work with their counterparts in developing course syllabi, learning materials, and teaching methods for the new degrees. (Pictured: CC faculty meeting with CIE staff working with the project.)

USWDP is committed to improving academic quality in Afghanistan through the establishment of new graduate programs, new bachelor degree programs and the development of new associate degrees. The goals of these programs are driven by the needs of the Afghan labor market and are focused on providing education that will increase students’ employability and their ability to make a positive impact in the economy of Afghanistan.