Sinclair's COIL Story

In August, 2018, Sinclair was named as one of six accredited, degree-granting U.S. colleges and universities to participate in the U.S.-Japan COIL Initiative, which aims to expand U.S.-Japan higher education ties through collaborative online international learning (COIL). Sinclair was the only two-year school selected to join the initiative. Sinclair partnered with Yamaguchi Prefecture University, Yamaguchi, Japan, to develop, deliver, and assess a COIL course offered in Fall of 2019.

“An indispensable aspect of the selection process was that the six schools represented the vast diversity of U.S. higher education. Students who attend community colleges, small private, large public, or other types of institutions deserve access to global perspectives,” said ACE President Ted Mitchell.

“It’s an honor to be the only community college selected for this partnership,” president Steve Johnson said in a statement. “Sinclair has seen tremendous growth in student success and completion over the past several years and it is great that we now have the opportunity to extend our efforts across international boundaries through online learning.”

Sinclair faculty member Professor Kay Koeninger and Yamaguchi Yamaguchi Prefecture University faculty member Amy Wilson collaborated to develop a joint syllabus, and students in the two countries worked together to complete assignments that met shared learning objectives.  (Please see Sample COIL Module for more information about this course.)

Fall 2020 Plans

Sinclair is working with Jon Rubin, one of the founders of COIL to develop three new COIL classes, in addition to Professor Kay Koeninger’s COIL class, which she plans teach again with her partner at Yamaguchi Prefecture University.

Fall, 2019 COIL courses currently under development:

COIL courses currently under development

Sinclair Faculty	Discipline	Course	Overseas Partner	Institution	Discipline	Course	COIL Project
Charles Richardson	Business & Marketing	Principles of Marketing	Andy Stewart	North Highland College, Scotland	Business Mgt and Gulf Mgt	Retailing	In development
Jennifer McDermott	Social Work	Cultural Competence in a Diverse World	Fiona Harper	North Highland College, Scotland	Care and Creative Arts/Health, Sports and Fitness	Coping Strategies and Building Resilience	Coping Strategies in a Changing World
Furaha Henry-Jones	English	English Composition II	Amile Olwethu Mavundla	Durban University of Technology, Pietermaritzburg Campus, South Africa	Nursing	Essentials of Professional Practice	In development
Kay Koeninger	Art	Art History	Amy Wilson	Yamaguchi Prefecture University, Japan	Cultural Studies	Introduction to Western Culture	Van Gogh and Japan

 

Spring 2021 Plans

For Spring Semester, 2021, Sinclair aspires to develop 6 – 8 additional COIL courses.  This will potentially enable nearly 150 Sinclair students to have an authentic international experience and to work internationally on a collaborative project.