Dec 14, 2024  
2024-2025 Academic Catalog 
  
2024-2025 Academic Catalog

Cross-Cultural Engagement


Cross-Cultural Engagement (CCE)

Shannon Montgomery, Coordinator, Cross-Cultural Engagement

Kim Okesson, Cross-Cultural Engagement Committee Chair

https://www.asbury.edu/academics/cce/ 

The Cross-Cultural Engagement (CCE) course and experience strengthens students’ abilities to interact with the world community, expand their worldview, and increase their cultural sensitivity with the ultimate goals of a broadened awareness as to how they might fit into God’s plan of redemption in other cultures and develop competency to effectively serve Christ in a global society.  

Policy Summary

All Traditional Undergraduate students seeking an Asbury University Bachelor’s degree will be required to satisfy the Cross-Cultural Engagement graduation requirement by completing CCE 150  Cultural Engagement and Responsibility (1.0 credit hour) and CCE 150EX  Cultural Immersion Experience (0.5 credit hour).

  • Students with more than 60 transferred credits at the time of matriculation (not including AP and college credits earned prior to high school graduation) may be considered to waive CCE150EX Cultural Immersion Experience but are required to complete CCE 150  Cultural Engagement and Responsibility. 
  • Following completion of the CCE 150  course, international students or those who have lived extensively outside of the U.S. during high school years may use their cultural immersion into the U.S. as their travel experience toward completion of their CCE 150EX  requirements.
  • Students seeking the Associate’s degree at Asbury must complete the CCE 150  course for that degree. After graduating with the A.A. degree, if electing to continue for a Bachelor’s degree, the student must then complete the CCE150EX Cultural Immersion Experience.  

Graduation Requirement and Deadlines

Both sections of the Cross-Cultural Engagement requirement (CCE150 and CCE150EX) must be completed prior to a student’s graduation. All CCE courses, travel, and assignments must be completed before a student can graduate. (Late completion of CCE after a student’s last term of enrollment will result in the student’s graduation date being moved to the next available graduation date, even if a student is not enrolled in classes.)

CCE 150EX Cultural Immersion Experience

Asbury’s CCE 150EX  Cultural Immersion Experience is an immersion into another culture, engaging the student in a variety of life-spheres (family, education, religion, art, media, economics, and government). Most experiences will expose the student to cultural dynamics outside of the United States. The experience must satisfy one of the options listed and must be of sufficient length and intensity to have an adequate impact upon the worldview of the participant.  

Criteria Considered for a CCE150EX Cultural Immersion Experience:

  • Geographic location: Cultural immersion can be completed either stateside or abroad. All cultural immersion experiences MUST be approved prior to departure with the submission of the Proposal of Intent form.
  • Elements: Cultural immersion experience must be a significantly different experience from the student’s home culture and must expose the student to various levels of new ethnic and cultural diversity such as language, customs, and worldviews. 
  • Length: Cultural immersion experience must be a minimum of six consecutive nights and seven days in context. 

Options for Satisfying CCE150EX Cultural Immersion Experience:

  • Study Abroad and Off-Campus Programs that are semester/summer-long and approved by the Office of Academic Affairs (Please see “Study Abroad and Off-Campus Programs ” for a list of programs. Note that not all stateside Off-Campus Programs are eligible.)   
  • Approved cross-cultural, short-term travel course sponsored by an Asbury University faculty member and/or department  
  • Approved cross-cultural mission-related or volunteer trip with an Asbury University faculty member and/or staff member  
  • Approved non-Asbury University program that meets the Cross-Cultural Engagement criteria and is sponsored by groups such as mission organizations, local or home churches, denominational or para-church groups, or non-profit organizations  
  • Deese Initiative Program  
  • Individual travel, programs, projects, course substitutions, and stateside proposals to be considered on a case-by-case basis

Procedures & Process to Complete CCE150EX Cultural Immersion Experience

  • Prior to traveling, every student must complete CCE 150  Cultural Engagement and Responsibility. 
  • Upon selection of a cultural immersion option, the student will submit a CCE Proposal of Intent to the Cross-Cultural Engagement Office for approval. The Proposal must be submitted and approved PRIOR to travel departure. 
  • Asbury University reserves the right to exclude from off-campus participation any student who is involved in conduct leading to disciplinary action or who may have a disability which cannot be accommodated.  
  • Depending on the type of travel, students may need to fill out travel and liability forms with Asbury University’s Global Initiatives and Programs office.
  • All students traveling abroad under Asbury University authority must obtain travel and health insurance independently. 
  • Before departing, students must meet all paperwork and academic requirements.  
  • Upon returning, students must complete their CCE150EX Cultural Immersion Experience assignments by the deadline posted by the Cross-Cultural Engagement Office. Students who do not complete the CCE150EX assignments by the mid-term deadline will have holds placed on their next semester’s registration for classes.  
  • Credit (0.5 credit hour) for completing the Cultural Immersion Experience requirement will be listed as institutional credit on the student’s academic audit with the course designation: CCE 150EX  Cultural Immersion Experience