Members of the Riverside Community College District Board of Trustees recently visited China to develop study abroad programs in the country that were discussed during a Board of Trustees meeting on May 5. 

RCCD traveled to China during the week of March 19-29. These members included Jeff Rhyne, coordinator of International Education, Lijuan Zhai, associate vice chancellor and Star Rivera-Lacey, deputy chancellor and provost. The cities they visited were Nantong and Beijing. 

“Students aren’t limited to just learning in a classroom, but they’re immersed in the industries they’re studying with direct connection to regional employers,” said Rivera-Lacey.

She announced that the district signed two Memorandum of Understanding, formal but non-binding letters of agreement between two parties, with two institutions in China. 

“We engaged directly with Nantong College of Science and Technology, which is a two-year technical college,” said Zahi. “We explored the development of structured two-way study abroad opportunities and the potential of staying at student dorms and home-stay experiences to support culture immersion.”

The first institution visited was Nantong College of Science and Technology, which has over 10,000 students across its many programs such as biological engineering, horticulture, mechanical and electrical engineering and information technology. 

The team also visited Beijing University of Agriculture to collaborate on creating an exchange model and support student services. 

“Across both visits, our focus was on building sustainable, mutually beneficial partners that align with RCCD’s priority for our student access, success, equity and global engagement,” Zhai said. 

According to Rhyne, the team picked China because of their influence on the world’s business, technology and education, that past cohorts focused heavily on Europe and that RCCD wants to broaden their horizons.

“China is starting to move into tiers, where only American universities have traditionally been placed, as premier research institutions around the world,”Rhyne said. “So rather than thinking about China as a threat, it’s important for us as a program that is conceiving of opportunities for our students to see the opportunity that China presents.”

Other reasons why the team chose China was to highlight the country’s equity, accessibility and safety, according to Zhai. 

“It’s really important to understand how safe China is overall,” Zhai said. “It is a highly surveilled society but what that means is our students can walk comfortably at any time of day or night.”

The study abroad program has been actively traveling for over 20 years, with the most recent trips since 2023 being Costa Rica, Belize, Italy and Japan. 

The next study abroad trip is set for this summer, a return to Japan. Japan has become their most successful partnership, with this being  their third time visiting. 

Rhyne says that RCCD has been doing a lot of long-term planning that will lead the way for future programming by developing a foundation that will hold the utmost longevity. 

The Global Learning and Study Abroad Committee understands that not all students may have a chance to study abroad, but acknowledging the importance of students understanding global issues they created a Certificate of Achievement in Global Studies for students who are unable to participate in programs abroad. 

“Faculty and students alike understand the value of learning and living abroad, so I feel pressure to help create lots of programs. However, we are limited to what we can do. We have the support at the highest levels of the district and each college to move slowly so that we can create programs that are successful and sustainable,” Rhyne said. 

The program is also in the process of trying to work with a Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Ghana, Africa, in which RCCD has been accepted to be part of the first cohort of eight community colleges.

“I’m confident that our faculty and students will come back from these experiences with new knowledge and perspectives that will grow and improve our CTE programs and workforce in Riverside County,” Rhyne said.

More updates on the 2026-2027 RCCD study abroad programs will be posted on the RCCD study abroad page.