Internationalization

and Study Away

ACA Summit XIII22 October 2010

Neal SobaniaPacific Lutheran University

sobania@plu.edu

Internationalization

“…the process of integrating an international, intercultural, or global dimension into the purpose, functions or delivery of postsecondary education.

Jane Knight, 2003

Internationalization

• “process” b/c an ongoing and continuing effort

• “integration” denotes the process of infusing or embedding the international and intercultural dimension into policies and programs to ensure that the international dimension remains central, not marginal, and is sustainable.

Internationalization

More definitions:• International: relationships between and among

nations, cultures or countries• Intercultural: b/c also about relating to the

diversity of cultures that exist within countries, communities, and institutions

• Global: provide the sense of worldwide scope.

Three terms complement each other and together depict the richness in the breadth and depth of internationalization

Why Internationalize?

• Being competitive / Staying competitive

• Preparing students for the world they will live and work in; globally competent

• Interconnected World/Economic Realities

• National priorities and

national security issues

Internationalization: Essential Components

• Mission Statement• Curriculum• Faculty & Staff• Off-campus Study• Co-curriculum• International Students and Scholars• Finances• Assessment

Mission Statement

• Broad enough to reflect 21st century?

• Is international/global explicit or implied?

• Leadership: are statements from administrators strong enough to indicate internationalization is a priority? Public?

• Institutional culture & attitudes: many faculty believe no one can teach a course better than they can; must a course and its requirements look like a US course?

Mission Statement as Strategy

• Committed, Shared Vision

• Institutional priority

• Strategic direction

• Consistent, coherent messaging

• Grass-roots, organic growth

How to Move Forward

“Don’t try to boil the ocean. Have a couple of strategic, focused initiatives with a very high promise of paying off, that play to the institution’s strengths.”

Martin Jischke

President (2002-07)

Purdue University

Curriculum

• What are current strengths? Build from?• A constraint? How rigid are requirements?• An opportunity? Use internationalization

strategically to strengthen or expand curriculum.• Internationalization is not just for humanities

majors, but all majors, minors and disciplines. • New courses or imbed a module in ‘core’

courses or 1 course in each department? • International honors program possible?

Faculty

• What are current strengths? Faculty experiences?

• Use existing faculty development $?• How will you value faculty involvement?• Do faculty take advantage of international

students or returned study away students in their classes? Know who they are?

• Are candidates asked in hiring process how they will participate in internationalization efforts?

And Staff

Don’t forget about staff! They are frontline.

• Engage student affairs staff

• Short term program assistants (temporary duty)

• Certificate program? use to introduce this new campus initiative

• Sometimes staff are among the most diverse part of the campus

Off-Campus Study

• Study Away/Study Abroad

• Academic tourism vs. serious course work

• Learning Objectives

• Curriculum integration

• Length of study

• Reflection

• Assessment

Study Away or Study Abroad?

Assumption: this generation and future generations of students are and will be increasingly interacting with a larger, global community and therefore need to become ever more competent in understanding, talking with, relating to and working with persons who differ widely in political, religious and spiritual orientation.

• common goal of diversity and multicultural programs and internationalization programs is to assist students to live effectively with difference

Study Away or Study Abroad?

Leaders and advocates of education abroad assume perspectives, skills and habits of the mind and heart that are learned in studying abroad are transferable, and they so in their literature:

Versatility, ability to adapt to change, global work experience, cultural sensitivity, and increased confidence and global awareness are gained as a result of living and learning abroad.

Study Away

“Study Away”—a concept and educational strategy that integrates study abroad programs with domestic programs.

Recognizes that diverse cultures within a local, regional or national community can also provide learning opportunities and experiences that can also be transformative.

Study Away

Why don’t we describe diversity within the U.S. as being global?

• Our communities and neighborhoods are global.• Our population is no longer majority and historic

minorities, but inclusive of large immigrant populations.

• Even what constitutes a majority is shifting by state and region.

• Today, richly diverse communities are next door.

Study Away: student Advantage

• Greatly expands the range of experiences that can move students toward living effectively with difference, providing students with multiple entry points to such learning

• Helpful for students reluctant to go far from home and campus, or

• Helpful to students unable to afford an experience overseas.

• Provide opportunities for students returning from overseas study-away programs

The problem with parochialism

is it is worldwide.

Study Away: College Advantage

• Struggling to be both more international and responsive to diversity? To increase diversity in the student body?

• Being more serious about domestic program options within a broader-based study-away effort may be a productive next step

• Can build on existing community relationships, or develop new in conjunction with Admissions

• Cost savings, to develop and to operate• Expand faculty participation

Program Learning Objectives

• “to identify similarities and difference in cultural values”

• “to recognize ethnocentric reactions that inhibit the cultivation of cross-cultural understanding”

• “to challenge one’s own stereotypes and myths about people” are not all that dissimilar.

Program Learning Objectives

• “to identify similarities and difference in cultural values” [Makah Culture]

• “to recognize ethnocentric reactions that inhibit the cultivation of cross-cultural understanding” [Makah Culture]

• “to challenge one’s own stereotypes and myths about people” are not all that dissimilar. [Hilltop in Tacoma]

More Learning Objectives

• “to understand the complexities of changing patterns of urban and rural life, environmental challenges and the minority experience”

• “to be able to distinguish cultural myths from cultural content”

• “to broaden students’ knowledge of approaches to and strategies for social change, and the values placed on the processes by diverse groups”

More Learning Objectives

• “to understand the complexities of changing patterns of urban and rural life, environmental challenges and the minority experience” [China]

• “to be able to distinguish cultural myths from cultural content” [Norway]

• “to broaden students’ knowledge of approaches to and strategies for social change, and the values placed on the processes by diverse groups” [Mexico]

English Only People

Language Issues

• Do languages taught on campus match best/desired study abroad location and/or majors?

• Students study away and study local language intensively, e.g. Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Swahili, Twi, Vietnamese.

• They receive academic credit for the class, but the language is not taught on the home campus.

(Is the student being well-served?)

Curriculum Integration• Goal: imbed Study Away in departments,

not in the study away office

• Study Away needs to be about building on course work on home campus, taking courses that either expand the curriculum or provide a strong sense of place.

• Integrate study away course work into departmental curriculum, ideally including required courses, not only electives

Length of Study

• Balance of Long and short term study

• Can an experience be too short?

• A semester away is a focused academic experience not possible on most campuses (not 4 short term courses strung together)

• How to balance cultural experience with academic one?

“If you don’t travel you think your mother is the best cook.”

African Proverb

Reflection

• Blogs: all campus or individual student

• “Returner Reflections” faculty & staff led

• Campus events (“World Conversations”)

• Staff assistants on

own programs

Co-curriculum

• Student government role?

• Student clubs and organizations – longer term involvement with a location possible?

• International editor of student paper?

• Alternative spring break/volunteer activities

(still require preparation & paper work!)

• Honors Convocation: e.g. recognitions? prize exchange?

International Students/Scholars• No matter how many students study away, a

significant percentage of students need the world brought to them on campus

• Scholars to campus to teach & lecture (video conferencing), and do research

• International students learning alongside US students

• Separate or fully integrated into Student Affairs?• Study Away should not be one-way street• Partner Institution

Financing Internationalization

The Funding Challenge• Costs vs. staying competitive – compatible?• What’s in budget that can be redirected?• Faculty Development funds—new categories?• Capital Campaign?• Diversity priories in hiring? incl international?• All-campus events: symposia, speakers, arts?• Grants are more limited—recession

Financing Study Away

The Funding Challenge• Running one’s own program can be expensive• Using 3rd party providers may cost even more• Each requires adequate infrastructure: Study

Away Office• Financial Aid—what will you let travel? Only

Federal & State (legally required), or gift aid too?• Senator Paul Simon Study Aboard Foundation

Act: 1m students/yr by 2017/18—not likely!

What Prevents More Undergraduates from Studying Abroad?

• Costs – financial aid is important; however other factors often make a bigger difference

• Institutional culture• Curriculum constraints• Language skills

--college cannot offer language at a high enough level to meet the minimum program requirement

--languages taught on campus don’t match best/desired study abroad location and/or major

• Safety concerns

• Family support

Global Education as Change Agent

“Potency of colleges and universities for influencing student change and growth appears to lie in their ability to expose students to diversity, opportunities to explore, peer and adult models to emulate or reject, and experiences that challenge currently held values, attitudes, and beliefs.”

Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005

The PLU Continuum

Learning Objective Categories

Introductory Exploratory Participatory Integrative

Knowledge and Intellectual Skills

Cultural Knowledge and

Skills

Values Perspectives

Personal Engagement

Assessment• It is not going away! Accreditation• How do you know what teaching to improve in

order to meet your learning objectives if its not clear what is being learned?

• Are there written learning objectives for courses and programs?

• Without assessment how will you know how student participation in short and long term programs compare?

• Not evaluation; have to do that too!