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Meeting Minutes
November
1, 2005
Announcements:
We had a wonderful forum on Friday with lots of discussion and
people participating. We have generated a buzz and we want to
keep that going. Our calendar is filled with speakers through
the end of January so we will use the forums as a place to begin
the discussion of models in the future. This will also allow us
to engage people from outside of the task force.
What models shall we discuss at the next forum on Nov. 11? Dave
Haney stated that general education models offered should not be
at all prescriptive. We need to let people look at all the
models. Farleigh Dickinson was named as a model that is
radically thematic.
Sammye Sigmann volunteered to present the model of James Madison
University, one that stood out in earlier CAS studies. She also
suggested Brooklyn College, Harvard, UNC Charlotte, Portland
State, Susquehanna, and Mary Washington.
Dave Haney suggested that we could pick the radically extreme
ones so that we could see the range.
Mike Mayfield stated that we will face a challenge in getting
across that what we’re presenting is not what we are pushing.
It was announced that Bill Ward of the Core Curriculum Council
will be coming on January 10.
The Alumni/Employer Subcommittee announced that Sharon Jenson
will be generating a list of employers coming in spring for us
to interview.
Presentation: Marv Williamson and Bob White, Office of
International Programs
Our mission is to provide a discrete set of international
programs for students and exchange programs for faculty. Demands
have been shifting recently to provide international education
on campus. We received an award from the American Council of
Education in 2002 for promising practices. Our chancellors have
always seemed to have thought it was a good idea, but there is
no clear mandate to provide international experiences to App
students. It is not mentioned in the mission statement, for
example. To find the extent the university values international
education, you must look at the mission statement, the budget,
and rewards to faculty. The university must make a clear
statement of its values.
General Education effect can be transformative with its approach
to internationalization. We are part of a consortium of
universities looking at this issue of transnational competence,
global competence. It is not achieved by requiring one or two
courses.
Madeline Green’s article “From Tinkering to Deep Change”
summarizes different approaches to internationalizing general
education: (1) Adjustments, such as adding a course, (2)
Isolated Change, such as courses affecting a small segment of
the student population, (3) Far-Reaching Change, involving
pervasive, major changes such as our opportunity now at ASU, and
(4) Transformational Change, that is pervasive and in the core
of general education for all students.
The normal level of international education involves 3-5% of the
student body. ASU is in that category. The University of
Minnesota, on the other hand, is a leader in transformational
change and is working to ensure that all of their students have
a study abroad experience. They are especially looking to boost
international studies among minorities and those in the lowest
academic quintile. And they are finding success! A FIPSE grant
in 2002-3 helped this effort.
There are other models. At MacQuarie University, Australia,
students can earn a study abroad certificate in which points are
earned for certain co-curricular events on campus as well as
study abroad.
NCA&T does something similar with a Global Studies Certificate
for a set of courses taken. This is another way to test student
global thinking.
Assessment is only beginning to take place in this field. NC
State U has the guru for this in international studies. There
have been only two studies published on assessment of
internationalization.
The best examples of internationalization are at small liberal
arts colleges. Goshen College attempted to get 90% of its
undergrads overseas. They achieved 60%. You can have campuses
overseas and have faculty directing them. This is very
expensive. Davidson College is partnered up with schools
overseas. They have high tuition, and they are able to have
faculty serving as campus directors at 14 places overseas.
What about at comprehensive universities? One goal would be to
get every department on campus to encourage international
opportunities and study abroad programs. We could integrate the
curriculum with overseas opportunities so that students could
see that when they register for classes. We need to eliminate
the problems of transferring credit for overseas courses, so
students don’t have to go department to department requesting
course credit. Europe is ahead of us on this by allowing
transfer credit to move freely among their universities. A
decade ago we had almost none of the investment in international
education that we do now on campus. We can move forward.
The Bolognia Treaty in Europe means that classes offered at any
university will have the same credit without any transfer
issues.
Joan Woodworth has 14 students at Keele University. We will
allow students to study abroad without losing a semester. Our
students could have access to Japanese courses in business
practices and low levels of Japanese language study at the same
time. We have partner institutions that would be happy to work
with us. Faculty collaboration is important. We need to develop
joint degree programs with international universities.
We might consider, as a way of advancing knowledge of the world,
insisting on a focus on a region, courses of studies that a
student could select over four years. Foreign language is
central and foundational to the study of other cultures and
places. If you get students overseas, they will get over the
barriers that are imposed by lack of a language. We need to find
inexpensive ways to deliver foreign language on campus, such as
virtual language centers on the web.
We need to test entering students on global knowledge and assess
at the end of four years if they have improved. ETS had an
examination on global knowledge that was used in World Civ
classes.
There is a person who is in charge of a furniture company that
builds furniture all over the world. He had me give him the
names of students who are in China. He wants to get people to
manage operations in China. This is one example of an employer
who wants international competence. We need to look at the jobs
we want our students to have in 15 years.
We need a mission statement at ASU that incorporates a vision of
international education.
We need a Dean of General Education. One who controls budgets
and keeps departments at bay.
Q: Mike Mayfield: How do they do study abroad at Minnesota? How
can we do that? Do we have enough faculty?
A: This will fly or die on faculty involvement, which
departments are involved.
Q: Sue Keefe: Having led programs, I’d say we need an office
that might be in charge of arrangements. This is a big burden to
individual faculty members.
Bob White: If it becomes in the interest of faculty to get
involved, they’ll do it.
Marv Williamson: Faculty need to be rewarded and recognized for
leading study abroad. We are proposing a travel office in the
student center. We want to get a person to work with faculty.
There is a new thrust in the direction of service learning. We
can’t provide insurance unless students are registered for
courses. One hour credit doesn’t increase costs so much as to
eliminate students.
Joni Petschauer: Perhaps we could have comparative studies Gen
Ed where students have to cross the philosophies.
MW: Students aren’t aware that possibilities exist. We’re a lot
further down the road than we were a decade ago. 66% of high
school seniors plan to study abroad, but only 3% make it. Fewer
study for a year or semester, more for a week or a few days.
Most students at ASU don’t come thinking they will study abroad.
Ann Viles: Is there any way students can get experiential credit
for having gone abroad?
SK: Our university used to do that.
Alexandra Hellenbrand: Another population that I’d be interested
in is students who go back after studying abroad. This
experience belongs in a vertical model. Students might go on a
short-term experience abroad, then on a semester abroad.
MW: Appalachian has been providing teachers that have never been
overseas.
BW: Models aren’t available yet. We have to create a model. At
ASU, 7,700 out of 90,000 alums have studied abroad. How to build
on this?
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