Compiled Internationalization Task Force Subcommittee Reports April 22, 2008 Table of Contents Audit/Inventory Subcommittee……………………………………………………………Page 2 Curriculum Subcommittee…………………………………………………………………..Page 3 Exchanges Subcommittee……………………………….………………………………….Page 5 Research/Engagement Subcommittee………………………….……………………..Page 6 International Student Recruitment Subcommittee……………….……………….Page 7 Communications Subcommittee………………………………………………………….Page 11 APPENDIX AAudit/Inventory Subcommittee………………………………………………………..Page 12 Note: Reports pending from Campus Culture and Education Abroad Subcommittees ~1~ Audit/Inventory Subcommittee Chair: Sharon Stewart (Health Sciences) Members: Kay Roberts (OIA), David Bettez (OIA) Prioritized Recommendations for Strategic Planning 1. Develop an international assessment plan that: 1) articulates with the UK strategic plan for internationalization; 2) addresses the purposes for assessment, as defined by the Task Force, Task Force Subcommittees, the Internationalization Strategic Plan, and college-level strategic plan goals and objectives having an international focus; and 3) serves internationalization efforts at the university and college levels, thus providing a mechanism for ongoing monitoring, evaluating, and modifying internationalization initiatives. 2. Develop a structure for centralized oversight of the assessment process that: 1) promotes university and college internationalization efforts; 2) recognizes the value of both university- and college-wide efforts; and 3) encourages ongoing cooperation and communication between colleges and the administration. 3. Allocate sufficient financial resources, physical space and equipment, and skilled personnel to ensure fidelity to the assessment process, including the use and adaptation of existing tools and development of additional assessment tools, such as the Faculty/Staff Survey of International Experiences and Interests, as needed. 4. Develop and implement an ongoing plan for analyzing, interpreting, and disseminating accurate information that can be easily understood and interpreted by multiple stakeholders. Preliminary Recommendations re: Centralized/ Decentralized Assessment Assessment and evaluation should be consistent with the purposes of assessment as defined by the Task Force and its Subcommittees, the Internationalization Strategic Plan, and international goals and objectives defined in College strategic plans. The Subcommittee recommends that the structure for ongoing assessment and evaluation of internationalization efforts provide for centralized oversight of the assessment process that: 1) promotes university and college internationalization efforts; 2) recognizes the importance of university-wide efforts while respecting and valuing the autonomy of the colleges and their unique and varied needs; and 3) encourages ongoing cooperation and communication between individual units and the central administration. Effective assessment and evaluation will require interplay between the International Assessment and Evaluation Office (IAEO), which will provide oversight of the process, and those who are involved in internationalization activities and assessment and/or who have an investment/interest in university internationalization at all levels. Methods to ensure this necessary communication and cooperation may include: regular meetings of an Advisory Board that represents the broad array of stakeholders (e.g., representatives from the Colleges and various administrative offices at the university, alumni, community leaders, etc.) to provide input regarding internationalization efforts, including useful assessment and evaluation; 2) regular meetings between the IAEO and others at the university who participate in the assessment and evaluation process; and 3) an ongoing mechanism for communication whereby the regular interchange between the IAEO and other units at the university can share information and suggestions about the assessment/ evaluation process. Consideration of the centralization/ decentralization process includes 3 broad activities: 1) purposes for data collection; 2) data collection tools; and 3) data collection analysis, reporting and dissemination. ~2~ Curriculum Subcommittee (Prioritized Recommendations) Chair: Dorothy Brockopp (Nursing) Members: Ann Dickson (Design), Ted Fiedler (Arts & Sciences), Michael Healy (Law), Janet Roccanova (OIA) 1.Recommendation: Develop a component of a website on International Experiences at UK that will describe in detail all opportunities for international study. Courses would be identified according to a number of categories, for example, Epoch: Historical, Contemporary, Language: any modern foreign language, Countries: China, Ecuador, Non-country Specific: International Law, Introduction to Comparative Religion. Resources Required: The subcommittee suggests that a university-wide committee be constituted with a faculty representative from each college and at least one representative of OIA. This committee would identify and configure the courses to be featured on the website. Resources needed would be the cost of a web designer to incorporate the information generated into the website and maintain the site over time. Centralized or De-Centralized: This activity would be de-centralized. 2. Recommendation: Explore the feasibility of establishing a certificate in Intercultural Competence beginning with undergraduate students (e.g., Penn State Model). Students would work with an International Advisor regarding coursework and intercultural experience required to obtain this certificate. The certificate would require students to take a common core course focused on intercultural awareness and then select two courses from a list of existing courses to be identified by an advisory committee. The required intercultural experience might form the basis of one of these courses. Resources Required: A portion of a faculty member’s DOE to teach a common core course focused on intercultural awareness (approximately $10,000.00 or a minimum of a PTI stipend to replace the regular inload course not taught). An International Advisor for each college to spend 25% time providing guidance to students seeking this certificate (approximately $15,000.00). Centralized or De-Centralized: This activity would be centralized. The common core course would have a prefix and number specific to a central unit that deals with international activities. The course would be administered through this unit. An advisory committee consisting of faculty with expertise in the area of intercultural awareness would assist with the development and coordination of the course. Education Abroad will work with Institutional Assessment to devise an assessment tool that will help in the development of the certificate. 3. Recommendation: Conduct an in-depth search on: a) potential for including international study within each curricula of each college b) curricular approaches to international activities at each of the benchmark universities Resources Required: A graduate assistant 20 hours/wk two semesters $12,000.00. This individual would focus largely on reviewing UK’s benchmark institution but would also be the point person for the collection of all information. ~3~ Centralized or De-Centralized: This activity would be centralized. It would be helpful to have the graduate assistant centrally located as information derived from these activities could be useful to a number of subcommittees. The subcommittee suggests that one or two individuals in smaller colleges could provide necessary information as to curricular possibilities. In larger colleges the subcommittee suggests the formation of a committee that would discuss possibilities in and across departments. 4. Recommendation: Award minigrants to faculty, staff and students for the development of innovative ideas for expanding and intensifying international student experiences on campus. Resources Required: Six grants @ $1,000.00 Centralized or De-Centralized: The process for submission of grant applications and review of each application would suggest that centralizing this activity would be most efficient. ~4~ Exchanges Subcommittee Chair: Mike Reed (Agriculture) Members: Beth Goldstein (Education), Bob Haven (Fine Arts), Joel Lee (Public Health), GT Lineberry (Engineering), Sue Roberts (Arts & Sciences), Melody Ryan (Pharmacy) 1. Each college establish a point person for international agreements 2. UK’s international collaborations should become more centralized so that certain activities are performed that assist the Colleges and other units establish international agreements and deal with hosting of international scholars and groups. While programmatic efforts to establish international relationships should remain at the unit level, some common activities supporting UK’s international collaborations should be performed through a more centralized organization. Such activities include hosting visitors, assisting with international agreements, coordinating multi-college research projects and other activities that go beyond the capabilities of most colleges. 3. The Provost should encourage Deans to work together on collaborations and exchanges 4. Consider offering UK degrees on international campuses. ~5~ Research/Engagement Subcommittee Chair: John Roark (Sponsored Program) Members: Susan Carvalho (Provost Office), Alan DeYoung (Education), Ellen Furlough (Arts & Sciences), Tom Young (Pediatrics), Priority Recommendation #1 – The University should incorporate internationalization into its Strategic Plan in detail and the colleges should incorporate this goal into their strategic plans. Priority Recommendation #2 - Research in the international arena can be effectively incentivized through a centralized structure. However, we recommend that the planning for such centralizing, of SOME aspects of international research, respect the productivity, creativity, and strategic allocations of individual College efforts— the efforts currently ongoing, as well as the ability to foster future research endeavors. The investment in centralizing some aspects of international research would likely pay off, in terms of an increase in international, multi-College grants. Additionally, the transaction costs of seeking and managing such grants would be reduced. Thus we recommend the following: Funding decisions and resources for international research should largely remain in the Colleges, since each College knows best where its investments will yield dividends. Multi-College grants should be managed from a centralized International Research entity. This entity would also manage such issues as housing for international visiting scholars or collaborators, and other such arrangements that enhance and facilitate the efforts of individual Colleges. Some funds should be available centrally, to incentivize international research or travel; but these funds should mainly be allocated as a “match” or enhancement to individual College investments. Each College should designate an Associate Dean or other representative to guide investment in the area of international research. Such decentralization will support creativity within disciplines and Colleges, while also providing an avenue to centralize information and to increase the visibility and coherence of such efforts. These College representatives should form an Advisory Board that could meet periodically to exchange information, foster collaborations among Colleges, exchange best practices, and strengthen linkages between on-campus international expertise and curricular/co-curricular initiatives. Priority Recommendation #3 – Institutional Research should finalize decision on Faculty Database vs. Digital Measures and create sustainable mechanism for tracking international research activity, through a system which has the appropriate parameters for easily identifying international research/program projects. Priority Recommendation #4 – Where possible, the Research Office should assist with starting projects that show promise of becoming self-sustaining financially. Priority Recommendation #5 - A central structure should be set up to focus on Development and promotional work with international corporations, foundations, and donors, and to facilitate such efforts that might be ongoing within each College. This would provide potential new funds directly to the Colleges, in order to further enhance international research, curriculum development, education abroad, etc. Because of its potential to attract corporate investment or corporate support of particular programs, and to involve multiple Colleges, as well as to reduce duplication of effort, this initiative should be housed within an international research center. ~6~ International Student Recruitment Subcommittee (Prioritized) Chair: Marie-Antoinette Sossou (Social Work) Members: Liga Abolins (ESL), Pat Bond (Graduate School), Audra Cryder (OIA), Teresa Keller, Charlene Leach (OIA), Ann Livingstone (OIA), Nirmal Ravi, Karen Slaymaker (OIA), John Yopp (Provost Office) 1. Development of Strategic International Undergraduate Recruitment Plan Currently in development; initial (See pages 3-6 below). 2. Lack of funding for undergraduate international students (Decentralized) Recommendations: a) To explore issues of financial aid, scholarships and other funding opportunities within and outside the University for needy international students. b) To create academic scholarships for incoming international undergraduate freshmen and transfer students. c) To explore local/external funding sources for the establishment of an international student scholarship endowment. d) To revise institutional policies so as to extend in-state tuition and reduced tuition to attract more international undergraduate students of high academic standing. e) To create an integrated application process for scholarships and for admissions, where eligible students would be automatically considered for academic scholarships without having to submit a separate application. f) To establish a working inter-departmental team, consisting of OIA, Admissions, Academic Scholarships, colleges and schools to ensure that UK’s international student recruitment, admissions processing, student services, and orientation activities follow the cutting edge of best practices. 3. Lack of visibility of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the University of Kentucky (Centralized) Recommendations: a) To engage the professional services of national recruitment organizations such as Peterson’s, Hobson’s, etc for increasing name recognition and recruitment of international students. b) To participate in international students recruitment fairs worldwide. c) To pursue greater involvement with international alumni through visits when abroad and international alumni e-letter and to solicit their help in international recruitment efforts. d) To invite the active participation of University of Kentucky international student groups in outreach activities aimed at prospective international students. e) To build relationships with overseas advisors and engage them in promoting the university to overseas students. f) To further develop UK’s relationship with internationally focused education organizations, such as IIE, Fulbright Commissions, AMIDEAST and others. g) To collaborate with local organizations such as Rotary Club, World Trade Center (WTC) and Sister Cities in recruiting international students. h) To establish an International Student Ambassador Circle to advise prospective students. i) To collaborate with UK Internationalization Taskforce and subcommittees on identifying faculty and staff involved who are willing to recruit undergraduates while traveling abroad. ~7~ j) k) l) m) n) o) To include a segment on international students in the current SEE BLUE Campaign to enhance the marketing of UK to international students. To include “Global UK” pages in the next edition of the UK’s View Book To improve visibility of the University of Kentucky and the Commonwealth of Kentucky by producing appropriate recruitment materials for global distribution. To send promotional materials to Education USA overseas adviser centers, schools, and US schools with high international populations. To work jointly with Communications subcommittee to develop a website for international students recruitment. To advertise the strengths and rankings of the various programs (Medicine, Pharmacy, Engineering, Health Sciences, Dentistry, etc) through an aggressive marketing strategy with the Communications subcommittee. International Undergraduate Student Recruitment Plan Rationale: The presence of international students at UK enriches the experience of domestic students, brings international perspectives directly into the classroom, and creates personal networks that can last a lifetime. International students constitute a high quality cohort, being retained at very high rates and achieving a higher than average GPA at the undergraduate level. Most international undergraduate students pay out-of-state tuition and thus constitute a significant source of income to the campus. We recommend a 3-5Years Strategic Plan: Recruitment Goal: 1. 3-Year Strategic Plan: Our short-term target is to increase the number of international undergraduate students at UK from the current 151 to 200 in the fall of 2008, thus placing it along the trend line of UK’s benchmarks, over the next three years. 3-5 Years Strategic Plan: Our long-term goal is to increase the number of international undergraduate students by 10% each year over the next five years. Recruitment Objectives: To increase the number of international undergraduate students at UK To increase diversity of the international undergraduate student population by country of origin and field of study To maintain or improve the overall academic quality of international students studying at UK To be aligned with trends, strategies and best practices in the field of international recruitment To increase collaborative and coordinative efforts among the Admissions Office, OIA, the Office of Academic Scholarships, the Center for ESL, the colleges, schools and departments, alumni and the Office of Development. Strategies: 1. Develop and maintain collaborative networks and communication with campus units, faculty and staff, and international partners. ~8~ Establish a working inter-departmental team, consisting of OIA, Admissions, Academic Scholarships, colleges and schools to ensure that UK’s international student recruitment, admissions processing, student services, and orientation activities follow the cutting edge of best practices. Maintain a close working relationship with the International Task Force, especially with the Recruitment Subcommittee. Identify and maintain the list of faculty and staff involved with international work and travel abroad who are willing to assist with recruitment while abroad 2. Increase the number of prospects and applicants and improve communication with each. Within the admission cycle, work with current international students for involvement in email, chat rooms, summer home visits with prospective & admitted students. Mail promotional materials to EducationUSA overseas adviser centers, schools, universities, and to US schools with high international populations Build relationships with overseas advisors on recruitment trips; involve them in screening potential international students for academic/need-based scholarships. Build relationships with U.S. Commercial Service officers in Kentucky and overseas and solicit their assistance. o Virtual fair in India o Virtual fair in China Build relationships with state and regional high school and community college advisers/counselors Collaborate with UK’s domestic recruiters regarding international students in U.S. schools Explore establishing an International Student Ambassador Circle to advise prospective students (based on the PAWs model). Invite help from current UK international students in identifying key contact people from their former schools and prospective students from their home countries. Ensure that the University of Kentucky holds (or acquire) appropriate memberships that aid contact with various groups: AMIDEAST. Connect current students with overseas centers for conducting possible summer visit presentations to prospective students. Pursue greater involvement with international alumni through contacting alumni regarding the Legacy scholarships visits when abroad to renew their connections to the University An international alumni e-letter to keep them connected to the University and solicits their help in international recruitment efforts. Examine and possibly revise admissions, financial aid, and other policies to ensure that they support growth in international enrollments Investigate and recommend appropriate print vehicles for advertising such as Peterson’s Guide (Spring 2008) and Hobson’s. Investigate and recommend appropriate web-based recruitment vehicles for advertising the University of Kentucky’s programs Participate in overseas recruitment fairs and events Participate in Linden South-East Asian recruitment fair (Spring 2008) Participate in USEG Middle East recruitment Fair (Spring 2008) Expand email communications throughout application process (e.g. missing materials, admits, etc.) Develop packet of Undergraduate recruitment materials for overseas advisers’ centers and faculty/staff traveling overseas Develop alumni recruiting handbook/materials ~9~ Develop a periodic e-newsletter for international alumni 3. Use research and professional development to inform recruitment and marketing efforts. Actively participate in professional development and organized recruitment activities to stay in tune with national trends and international developments. Develop and administer Admitted Student Questionnaire for Int’l UG students Develop feedback form to solicit information from alumni and /staff who assist in recruiting efforts abroad Use IIE Open Doors and Atlas of Student Mobility to make informed market choices Participate in OACAC summer conference in Michigan Participate in NAFSA conference Participate in WES conference and workshop 4. Create integrated and coordinated media and communication strategy Coin primary messages for international undergraduate recruitment, highlighting academic strengths, value, conditional admissions and favorable location. Develop and implement communication campaign with international prospects (email and/or hard copy) Develop and implement a communication campaign with admitted international students Develop templates for standard inquiries to decrease the response time. Develop a new undergraduate international recruitment brochure in accordance with NAFSA guidelines and in line with the UK brand. Include Global UK section in the next addition of the View Book Participate in re-design of the new OIA website (section for prospective students) to make it welcoming, relevant and clear to potential international students. Explore the possibility of utilizing Web 2.0 technology for international student fora for current and admitted students. 5. Use financial aid effectively to increase applications and yield Highlight financial programs/scholarships available to international students in all communications Promote value and cost-effectiveness of UK’s education Explore need-based financial aid possibilities for international students Pursue greater general funding for international students, through effective funding mechanisms, scholarships, and assistantships Work with Office of Development Office on fundraising for financial assistance to international students. ~ 10 ~ Communications Subcommittee Chair: Beth Barnes (Communications) Members: Chike Anyaegbunam (Communications), Michelle Gorin (OIA Communications) We are recommending a centralized web presence for internationalization, ideally through an international link off the UK home page. That link would include links to international content housed on college sites, but we see a number of benefits to having a centralized web presence. Such a site will provide a convenient, easy-to-find, easy-to-use portal to international activity at UK for both internal and external audiences. Will simplify the information-gathering process for prospective international students (undergraduate and graduate) and faculty members. Easy link to information for current students and faculty. Link to resource information for outside funders curious about UK’s international capabilities. Gathering point for all things international, and a way to channel people to the appropriate collegeor center-based web sites for more detailed information. We recommend that such a web site be maintained by the communications staff member in OIA; once the site is built, updating should be such that it could be handled out of that office. ~ 11 ~ APPENDIX A- Audit/Inventory Subcommittee Purposes for Data Collection The decision about what data should be collected is daunting and complex. We recommend that the IAEO provide oversight for this process, while ensuring that entities that have an investment in the assessment process have input into decisions about data to be collected and for what purposes. The assessment plan will be guided by the careful definition of the purposes for assessment. These purposes should be based on the goals and objectives as articulated by the Task Force and subcommittees and by strategic plan goals and objectives related to internationalization efforts at the university and college levels. It should be noted that these purposes may range from the assessment of overarching dimensions of internationalization (see Measuring Internationalization at Research Universities published by the ACE) more focused assessment of subcommittee goals and college initiatives. Once the purposes are identified, the effectiveness of assessment and evaluation efforts will hinge upon the careful and complete identification of data needed to address goals and objectives. Data Collection Tools and Procedures Efforts to ensure the creation of appropriate tools and procedures for data collection will require expertise and input from the Advisory Board and other staff with expertise in assessment at the university, such as consultants in the Office of Institutional Research, Planning and Effectiveness, the Survey Research Center, and instructional technology. Tools for data collection will encompass three major categories: 1) Existing tools used by central administration that can be reported or modified to meet the need for ongoing international assessment and evaluation efforts; 2) Development of new instrumentation used centrally that are specifically designed to collect data regarding internationalization efforts that cannot be obtained using existing tools; and 3) Unique data collection tools and methods used by colleges for the purpose of measuring and publicizing college-level efforts and activities. Data Analysis, Reporting, and Dissemination Because data will be collected centrally and at the unit level, the IAEO will serve as both an agent for obtaining data and as a repository for data collected by others. Information for categories 1 and 2 shown above will most likely be collected centrally, whereas information for category 3 may be collected at the local level and reported to the IAEO. The system should allow for easy transmission of data back and forth centrally and locally. Careful preparation at the preceding levels (assessment purposes, data collection tools and procedures) should allow for the collection of data that can be manipulated and analyzed in variety of ways to meet the needs of various stakeholders. This will be of benefit to the IAEO, colleges and faculty who presently may be requested to provide the same information in various formats because of the inflexibility of present databanks and their inability to interact with each other. Data analysis and reporting should allow users to answer the questions and address the stated purposes for assessment, including comparisons across units of interest and across time. Decisions about dissemination may be coordinated by the IAEO, but dissemination may occur at a variety of levels through multiple means, such as websites and printed documents. Decisions about disseminating data and reports should be based on the purposes for assessment and should be practical and easily accessible to those ~ 12 ~ viewing them. Some information will have limited distribution (e.g., password-protected information about names of contributors to international scholarships), whereas other information will be readily available through the colleges or on the central internationalization website. Possible considerations in dissemination The following includes the results of brainstorming by the Audit/Inventory Subcommittee regarding dissemination considerations – specifically, who would need to see internationalization data and some possible categories and data and related information that might be of interest. This is by no means complete, and undoubtedly includes some items that will be of little use to the subcommittees. This information is simply intended to provide some assistance to the subcommittees as they consider the issue of assessment. Stakeholders/ consumers needing data regarding internationalization activities High-level university administrators responsible for setting priorities, monitoring and reporting on university activities, etc. Office of International Affairs and others involved in administration of international program Deans and other academic program heads Professional staff, such as development officers, business officers Prospective and current donors Alumni Faculty Staff Students Potential students and their families, both international and domestic The public, including civic and corporate leaders, community leaders, and media representatives Internationalization data collection categories and information for collection Research and scholarly activities o Submitted and funded grants o Scholarly research in progress, funded and unfunded o Publications and presentations o Creative scholarly activities Curriculum o Undergraduate (and graduate?) courses offered containing global emphasis o Undergraduate and graduate programs/ certificates with global emphasis o # courses, organized by content area, when taught, enrollment, who teaches International students o By level of student, program, country of origin o # annually aggregate o Retention and graduation – for those who leave prematurely, why? o Satisfaction of students, supervising faculty, others in UK community Study abroad/ Education abroad ~ 13 ~ o By length and type of program, level of student, length of stay, program represented, host countries o Didactic, clinical, student teaching and other types of instruction o # students per year by info above and in the aggregate o Descriptions of available programs and how they integrate with fields of study o Student, faculty, receiver satisfaction Other engagement activities o Service learning o Non-sponsored mission trips o Instructor led/ tied to course Faculty and staff experiences and interests o Country of origin o International experiences (lived/ worked abroad for extended period, e.g.) o Honors and awards o Consultation o International educational degrees o # faculty/ staff in each area and by program o Memberships in international professional organizations o Led study abroad or other international activities o Visiting professors, etc. Guest lecturers o Journal editorships, reviewer, guest reviewer, etc. o Experience in language(s) other than English Recruitment o Brochures, etc., sent to international recruitment sites o # contacts by site, program, student level, etc. o # applications, accepted, enrolled retained by xxx Other o International student groups o Community-based opportunities and orgs? o What kind of data are collected/ desired by OIA? o Colleges with international committees o Development funds earmarked for international activity (international scholarships) o Do we have international recruiters come to campus? Online documents and resources for the website? Affiliation agreements, Descriptions of programs, Student description of experiences, International guests, international campus activities ~ 14 ~