Charting the Future The Center for International Education

Transcription

1 Charting the Future The Center for International Education OUR HISTORY The University of Northern Colorado was authorized by the federal government in 1962 to grant exchange student and scholar visa applications, and authorization for degree-seeking student visa applications was granted in The university continues today to accept qualified international students and visiting research scholars. Study abroad programs have been available to students and faculty since the early 1980 s, with individual exchange partnerships and third party programs being offered through the university s Colleges, departments, the Dean of Students Office, and the Student Activities Office. In 2000 the Center for International Education was established through the consolidation of International Student and Scholar Services, Study Abroad Opportunities, Fulbright programs and the newly designed Intensive English Language Program. FULFILLING THE MISSION The mission of the Center for International Education (CIE) is to ensure an international dimension to the University s three major functions of teaching, research and service. The CIE provides a focal point for faculty and student interest in global interests and concerns. It endeavors to articulate this interest through curriculum/study abroad development initiatives, international marketing and recruitment initiatives, intensive English Language programs, international programming (both on and off campus) and through specialized support services to both our international and American students and scholars. The CIE provides the gateway through which international students can become a part of our community and the means by which UNC students can partake of other nations and societies! The Center is also the center point of contact for UNC and its various international partners around the world. As the central advocate of international education, the CIE champions the development of international awareness, interest and understanding among all members of the campus community. The CIE assists the UNC faculty to interact with the broader global society in their teaching, research and service. The Center encourages UNC students to broaden their horizons by studying abroad and to consider courses of study that will prepare them for an emerging international marketplace of ideas that projects beyond the borders of Colorado and the greater borders of the United States. The Center also works with the local community to see that the global interest and concerns of Greeley and 1

2 Northern Colorado are well-articulated at home and abroad. The CIE staff provides personalized assistance to those helping to build new international linkages at the personal, community or societal level. The professional staff includes: Stephen Kazar, Director Helen O Keefe, International Programs Manager Trisha Moya, Intensive English Language Program Coordinator Stacie Davis, Office Coordinator Maureen Ulevich, ESL instructor In order to achieve the goals associated with the mission of the Center for International Education the CIE provides: Study Abroad/Exchange Programs Marketing of UNC sponsored exchange programs in: *England *France *Germany *Ireland *Japan *Kazakhstan *Mexico *Taiwan *Thailand See attachment for program details. Marketing of UNC sponsored study abroad programs through: *American Institute for Foreign Study * Arcadia University *American Universities International *Australearn *Cultural Experiences Abroad *Council on International Education Exchange *Fenex Language Institute *International Studies Abroad *Middlesex University *Semester at Sea *University of Salamanca, Spain See attachment for program details Development of new programs Support for incoming students (see International Student Support) Policies & procedures development Evaluation and transfer of credit for returning students Orientations for both incoming and outgoing students 2

3 International Student Recruitment Domestic and international marketing Domestic and international recruiting International Student and Scholar Services Visa paperwork Visa regulation and policy updates Immigration issue advising Fulbright educational and cultural exchange program advising Employment advising Housing assistance Friend Family Program Tutor program Registration assistance Orientations Ongoing review of student progress See attachments for details Intensive English Language Program (IELP) Three levels of English classes. Assessment testing Admissions review PC Lab with special programs for international students Summer programs (2-4 weeks in length) for ESL students from around the world (providing host families and cultural activities as well) See attachment for details. Events Programming International Quality Time on Friday Fall Reception Spring Reception International Education Week Community Celebration 2004 Chinese New Year See attachment for details THE FUTURE As we look to the future we must focus on what the Center for International Education, acting in a global capacity, can do for the University of Northern Colorado through its mission to serve the residents of northern Colorado, the State of Colorado and finally the greater population of the United States. Attracting additional international students, forming new overseas partnerships, offering a comprehensive English as a Second Language program, and providing a full range of student and scholar services will contribute to the overall internationalization of the campus community. The global campus cannot be truly 3

4 global unless its entrepreneurial activities are combined with international academic strategies to give students, faculty and staff the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will allow them to understand the larger global context in which they live. The Center for International Education proposes the following strategies to achieve a global campus environment: Study Abroad Develop experiential learning opportunities with an international and domestic focus, including the expansion of international study abroad/exchange options, international internships, field studies and volunteer programs. The oversight and development of new programs will be centralized within the purview of the CIE. Simultaneously the CIE will offer domestic exchange opportunities through the National Student Exchange Program which will provide students a one stop exploration resource, with domestic and international exchange program information available via a full-time study abroad advisor who will work through one central campus location at the CIE office. A semester study abroad scholarship fee assessed to all students will provide a series of $500-$1,000 awards to assist qualified students in financing direct studying abroad costs. Simultaneously, the CIE will create project proposals in conjunction with the University Development Office and its capital campaigns to incorporate an international focus and raise additional scholarship funds to offset study abroad transportation costs. In addition to the traditional study abroad programs described above, the CIE will work collaboratively with faculty and deans to provide virtual exchanges for place- bound students at UNC. These projects will involve internet-based collaborations between UNC students and faculty and their counterparts in other countries, virtual exchanges allowing place-bound students and faculty to interact meaningfully with students and faculty in other countries and utilizing technologies and resources already in place. This program is scalable beyond UNC to other Colorado institutions and will be adaptable to a variety of disciplines and learning objectives. The University will have a goal of providing 50 percent of its students with an opportunity to have an international experience as part of their undergraduate studies through participation in a semester or year long study abroad experience, short term travel course, virtual experience on campus for place bound students, completing a competency in one or more foreign languages or internship with a local or regional organization which deals with international issues. This international learning module will greatly enhance the UNC mission of providing a solid liberal arts foundation as well as providing a truly real world experience for its undergraduate students. International Student Recruitment Through a strategic international recruitment program, the CIE will diversify the student body to include outstanding students who represent a broad range of 4

5 geographic, linguistic and cultural backgrounds and in sufficient numbers to create a significant international presence on campus. The recruitment plan, supported through centralized university resources, will include marketing of our academic programs to targeted Colorado, California and state of Washington community colleges, developing articulation agreements with appropriate institutions in Washington and California, semiannual visits to Washington, DC, embassies education departments, annual overseas visit(s) to a targeted country/countries, and the purchasing of print and web based advertising. Management of the UNC international student recruitment program will fall under the purview of the CIE and will include the admissions processing component and specialized support positions. By streamlining and integrating international marketing, recruitment, application processing, visa document preparation, and language support from first point of contact through acceptance, matriculation, retention and finally -- graduation, prospective and current students will have the CIE as their primary link to the UNC community and support services. Intensive English Language Courses In the current system students place at Intermediate, High-Intermediate, or Advanced level and then must take ALL coursework at that level. The reality of the situation is that students place high in certain skills and low in others. This new curriculum will provide for accurate placement of students within the Intensive English courses, as well as providing an enhanced and personalized learning environment which will result in higher levels of student success at the graduate and undergraduate levels of study. Students will not feel they are wasting time and money on coursework that is too low for them. Breaking the courses out into separate skills allows for a more focused curriculum in terms of individual objectives for each skill. In addition, we are now using Blackboard as an online supplement for all IELP courses. This creates an exciting electronic environment for student interaction that is both challenging and safe! TOEFL scores alone will no longer pass an international student out of taking Intensive English coursework. All incoming international students will be interviewed by the Intensive English Language Program team of instructors. This Clearance Interview will determine the student s oral proficiency level, review documentation of previous English language instruction submitted during the application process, review the student s scores on the UNC Academic English Assessment, and provide a team decision regarding student placement within the Intensive English Language Program. An adaptive computerized assessment program will be implemented within the IELP, increasing accuracy in determining proficiency level within a given skill area. The IELP team has programmed this new assessment system with cut scores specific to UNC s Intensive English Language Program. These cut scores automatically determine the student s placement within our Intensive English coursework, indicated on a printout created immediately after s/he finishes the 5

6 computerized assessment. This adds validity to our placement decisions and decreases the number of students who disagree with placement decisions made by the IELP team. A state-of-the-art website will clearly detail English Language Requirements and provide a direct marketing link to the global market. Students applying to UNC from another country will be able to check the English Clearance requirements on the website rather than ing or calling a person at UNC. In addition, details for the Summer ESL programs will be clear and easily accessible for students interested in applying online. An annual summer ESL program will be marketed worldwide to secondary and post secondary international students. This summer ESL program will be open to all students from all countries, rather than being limited to one population from one university. This change will increase enrollment, improving its likelihood of success, and increasing our projected revenue from the program. It will be shortened to two weeks - from the previous three weeks with the hope that more students will be able to come for a shorter time. The English coursework for this program will be appropriate for international students with English proficiency levels from Beginner to Intermediate. In addition to the two week program, the IELP will offer an annual four week Intensive Academic English Language Institute. UNC has never offered a summer ESL program primarily targeting international students who desire to improve their academic English in a specified field. This program will have four areas of emphasis: Business, Education, Health and Human Sciences, and General Academic English, and will be an excellent marketing tool for international secondary school students from around the world. Student participants who attend the summer program will have the opportunity to experience what an undergraduate degree program would be like at UNC, greatly enhancing the probability that they will choose to attend UNC for their university degree. A full-time writing lab instructor (knowledgeable in the area of pronunciation training) will be designated to provide assistance for oral presentation preparation as well as for written assignments. This will better serve the needs of international students than sending them off to the other Writing Labs on campus, where the tutors are not necessarily trained in the specific needs of ESL students. Centers of Excellence The CIE will provide support for students from all cultural backgrounds. Instead of isolating American students with a specific heritage, the CIE will work with all students to celebrate their cultures and to expose the campus and community to the vast array of choices available in this world. International education is, by its very definition, the epitome of multi-cultural. This initiative will be achieved by 6

7 creating a new physical setting within the campus infrastructure that will house Centers of Excellence and will include the Center for International Education, the Multicultural Centers, the Honors Program, the McNair Scholars Program and the Center for Human Enrichment. These centers will share a common physical space and administrative support structure, providing programming and services in a very cost-effective manner to the entire university community. Internationalization of Undergraduate and Graduate Education The CIE will provide conditions which will encourage faculty and staff to examine their roles in the internationalization process and will redirect their efforts to generate the appropriate changes. Faculty and staff will be encouraged by the CIE to expand their domestic research to include an international component as well as encouraging sabbaticals abroad, participation in Fulbright programs and attending conferences that focus on global issues. International Student and Scholar Services International Student and Scholar Services will create a welcoming and supportive office that both advocates for international students and scholars and ensures that they have the most current information on maintaining their legal status. Fall orientation will be expanded to include activities introducing them to not only US culture but the riches of Colorado and the warmth of Greeley. A weekly electronic newsletter to all international students and scholars (and all university administrators) will provide timely updates on immigration issues and CIE events, as well as a means for international students to publicize activities and issues. Proactive counseling will seek to offer students options to ensure their retention and success at UNC. A Speakers Bureau of both students and scholars will be available to speak to schools and local organizations so the Greeley community will be more aware of the cultural wealth UNC offers. This Bureau will enliven the host family program as local residents learn more about students studying here from abroad. This, in turn, should feed into study abroad as local students become more attuned to the world at large. And finally, presentations to deans and departments will educate the university community on CIE activities and how internationalization can expand the scope of what they offer students and faculty. 7

8 Appendix A 1. UNC Exchange Programs 2. UNC Sponsored Study Abroad Programs 3. Intensive English Language Program 4. International Student and Scholar Services 8