Preparing Glbal Leaders Final Majr Recmmendatins UW-Eau Claire graduates will distinguish themselves by being nt nly excellently prepared academically and prfessinally, but als by being culturally cmpetent, ethically engaged, and empathic humanitarians with leadership skills that prepare them fr glbal citizenship. 1. That every graduate frm UW-Eau Claire will participate in an internatinal educatin experience. This requirement may be met in a variety f ways, thrugh a university spnsred r apprved study abrad prgram, thrugh an internatinal service-learning experience, thrugh an internatinal internship, r thrugh anther apprved internatinal experience. a. Cmpleting a passprt applicatin will be part f freshman rientatin. 2. That we internatinalize the campus. a. That we diversify the campus thrugh increased effrts t recruit dmestically and internatinally diverse students and faculty/staff. b. That we internatinalize the curriculum t include at a minimum a center r institute fr Glbal Studies. The Center fr Glbal Studies wuld prvide fr curricular emphases n glbal issues (terrrism, climate change, health, pverty and incme inequality, scial justice, peace studies, drug and human trafficking) and area studies (African Studies, Asian Studies, Latin American Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Eurpean Studies and Oceania Studies). c. That we internatinalize the curriculum thrugh integrating internatinal perspectives int existing and new curses. d. That we prvide a mechanism and supprt fr faculty and staff t participate in internatinal exchanges. e. That we internatinalize the curriculum t include a lng-term plan fr addressing gaps in the curriculum and in the existing internatinal experience ptins t develp lng term cllabrative partnerships with institutins and agencies in areas f the wrld that are viewed as critical fr glbal leadership, such as Africa and Asia (research, service-learning, wrk with NGOs, US develpment agencies) f. That we establish interdisciplinary, required curses fr all freshmen that will deal with cmmn human experiences in human and natural sciences (religins f the wrld, peples f the wrld, arts and humanities, gegraphy, internatinal health and envirnmental prblems). g. That we establish an Institute fr Envirnmental Studies & Stewardship that wuld partner with the Center fr Glbal Studies recgnizing that reginal envirnmental issues are set in a glbal envirnmental cntext. 3. Recgnizing this institutinal cmmitment thrugh a physical facility t huse these initiatives. Generate Specific Talking Pints Why is This a Gd Idea Nw? We have an utstanding Center fr Internatinal Educatin and ther experiential learning c-curricular prgrams. This wuld bring these strengths int the curriculum and int the campus experience in ways that enhance learning, prepare students fr the challenges facing them nw and in the future and reinfrce the ultimate gal f ethical, respnsible, active, glbal leaders. Internatinalizing the curriculum is an excellent way t get past the GE impasse and generate a truly multidisciplinary apprach which is desperately needed by ur students upn graduatin.
The US is behind the curve and must struggle t catch up if we dn t we may becme irrelevant. Higher educatin is shrinking in the US and grwing elsewhere the third wrld ptential grwth in new students is actually larger than the current number f students in higher educatin wrldwide. This gal des nt preclude a fcus n diversity; in fact, it mandates that we enhance ur diversity n campus by prmting the inclusin and participatin thrughut the university and in the larger cmmunity f peple with diverse backgrunds and vices, nurishing a vigrus pluralism in American sciety. Pressing envirnmental issues (e.g., climate change, lss f bidiversity, availability f clean water, dependence n fssil fuels) are glbal issues. T slve the sci-ecnmic, plitical and eclgical prblems that are at the rts f ur envirnmental prblems we need glbally educated and envirnmentally literate citizens and leaders. Technlgy can be used as a tl fr internatinalizing the curriculum, althugh it shuld nt be seen as a substitute fr an immersin experience (ACE/AT&T Award: Technlgy as a Tl fr Internatinalizatin). Kfi Annan, Secretary General f the United Natins, has bserved that the challenges f ur wrld tday are prblems withut passprts fr which we need blueprints withut brders. (1998) Calls fr increased internatinalizatin have cme frm all the majr higher educatin assciatins American Cuncil n Educatin, NASULGC, AASCU, AAC&U, AAHE. Frm the NASULGC Task Frce n Internatinal Educatin: Internatinalizatin is nt the latest academic fad, nr is it a single add-n t existing practice. It is the single mst imprtant leadership challenge f the new century. NASULGC presidents and chancellrs have bth the respnsibility and the capacity t take up the challenge and t create the new glbal university. (p. ix, Octber 2004) In surveys f the public, 70% think that educatin abrad shuld be encuraged r required, but the natinal average is 3%. (NASULGC Task Frce Reprt). This reprt als summarizes the enrllment in freign languages (dwn frm 16% in the 1960 s t 9% tday), and decline in institutins that have freign language requirements (almst 90% in 1965 t 66% tday), and internatinal students n campus (slwing frm 5% per year grwth in less than 1% in 2003). Frequently Asked Questins A). Mney--Is it fair t ask students t pay fr this experience? A semester abrad, a Winterim r Summer term abrad, r a Service-Learning abrad experience will add t the cst f attendance, and is different frm what takes place at ther UW- System universities. Yes, it is fair. We can all think f examples in higher educatin where csts fr particular prgrams vary a pharmacy majr spends much mre n textbks than a cmputer science majr des. A music perfrmance majr spends a differing amunt n instruments and private lessns than des nn-music majr. This is a valueadded academic experience, and in that sense is fair. B). Is there precedent within UW System fr a particular campus requiring students t pay mre than they wuld at a different UW System university? Yes within UW-System, there are examples clse at hand: UW-Stut requires all its students t have a laptp cmputer. They pay fees fr a laptp thugh the entire perid f their enrllment, which, ver the curse f their undergraduate career, adds several thusands f dllars t their degree prgram. UW-LaCrsse has raised its tuitin fr sme degree prgrams abve what the UW-System has set. At UWEC, this wuld be a single experience ver the curse f an undergraduate degree prgram, nt an annual expense.
Fr thse students wh receive federal and/r state financial aid, the aid is attached t the cst f attendance in a given semester, s in a given semester with higher cst f attendance (as with a study abrad semester), student federal and state aid increases. Additinally, the State f Wiscnsin prvides (currently) ver $80,000 annually fr need-based study abrad schlarship t UWEC students, an amunt which is likely t increase. C). Hw can we help students affrd this? We want t prvide sme financial supprt t each student t ffset csts related t this requirement. Estimating $1,000 fr each student, we wuld require $2,000,000 annually frm UW-Eau Claire Fundatin. Wrking with UW-Eau Claire Fundatin, we can develp funding t meet the financial needs assciated with this challenge. There are multiple crprate and ther surces we can turn t develp this financial supprt. Being distinctive will enhance ur institutin s prfile, and that will assist us in garnering external crprate, private, and fundatin supprt fr this initiative. This distinctin will additinally enhance the natinal esteem accrded t ur graduates, and this preparatin will assist them in becming mre successful pst-graduatin. D). Will each prgram have the same cst? N -- As with ur current study abrad fferings, csts will vary amng prgrams. Fr example, a 3-week Winterim Service-Learning prgram in a lw-ecnmy natin will cst less than a semester abrad in a high cst, western Eurpean natin. Students will have many ptins available t them, amng them, lw cst ptins. We remain cmmitted t lw-cst, high quality educatin abrad. E).Time tward degree will this lengthen a student s career at UW-Eau Claire? Nt with apprpriate planning. One campus gal is t establish greater intentinality in ur undergraduate educatin. Planning an internatinal educatin experience int the degree prgram will be a cmpnent f that intentinality. Students will have chsen UWEC with the intent f studying abrad. They will knw this is an expectatin, and will plan accrdingly, as they currently d fr ther graduatin requirements, e.g. Service-Learning. With apprpriate planning, and adequate ptins available t students fr experiences abrad, this requirement will allw students t graduate n time. F). Will this affect enrllment management? Yes, surely. Students wh had never cnsidered UWEC will apply, and students wh d nt wish t participate in an internatinal educatin experience will nt apply. This will result in a shift f the students seeking t enter UWEC. Our students will be thse wh are actively seeking an institutin that can prmise them that when they graduate, they will have had serius preparatin t be the glbal citizens and leaders that we are striving t educate. We will be attracting a different set f students. Based n the experience f Gucher Cllege the nly US institutin (a private cllege) t establish this requirement -- we can expect the average GPA f applicants and the number f applicatins t increase.
We will have distinguished urselves frm the rest f the UW pack in a significant way. Certainly sme students in Wiscnsin will nt want this experience fr thse students, there are many ther ptins fr higher educatin in the UW-System, including the flagship institutin. Impact n campus hw will it affect class size here if we have 2,000 students abrad each year? Smaller class sizes. It will als require ur academic departments t becme mre active in establishing curse equivalencies with partner schls abrad but this effrt is already underway, is nging, and will be cntinuing in any event. G). Are yu guys serius -- every student? Yes, we expect that every student will attend UWEC and graduate with an internatinal educatin experience. Recgnizing that as the expectatin, we knw that there will be sme exceptins. There are sme exceptins t every rule. And we can anticipate that sme exceptins will have t be made, as well as sme particular accmmdatins fr special needs cases, and fr unusual situatins. But we intend an internatinal educatin experience t be part f ur curriculum, because we regard it as integral t a true liberal arts educatin. When certain cases arise that preclude certain students frm studying abrad, we will have a system in place by which they may petitin t have the requirement waived, r met in an alternate manner. If a student des nt wish t study abrad, he r she shuld attend anther institutin at which internatinal study is nt a degree requirement. H). What are we talking abut in terms f numbers? What s ur capacity, and d we have what it takes t mbilize 2,000 students/year (we are currently mving apprximately 500/year)? We d nt have that capacity, yet. But we can develp it in a planned and staged manner. If we implement this fr the incming class f 2012, we have time t plan and prepare fr this. It will mean we re-tl ur internatinal prgrams, and prvide nt nly mre, but als different pprtunities. Thse wuld include mre faculty-led prgrams, mre shrt-term prgrams, and mre Service- Learning and internship abrad prgrams. I). Hw we can develp capacity mre fully? Strategically align urselves with ne r mre majr study abrad prgram prviders. Excellent pssibilities exist fr us t becme invlved with rganizatins that can prvide study abrad prgrams, with student schlarship pprtunities, and faculty leadership pprtunities fr UW-EC. Develp strng partnerships with natinal educatin rganizatins abrad t prvide integrated study, service, and research pprtunities fr ur students and faculty. Sme examples f sites where we are currently pised t develp these, and which will add breadth t ur current gegraphic representatin and depth t ur curricular prgram fferings, include Mnglia (Glbal Leadership Fundatin), Btswana (University f Gabrne, in particular their Clleges f Public Health/Nursing, and Educatin), Csta Rica/Nicaragua, and Vietnam. Develp deeper relatinships with majr exchange rganizatins, e.g. jin ISEP in a cmplete partnership, allwing larger numbers f internatinal students t enter UWEC, and simultaneusly allwing greater utbund traffic frm UWEC (ur current status with ISEP des nt allw inbund traffic.)
Pursue funding pprtunities fr capacity building such as the new Senatr Paul Simn Study Abrad Fundatin Act federal funding. The Cllege f Business has received a federal grant frm the Department f Educatin under the Business and Internatinal Educatin (BIE) prgram. The grant, authred by Dr. Rama Yelkur is titled Partnerships in Internatinal Educatin, and spans ver a tw year perid, 2007-2009. This prject was ranked amng the tp ten BIE prgram applicatins natinally. This funding will be used t enhance the glbal cntent f the Cllege f Business curriculum, prvide prfessinal develpment activities faculty, prvide internatinal internships fr students, and t establish the Nrthern Wiscnsin Internatinal Trade Assciatin n the UW-Eau Claire campus. Expand faculty led Service-Learning and Study Abrad prgrams, including summer prgrams and winterim. An internatinal educatin graduatin requirement wuld have psitive impact n faculty and staff, invlving them mre fully in glbal teaching and learning pprtunities. Bruce L recently traveled abrad t China and Hng Kng. He received a prpsal frm the President f the Hng Kng Institute f Technlgy wh wuld like t fund up t six "Study Abrad" Cadetships fr UW-Eau Claire junir r senir students t spend ne semester at their Institute. They wuld fund their travel csts (r equivalent) and prvide accmmdatin at their drmitries. In return, ur students will live amng their students t help imprve the English language skills f the lcal students, teaching frmal and/r infrmal English classes/tutrials. Our students wh are there, may take sme f their curses (many f their curses are frm Suthern Crss University in Australia, with whm we have an exchange agree; s many f the equivalences have already been establish.) Althugh the number is small, but this certainly can cntribute twards ur "internatinalizatin" gal. In additin t these cadetships, they are als interested in sending students here r accepting ther study abrad students frm us. We knw that there are lts f such pprtunities ut there fr us t cnsider -- what we have prpsed is nt unachievable. J). Why shuld we d this? It wuld better enable us t recruit tp faculty. It enhances and builds upn existing institutinal strengths that are natinally recgnized. It is distinctive tday. In a few years, it will have been dne by ther public universities. But we are pised nw t mve bldly ahead and becme the first public university in the United States t establish this as a graduatin requirement. Glbalizatin with its negative as well as its psitive cnntatins -- is nt smething that is abut t happen. It is here, it is nw, and it is tday s wrld. The US is wefully behind the game in preparing ur students fr glbal engagement and leadership. This is nt the time t be a fllwer this is the time t be a leader. UWEC its students, its faculty/staff, are qualitatively as able t deliver and meet this challenge as any university in the state, the regin, maybe even the United States. We can d this, and is s ding, prepare ur graduates fr the future, nt just the present. We d nt want t fail ur students. Sme f ur Student Senatrs are planning t intrduce a measure in the fall t establish a study abrad graduatin requirement. We d nt want t d less fr ur students than what they think we are capable f. The Student Senate is lking at the University f Texas System mdel f funding internatinal educatin fr undergraduate prgrams. This mdel has students taxing themselves in rder t develp funding fr US students t study abrad. In Texas, that initiative (nearly 15 years ld) als funds, in part, internatinal students frm gegraphic regins that are underrepresented. That is nt yet a gal f ur Student Senate, but it is smething they are aware f and lking at.
The current state f ur internatinal prgrams allws us, mre than any ther public university in the state f Wiscnsin, t set this majr challenge fr urselves, and rise t it. We can prepare ur students t live in, t cmpete in, and t succeed in a much different wrld than the ne we grew up in. This will serve the needs f the next generatin f yung American leaders. That is really what higher educatin in the United States is all abut. Current Page Outstanding CIE base Outstanding Internatinal Partners Outstanding experiential prgrams Outstanding current area studies: LAS, Eastern Eurpean Student interest Student Senate prpsal t require an internatinal educatin experience. Student rganizatins (such as AIESEC) can be majr players in prviding students with internatinal internships Faculty/Staff supprt Fundatin supprt Increasing schlarships culd be tip f the iceberg and can snwball Faculty are asking fr renewal, the ability t rethink the curriculum arund multidisciplinary perspectives and a renewal f the liberal arts traditin Leadership favrs internatinalizing Hw t Get t the Other Page Internatinalizatin needs t be included in the GE revisin discussins. Curricular changes need t be addressed by wrk grup 2. Ensuring satisfactry prgress twards degree inclusive f an internatinal experience. Tw required interdisciplinary curses fr freshmen. Fundatin capital supprt: Establishing the Center fr Glbal Studies Establishing the Institute fr Envirnmental Studies and Stewardship Financial assistance fr study abrad Assess staffing needs relative fr internatinalizatin Strnger supprt fr student rganizatins Mdel UN Club Sciety f Plitics AIESEC Als see Frequently Asked Questins, especially items H and I.