Lessons Learned Central Connecticut State University Nancy Birch Wagner, Director The George R....

Lessons LearnedCentral Connecticut State University

Nancy Birch Wagner, DirectorThe George R. Muirhead Center for International Education

Not Just the Usual Suspectsor

Appointing the Best Committee

• Know how decisions are made

• Ensure comprehensive representation

• Forget the politics

• Remember who gets things done

• Start with a “charge and key goals”

Take Stock before Starting● What do you have?

- International Education as 1 of 4 distinctive elements

- Embedded in Mission and Vision

- Designated as 1 of 7 Institutional Goals

- Part of the Strategic Plan

- A Center for International Education

- Presidential support

- International and Area Studies major

- International course requirement

- Foreign language proficiency requirement

- Cultural centers

● What do you need?- Campus-wide commitment

- Curricular integration

- Organization and common sense

Priorities as Action Items

• International Competencies for CCSU Students

• Faculty Survey on Internationalization at CCSU

• Departmental Study Abroad Advising Sheets

• Partnerships Committee

• State-wide website

International Competencies for All CCSU Students

• Knowledge, attitudes, skills

• Carefully chosen battles

• Immediate practical implementation - Guidelines and proposal for faculty-led programs

- Faculty evaluation of short-term programs

- Student evaluation of long- and short-term programs

- Woven into Faculty Survey

• Consistent standards and a baseline for the future

A Faculty Survey

• Simple and terse; no laundry lists please

• Curricular Integration focus

• Personal and low tech; veterans with survey fatigue

• Immediate practical use- Required component of every Departmental Annual Report

- Truth in advertizing – baseline info shared with chairs, deans, provost

- Justification for GenEd reform

- Recurring annually

Advising Sheets

• Meaningful curricular integration

• 40 department-specific Study Abroad Advising Sheets

• Practical, generic advice + highly specific guidelines fromdepartments

• Link CCSU partner programs abroad with courses required for the major

• Post on websites; distribute copies across campus

Partnerships Committee

• Lab subcommittee

• Avoid ‘heat of banquet’ affiliations

• Criteria and Faculty Proposal Form

• Promote partnerships- in desired locations

- for underrepresented majors

- with student interest

- with faculty support

International Courses

● Outcome of Faculty Survey

● Remedy for a dilemma

● Meaningful study abroad promotion

The IERConn Website

● Practical consortium 

● 11 Connecticut institutions

● Resource sharing - Study Abroad (map and program details/photos)

- International Students (social networking and statistics)

- Faculty Experts (selection and linking)

- Calendar of International Events

2 years later - where we are

● Committed Lab members

● Campus-wide, integrated, and collaborative; not ad hominem

● Systematic 

● Practical

Where we are going

• Creative financing

• Outcome-based projects

- Faculty promotion, sabbatical, and appointment

- Program development

- Program assessment

● Committed to staying connected