Conference Schedule - Thursday, April 3, 2008

7am-5pm         Registration      

7am-5pm          Exhibit Hall and Internet Cafe

7-8am                Continental Breakfast

8-8:30am           Opening Remarks

8:45-10am         Dialogue Sessions

Advocacy, Diversity, and the Senator Paul Simon Act: Preparing a Foundation in the Field

• Sara Marie Emel, Anthony Jewett, John Sunnygard

This session will consider the challenges facing institutions seeking to achieve the goals established by the Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act and identify necessary steps to be taken in order succeed. Presenters and participants will discuss barriers in administrative infrastructure, policies and procedures, finances, study abroad culture on campus, and outreach to underrepresented groups, and investigate ways to overcome some of these obstacles.

Cultural Area Studies - On Site: Implications for Study Abroad of the MLA Report on the Foreign Language Curriculum

• Odile Cazenave, Nancy Downey, Michael Geisler, Ana Perez-Girones

Three foreign language faculty members will briefly summarize and discuss the findings and recommendations of the MLA report on “Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World.” The discussions will center on transforming academic programs, the dual goal of translingual and transcultural competence, and integrative approaches with multiple paths to the major. Participants will come away from the session with increased knowledge of this call for radical reform in how foreign language and culture are taught.

Ethical Standards and Study Abroad: Case Studies

• David Comp, Lester Goodchild, Dennis Gordon, Peter R. Kerrigan, Rosalind Latiner Raby, Michael S. Steinberg                                                             

This session asks the question:  “How well do the Forum’s new ethical guidelines apply to real world situations?" Guest ethicist, Les Goodchild, from Santa Clara University will set the stage for breakout groups that will discuss real ethical dilemmas faced in study abroad.  Discussions will focus on how the Forum ethical guidelines may be applied to these dilemmas and whether these ethical guidelines can define definitive answers in all situations. 

 

The Ethics of Advisory Board Service

• Laurie Black, Kendall Brostuen, Michael Morrison

This open dialogue session will focus on ethical practices in relation to service on advisory boards. This is one of four open dialogue sessions offered at the conference to discuss specific topics addressed in the just-released Forum Code of Ethics for Education Abroad.

Map Quest: Science, Study Abroad and Graduate School

• Janet Alperstein, Carol Burdsal, Thomas Cleveland, Pieter Cohen, Joseph Finkhouse, Liz Paci, Glen Zamansky

While the numbers of students studying abroad are increasing, science, engineering, and pre-medical majors still lag behind due to real and perceived hurdles including delaying graduation, lack of course equivalents, and disadvantages when applying to graduate school. The panel will include a alums who studied abroad and are now in graduate school, a practitioner and medical school faculty member who studied abroad, an undergraduate pre-medical adviser and an engineering school dean. They will discuss the issues, challenges, and strategies for increasing the number of science, engineering, and pre-med majors who study abroad.

Models of Academic Good Practice: Creating Frameworks to Achieve Optimal Academic Outcomes

• Dennis Dutschke, Maryélise Lamet, Sarah McKenzie, David Rudd

The regular implementation of innovative ways to define academic outcomes and assess faculty and student performance is central to the maintenance of high academic standards for education abroad programs. This session will offer several program providers the opportunity to share recently-developed strategies with colleagues. Approaches will vary based on the education abroad program design – program center, direct enrollment or a mix.

Training Faculty and Resident Directors: Are We Covering All Our Bases?

• Jean Kerr, Jennifer White Reding, Margaret Wiedenhoeft

Given the institutional awareness of risk management issues abroad and the time and resource constraints many international offices face, how do we organize and prioritize the various issues and concerns our institutional representatives must consider when working with our students? The approaches of Kalamazoo College, Washington University in St. Louis, and Illinois Wesleyan University will be presented, with ample time for questions and discussion.

10:45am-12pm   Dialogue Sessions

Approaches to Community-Based Learning

• Lili Folsom Batchelder, David DiBiasio, Camille George, Ashley Shams

Experiential, field-based, service-learning, and other similar models of education abroad have the potential to engage students in academic work that is both appropriate and beneficial to the local community. This interactive session will engage participants in four different community-based models. Round-table discussion groups will address connecting learning objectives such as global/cultural awareness, understanding sustainablility and complexity, critical thinking, and discipline-specific knowledge to local needs. Program structure, implementation, and evaluation will also be analyzed to understand what works and what doesn’t. Discussion will also include reaching under-served students such as engineers, science majors, and adult/graduate students.

Conducting and Participating in Ethical Site Visits

• Bill Clabby, Barbara Rowe, John Wells, Annagene Yucas

This open dialogue session will focus on ethical practices in relation to site visits. This is one of four open dialogue sessions offered at the conference to discuss specific topics addressed in the just-released Forum Code of Ethics for Education Abroad.

The Forum on Education Abroad's Code of Ethics: Discussion

• William Anthony, Andrea Custodi, Michael Morrison, Carolyn Sorkin, Annmarie Whalen

The Forum’s Code of Ethics for Education Abroad is a watershed effort for education abroad. This session will describe the theory behind the Code of Ethics, the open, dialogue-based process of its development, and implications of its content. Ample time will be provided for discussion and questions.

Professionalizing the Field: Salaries, Workload and Other Job-Related Topics That We Don’t Discuss

• Kim Kreutzer, David Shallenberger, Sarah Spencer

View the session presentation: Forum Pathways

The Forum's Pathways to the Profession Survey recently gathered benchmark data on job functions, titles and qualifications, salaries and workload. The session will discuss the data, and challenges and the next steps towards establishing standardized job descriptions, institutional or organizational environments, and areas outside education abroad which will be well served by the data, such as human resources industry.

Re-Imagining Education Abroad as a Full-Fledged Academic Department

• William Brown, Robert Frost

With increasing numbers of students and faculty interested in education abroad, and given the common tensions on campus between departmental programs and centralized study abroad offices, this session will propose that the time has come to re-imagine education abroad as a full-fledged academic department focused on teaching, research and service. Such a shift would greatly expand academic experiences and internships abroad. Faculty would gain flexible appointments and expanded research funding opportunities between education abroad and another department. Teaching short-term or longer term programs abroad on load would provide hands-on professional training for the next generation of researcher practitioners.

The Value-Added of Education Abroad: The Planning, Implementation, and Assessment of Holistic Student Development

• Larry Braskamp, Dennis Doyle, Joan Gillespie, Brian Zylstra

One of the major arguments for student studying abroad is the impact of student experiences in a different cultural setting on student total development. Presenters will report on student changes in three dimensions of holistic student development - cognitive, intrapersonal, interpersonal - based on the Global Perspective Survey (GPI) (Braskamp, Braskamp, and Carter, 2007). The GPI is based on the seminal work of developmental psychologist Robert Kegan (1994) and further embellished by scholars in student development, Pat King and Marcia Baxter Magold (2006), which they refer to as “intercultural maturity.” Comparisons will be made between students studying at an English speaking Center and those at Centers in counties whose native language is not English.

12-1:30pm        Lunch Plenary

Read the Keynote by Isabelle de Courtivron

Sponsored by The Scholar Ship.

1:45-3pm          Dialogue Sessions

Advocating Your Needs: Visibility Matters

• Diane Elton, Jason Fenner, Mark Ferguson, David T. Gies, Mitch Leventhal,     Heidi Soneson, Susan Thompson, John Wells

This working session will engage audience members in identifying ways to work with key individuals on their campus to increase the visibility of study abroad and to help ensure that study abroad needs and goals remain on the minds of those who can help further the study abroad mission. The goal is to compile a document to be published as a reference document for the study abroad field.

The Ethics of Approving Programs

• Richard Gaulton, Martha Johnson

This open dialogue session will focus on ethical practices in relation to colleges and universities creating lists of approved programs. This is one of four open dialogue sessions offered at the conference to discuss specific topics addressed in the just-released Forum Code of Ethics for Education Abroad..

Fostering a Dialogue on Global Thinking: Collaborations Among Four-Year Institutions, Providers, and Community Colleges

• Brian Brubaker, Rosalind Latiner Raby, Adolf King, David Larsen, Carol Lebold

In light of the New York Times article of August 12, 2007, there is a need to understand relationships between providers and a variety of institutional types - from both sides of the issue. What advantages do providers bring to the field of education abroad? What drives the relationship of the provider to the college and the university to the community college? What can the organizations learn from each other? Are there areas of mutual interest? Representatives from a four-year university, a community college, and a provider will discuss the uniqueness of education abroad for various institutions as well as innovative forms of collaboration.

The Intersection of the Australian Quality Practices with the Forum Standards

• Cynthia Banks, Rob Castle, Jen Nielsen

This session discusses some of the issues which arise in applying the Standards to receiving institutions in a country with a well developed framework of government controls and quality assurance for higher education. The areas of convergence as well as the gaps need to be analysed in order to understand how institutions can relate their adherence to the government framework as a response to issues raised in the standards. The session examines the Australian framework, the reaction of a major sending group and the way one University approached these issues in the pilot.

Meeting America's Global Education Challenge: Evaluating the Capacity to Send One Million Students Abroad

• Rajika Bhandari, Ben de Winter, Jen Nielsen, Peter Kerrigan

The recent Lincoln Commission report notes the need to address the issue of capacity, both in the United States and in host destinations. Are American study abroad programs prepared and equipped to substantially increase the number of students studying abroad? And does sufficient capacity exist abroad to host 1 million students in the years ahead? In order to analyze these complex and timely issues, this panel will bring together experts who will provide input from both a U.S. and international perspective. A special emphasis will be placed on the need not only for higher participation in study abroad, but also the need for greater diversity in terms of student demographics and study in non-traditional destinations.

Research Roudtable: Current Research Projects in Education Abroad

• Mell Bolen, David Comp, Bernhard Streitwieser, Michael Vande Berg

This session is an open roundtable for colleagues to share information about research projects in progess. It is an opportunity to receive feedback and suggestions for current projects and a forum to discuss ideas for future research.

Theory to Practice: The Relationship between Student Development Theory and Education Abroad Programming

• Sora Friedman, Linda Gobbo, Megan Featherstone

While many education abroad practitioners are familiar with suggested structures for programs and orientations, many are not familiar with the full range of student development theory. This session will first introduce participants to the major cognitive and psychosocial theories related to student development. Participants will consider how programs can be adjusted by integrating these theories and looking at them from the perspectives/experiences of the student, the study abroad adviser, and the institution.

3:45-5pm         Dialogue Sessions

The Ethics of Study Abroad Pricing

• Stephen DePaul, Andrea Custodi

This open dialogue session will focus on ethical practices in relation to pricing study abroad programs. This is one of four open dialogue sessions offered at the conference to discuss specific topics addressed in the just-released Forum Code of Ethics.

Facilitating Student Learning Outside the Classroom

• Jerome B. Bookin-Weiner, Thomas D'Agostino, Maggie Burkhart Evans, Daniel Greenberg, Corinna Lewis, Doug Reilly, Sherry Schwarz, Skye Stephenson, Lee Sternberger, Bernhard Streitwieser

This session will challenge the way we think about students' education abroad experiences, especially the times and places in which learning and growth occur, as well as the relationship and role of practitioners in shaping students' learning. We will question the peak goals we have for education abroad and look at how theoretical challenges can lead to real innovations in programming for the pre-departure, on-site, and re-entry phases of the education abroad learning cycle. We will discuss what goals our students and the field aspire to (e.g. intercultural understanding, critical reflection, global citizenship, and sustainability in education abroad); what strategies have been and can be developed to support these goals; and how we can assess and improve the outcomes of learning outside the classroom.

 

Increasing Underrepresented Student Participation in Study Abroad – Strategies for Overcoming Perceived Barriers

• Darryl Crompton, Paetra Hauck, Anthony Jewett

Representatives from the Institute of International Education’s Gilman International Scholarship Program, Xavier University of Louisiana, and Bardoli Global will discuss the many challenges to increasing minority participation in study abroad. The session will begin with an overview of the common barriers to underrepresented student participation in study abroad, referring to the five “Fs,”: family, faculty, finances, fear and friends (a term used by Johnnetta B. Cole, president of Bennett College for Women). Because this population often lacks role models who have gone overseas, more unique efforts need to be implemented to reach out to these students beyond the study abroad office doors and ensure their representation in study abroad increases. All session participants will be given an interactive CD Toolkit with information compiled by the presenters to assist in applying these strategies at their home institution.

Integrating Theory, Research, and Application for Program Design

• Gabriele Bosley, Joe Hoff, Kris Lou, Victor Savicki

A combination of understanding theory, identifying the connections between theory and outcomes, and utilizing these connections in program design develops the most potent results for study abroad students. This session offers three presentations that combine these elements. First, an assessment of student psychological and socio-cultural adjustment, based on stress and coping theory, will clarify how students adjust while abroad. Second is an example of program intervention informed by developmental theory and guided by the combination of a quantitative assessment tool and the ongoing qualitative assessment of student writing. Finally, we’ll report on the current status of that research dealing with key concepts such as self and cultural awareness, cross-cultural adaptability, interpersonal flexibility, and autonomy in cross-cultural learning.

The Local-Global Nexus in Intercultural Learning

• Chip Peterson, Bruce LaBrack

For almost 100 years, the dominant paradigm in the movement to foster intercultural competence in college-aged students has privileged study abroad – that is, structured, credit-bearing educational experiences operating across a body of water or geopolitical border. This session will challenge this paradigm Presentations will consider how the split between domestic/multicultural learning and international/cross-cultural learning took place; why current dilemmas in education abroad challenge us to imagine a truly comprehensive model of global learning; and what program providers can do to “glocalize” their educational services.

Study Abroad Review: Arguments For and Against Faculty Participation

• Heidi Soneson, Michael Steinberg, Anders Uhrskov, Brian Whalen

This session will describe several review processes, including the Forum’s Quality Improvement Program (QUIP), and presents arguments for and against faculty participation in study abroad reviews.

6-7:30pm          Reception at 808 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston University

Sponsored by Boston University and School for Field Studies.