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updated 09/14/03

Task Force Report on International Education  Posted 9/12/03

TO: Ed Cody, Acting Vice President for Academic Affairs/Provost

The Task Force on International Education was established by Dr. Edward Cody, Acting Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, at the beginning of the 2002/3 academic year. Its mandate was to examine and make recommendations in regard to the following issues: 1) the international components of the curriculum; and 2) the best administrative structure for promoting international education at the college (specifically, should a new international school be created? should the Council on International Education be continued? and what should the role of the Roukema Center for International Education and Entrepreneurship be?)

Dr. Cliff Peterson, Professor of International Politics and convener of International Studies was asked to be the organizational convener of the Task force. As instructed, he assembled the membership by a public call for volunteers combined with invitations to faculty and staff who had relevant experience and interest. Regular participating members of the Task force included: Carol Bowman, Helen Burchell, Charles Carreras, Rosetta D’Angelo, Niza Fabre, Val Flenga, William Frech, Maria Vail Guevara, Ting Gong, Tom Heed, Donna Kauder, Iraida Lopez, Linda Mercurio, Susi Rachouh, Trent Schroyer, Kathy Sunshine, and Angelo Tarallo. All academic units and key administrative offices were represented on the Task force. At its organizational meeting on September 18, 2002, Cliff Peterson was elected convener of the Task Force. Two subcommittees were established: one on curriculum, chaired by Cliff Peterson and one on administrative structure chaired by Rosetta D’Angelo. Each of these subcommittees met five times between October 2, 2002 and March 19, 2003, to discuss the issues within the Task Force mandate. These discussions were serious, informed, and often intense. A variety of issues, approaches and models in international education at Ramapo were explained and a number of specific recommendations approved by vote at the March meetings of the subcommittees.

Recommendations of the Subcommittee on Administrative Structure:

The Subcommittee on Administrative Structure of the International Education Task Force strongly endorses the infusion approach to international education and the major vehicles for this approach are the schools and the new Roukema Center. It recommends the establishment of an All-College Committee (faculty, staff and students) charged with creating a new school of International Studies with a new dean hired via a national search. It further recommends the disbanding of the Council on International Education and the establishment of the Roukema Center as a separate entity but linked to all of the academic units. The Center will be charged with providing support and coordination for non-curricular international programs and initiatives as well as responsibility for outreach and partnership programs with the local community, corporations, and schools as well as fund—raising activities. The Center will be headed by an Executive Director whose position is equal to that of Associate Provost and will report to the Provost/VPAA and will have an advisory council consisting of Ramapo faculty and staff as well as representatives of area schools, corporations and community groups.

This recommendation results from the serious debate over alternative models and approaches including the existing school structure with a separate Roukema Center and linking a new international school with the Roukema Center (the Contemporary Arts/Berrie Center model) There was support within the Task Force for each of these models. This is a major decision for the College and the Task Force has had limited time to make its recommendation and thus proposes a new committee with a specific timetable to carry out this task next year.

The Task Force was in agreement that the Council on International Education had not succeeded due to a lack of authority, past leadership problems, and limited resources. There was also a clear consensus on the potential and importance of the Roukema Center to support and enhance the College’s international programs and initiatives.

The General Education program is a crucial framework for infusing international perspectives across the curriculum. All students should have multiple exposures to international education embedded in General Education requirements throughout their undergraduate program. Accountability for developing and delivering these curricular outcomes need to be explicitly part of the responsibilities of the Provost/VPAA, Deans, Conveners and relevant faculty committees. Furthermore, the courses within the GE program need to be systematically reviewed, culled and adjusted in light of international education criteria.

More specifically within the GE program, it is recommended that foreign languages, an essential element of a global curriculum, be enhanced by means of new language majors (such as the recent approval of a Spanish major) as well as an initial one

year foreign language requirement in GE to be expanded in the future to two years/proficiency and supported by a foreign language across the curriculum (FLAC) approach to incorporate language into non-language courses.

Experiential learning is also an important element that should be required as part of GE with as many international opportunities as possible within the Cahill Center’s "Spectrum" model including coop education, study abroad, internships and service learning. Resources, of course must be available for such an initiative. Study Abroad, as part of an experiential component to GE, should increasingly emphasize semester—long programs in addition to our current short—duration programs.

Other General Education recommendations include: ensuring that each school core should have an international component (a specific course or substantial elements of several courses), the College Seminars should be a "gateway" to introduce and explore international programs and opportunities for all students, and the evolution of the GE Global Studies category emphasis from "Western Studies" to "World Civilizations".

Beyond General Education, we recommend the development of an "International Certificate" program as an option for students in any major (a package of specific courses, foreign language proficiency, and an international experiential education component). Finally we endorse the development of the Roukema Center as a source of financial and logistical support for faculty and curriculum development seminars and workshops to further enhance undergraduate international initiatives.

These curricular recommendations have been complicated by the fluid nature of the proposed revisions to the General Education program currently. Further review and recommendations are needed as we continue to revise and refine GE in light of the College mission in general and international education dimensions specifically.

Finally, in the interest of continuity, we strongly recommend the continuation of the Task Force to work on the development of the Roukema Center, its programs, and its staffing. Members of the current Task Force should be seen as a resource for future relevant committees (Executive Director Search Committee, committees on the design of the facility, committees for developing programs, etc.)