INTERNATIONALIZING THE FLORIDA

TECH CAMPUS:2013-14 ACTIVITIES AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

Internationalizing the Campus

Committee

WHAT IS INTERNATIONALIZATION?

“The process of integrating an international/intercultural dimension into

the teaching, research, and service functions of the institution” (Knight, 1994)

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

INTERNATIONALIZING THE CAMPUS COMMITTEE2013-2014

Mary Beth Kenkel, PhD, CoPLA, Chairperson Randall Alford, PhD, Student Affairs Monica Baloga, PhD, Institutional Effectiveness* Judith Brooke, ISSS/Enrollment Management Ali Faisal, Advancement William Gabrenya, PhD, CoPLA Tom Marcinkowski, PhD, QEP2 Korhan Oyman, PhD, CoA (Aug – Dec) Henry Perez, PhD, CoB Stephen Rice, PhD, CoA (Jan – May) Muzaffar Shaikh, PhD, CoE Wes Sumner, Marketing & Communications Hamid Rassoul, PhD, CoS Viviana Iduate, Administrative support

GOALS FOR 2013 - 2014

Continue faculty and staff training on cross-cultural competencies  

Continue including international content in university communications

Develop the Do You Know series for cultural learning Encourage more study abroad Add opportunities for domestic and international students to

develop cultural competencies Develop an International Living/Learning residence hall Gather support and potential donors for a Center for Global

Engagement Conduct a survey of the international alumni Consult on the development of a QEP2 focused on students’

cross cultural competencies

STAFF TRAINING

Training Results

Two trainings-December and March

Intensive 5 hour experiential training

29 front-line staff Conducted by FIT’s

Institute for Cross Cultural Management (ICCM)

Focus: cross cultural understanding and skills

Pre-training meeting with supervisors

“Loved the class – 5 hours felt like one hour!”

Participants rated the training very positively and felt it should be extended to faculty and students

Participants showed positive attitudinal shifts, and willingness to withhold judgment and utilize cultural cues in dealing with students

“I liked the self-awareness activity because it helped identify lenses that skew my perception.”

STAFF TRAINING

ICC Recommendations ICC Recommendations

Human Resources should incorporate cross-cultural competence training into the new employee orientation

Human Resources should develop a cross cultural competence online module that all current faculty and staff should be required to complete

Human resources should develop an online resource of FAQs related to cross cultural competence for use by staff and faculty

FIT’s ICCM would be an ideal partner for these initiatives

FACULTY TRAINING

Lunch and Learn Results

Luncheon and Presentation for the College of Engineering Faculty

Approximately 75 attended

Brief presentations on ICC, ISSS, and international students in the classroom, and then Q & A.

47 participants filled out evaluation forms

Everyone was happy with the organization and setting for event.

While generally positive, , some participants indicated that they wanted more specific information/guidance for dealing with international students issues

FACULTY TRAINING

Faculty’s RecommendationsFaculty’s

Recommendations

Q1: Future luncheons of this kind need to include these additional topics:

More on cultural differences

How to deal with student cheating

More information about support services

More on how to resolve conflict when cultural standard clash

More on specific activities/programs

Q2: To better prepare faculty to teach international students, what additional faculty resources,do you think would be helpful?

Professional exchange programs with overseas universities

Additional instruction for faculty regarding legal requirements/documentation

Lectures about culture – country by country

International movies

FACULTY TRAINING

Faculty’s Recommendations ICC Recommendations

Q3: What additional resources would improve the academic success of international students?

Testing element of the TOFEL are not working right, they pass but cannot communicate effectively

Resources to help improve writing/technical writing skills

Better language prep / more ESL

Better advising (that’s on us!) getting students to mix more.

More on the other aspect of internationalization

Cultural awareness programs

Hold two faculty trainings per year

Separate by college Fall – CoPLA Spring- CoB and COA

together Incorporate

suggestions from the CoE faculty training

MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS:DISCUSSION AND ENDORSEMENT

Faculty & Staff Training Recommendations

Student Education Recommendations

Continue the faculty and staff trainings 2 trainings per year for each

group Required funding

Promote viewing of new and acquired webinars on working with international students

Cultural Ombudsman

Add opportunities for domestic and international students to develop cultural competencies RAs training in Fall 2014 Increase international

content in courses and research experiences

Continue the Do You Know segments through multiple media

INTERNATIONALIZATION AT FLORIDA TECH AS PREPARATION FOR LIFE BEYOND