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International Students Study Abroad Faculty Annual Report International Studies
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Annual Report June 2003-August 2004 Annual Report June 2002-July 2003 Annual Report May 2001-June 2002 Annual Report June 2000-July 2001
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Annual Report MACALESTER COLLEGE Summary Report of Activities and Programs . . I. International Center Mission, Programs and Staff The mission of the International Center is to strengthen Liberal Arts education by engaging students and faculty in international and intercultural learning. This mission is accomplished primarily through six programs and their related activities and services:
The International Center professional staff includes the following individuals and positions:
During this academic year 5.75 FTE student employees also assisted the International Center, with responsibilities in the areas of mentoring, peer advising, data management, receptionist, administrative assistance, and clerical support. A. Mission Study abroad at Macalester College means both high academic performance
and an acute awareness of diversity that is uniquely fostered by
international experience. It enhances education in the liberal arts
by engaging well-prepared students in rigorous and stimulating learning
experiences in a variety of countries outside the United States.
Study abroad enables students to encounter foreign cultures through
contact with faculty, students, and the general public of the host
country, and, in societies where the native language is not English,
provides them with useful and consciousness-expanding proficiency
in a second language. The College can realize these purposes of study abroad through
thoughtful program development, active monitoring of programs, careful
preparation of student participants, able management of financial
resources, and purposeful integration of academic experiences abroad
with courses and programs on the home campus. We face a time of
exceptional promise for Macalester College and its students. Carried
out with renewed commitment and vigor, study abroad will help us
realize that promise. B. Operationalizing the Study Abroad Program Mission The Study Abroad Program carries out its mission by assisting Macalester students interested in study abroad or study on selected off-campus programs in the United States. It maintains a resource library on programs; provides group and individual advising; conducts cross-cultural, country-specific, and program-specific orientation and re-entry sessions; and helps students select and apply to programs which will build upon and strengthen their study towards a degree at Macalester College. Through the Study Abroad Program, the International Center collaborates in a variety of linkages and consortia with U.S. and overseas institutions. The Center works with program sponsors to maintain and strengthen the academic, cross-cultural and language acquisition components of study away programs in which Macalester students participate; assists faculty and staff in evaluating student applications for off-campus study; and helps students to integrate off-campus study into the Macalester curriculum and to become life-long international learners. Among the many activities undertaken by the Study Abroad Program during this academic year are the following: Program Evaluation This year (AY 2003-04 and Summer 2004) Michael Monahan, Director of the International Center, undertook the following on-site study abroad program development and evaluations:
In addition, Study Abroad Coordinator Katherine Yngve undertook one on-site program evaluation at Universitas Castellae in Valladolid, Spain in conjunction with three weeks of professional training in advanced Spanish language. Advising Pre-departure orientation now includes new materials on value orientations of minority populations in the US and other cultures, and a set of readings (essays by returned students) on dealing with prejudices while overseas (anti-Americanism, gender discrimination, anti-semitism, racism, etc). Student advising procedures have been changed with the addition of Study Abroad 101 -- group advising sessions which cover basic procedures of the application process, financial aid and information on the varied educational models of our recommended programs list. These are offered daily during the months of September and February, and weekly during the rest of the academic year. Requiring students to attend such a meeting prior to an individual advising session with the coordinator allows more time for high-quality discussion between the study abroad coordinator and each student regarding the individualized fit between the student’s academic interests and particular programs. Under-represented Students In addition, a process has been formulated which will help make off-campus study more feasible for all students from low-income families: the financial aid and budget offices have agreed to help implement a short-term bridge loan program which will allow eligible students, when necessary, to borrow funds to cover program deposit fees and/or airfare prior to the usual date of their expected financial aid disbursements. Highlighted Programs List In addition, International Center staff met with faculty of the Hispanic Studies Department and of the African Studies Committee to suggest for each area a short, selective target list of recommended programs specific to the curricular needs of their majors and concentrators. This was done in order to help give the faculty a better sense of study away options, since the full list must necessarily include programs in these regions which are suitable for those students concentrating or majoring in language or area studies as well as for other students who are not thus specialized. This pilot program of working with departmental faculty will be expanded to other departments in the upcoming academic years.
Macalester students again received a significant number of prestigious national scholarships and other program-specific financial support for 2003-04, which totaled US $50,200. Awards included the following:
C. Study Away Statistics Enrollment in off-campus study during the summer of 2003 and academic year 2003-04 involved 253 students on 128 programs in 45 countries and 7 programs in the United States. Using the national statistical methodology recommended by the Institute of International Education (IIE) for comparative purposes in determining level of study abroad across U.S. colleges and universities (the number of study abroad participants divided by the number of students who received degrees in May 2004), the Macalester College study abroad participation rate was 58.8% (238/405) for 2003-04. If domestic off-campus study is added to this figure, the participation rate rises to 62.5% (253/405). Participation by duration of study was as follows:
The geographical breakdown by regions remained highly diverse: Africa (11.1%), Asia (4.7%), Europe (47.0%), Latin America/Caribbean (20.9%), Middle East (0.4%), Multi-Region (0.4%), Oceania (9.5%), and the United States (5.9%). The most popular academic majors among students who studied away for a semester or academic year were: International Studies (14.5%), English 8.4%), and History (7.9%). A full statistical report of off-campus study, including details
on countries of destination and academic major, is available from
the International Center. D. Program Sponsor Meetings The International Center again hosted a significant number of study away review meetings and information sessions with representatives from selected sponsoring organizations and universities. As part of a continued effort toward quality control, a variety of meetings were held at Macalester and at the NAFSA regional and national conferences this year with representatives from the programs listed below. In keeping with a move to focus more closely on highlighted program partners, the International Center also turned down a number of visit requests from program representatives who may have visited the campus in earlier years.
III. The International Student Program A. Mission The International Student Program serves the educational and personal development needs of Macalester international students. This involves efforts to integrate international students into all aspects of College life, helping them participate in and contribute to Macalester’s high-quality liberal arts education, and assisting them in applying their learning to their own lives and cultural contexts. This also means helping create an intellectually and culturally supportive environment among students, faculty and staff, and assisting the College and the community gain from the presence of students from different countries and cultures. The International Student Program carries out the U.S. government-mandated
functions that allow Macalester to issue documents for international
students to attend the College. This The International Student Program promotes the integration and full functioning of international students through a number of activities and services, including: educational and informational programs on intercultural, academic and practical living matters; forums for interaction with U.S. students; individual counseling and advising on cross-cultural adjustment, communication, U.S. cultures and customs, and the use of community and campus resources; and explanations of the nature, goals and expectations of Macalester as a national and international liberal arts college. Among the goals of the International Student Program for students are: . B. Operationalizing the International Student Program Mission Among this year's activities supporting the mission of this program were: Orientation Mentor Program The international student Mentor Program continued to provide high quality assistance to first-year and transfer international students, including faculty-facilitated discussions on critical issues such as choosing academic fields of concentration and adjustment to studying at a liberal arts college. Twelve returning students (working in pairs) mentored 70 students this year. Additional programs included orientation to the Twin Cities; choosing majors; time management and study skills; issues of sex and drugs on U.S. college campuses; trips to Orchestra Hall, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and the St. Paul Art Crawl; and understanding U.S. government regulations that affect international students. Host Family Program Government Regulations Tax Tutoring International Student Organizations Financial Aid and International Admissions . C. International Student Statistics Macalester’s enrollment of international students (non-immigrant visa holders) during the 2003-04 academic year numbered 259, or 14.1% of the total College enrollment, and came from 74 different countries. The distribution of international students (non-immigrant visas)
according to region of citizenship remained highly diverse:
The most popular academic majors among Macalester’s non-immigrant visa international students were: Economics (24%), Computer and Information Science (9%), Biology (8.4%), Political Science (8.4%), and International Studies (7.6%) A full statistical report of Macalester international students, including region of citizenship and academic major, is available from the International Center. IV. The Faculty Development International Seminar The 2004 Faculty Development International Seminar, with the
theme of “Hybrid Geographies in the Eastern Mediterranean:
A View from the Bosphorus”, took place from May 23 through
June 11, 2004, in collaboration with Bogazici (Bosphorus) University
in Istanbul. This year’s seminar participants included the
following 15 Macalester faculty/staff members: V. The Faculty and Staff Exchange Program Since the end of the Miyagi University/Macalester College Faculty Exchange Program in 2003, the International Center has been undertaking strategic planning for a more individualized faculty exchange program which will have closer ties to study abroad partner institutions and programs. This planning continues, although implementation of any such exchanges awaits IC budget allowances. The Staff Exchange Program was very active in 2003-04 with a reciprocal exchange of staff between the International Center and Universitas Castellae, Macalester’s partner program in Valladolid, Spain. Katherine Yngve, IC Study Away Coordinator, spent the month of August 2003 at Universitas conducting an extensive site visit, meeting with various faculty and staff, and improving her command of Spanish by studying Advanced Business Spanish. In November 2003, Eva Higueros, Administrative Coordinator at Universitas, visited Macalester College for several days. During her visit, Eva was a guest in several Spanish language classes, met with faculty and staff, and attended a luncheon for Universitas alumni and prospective students. The International Center, International Studies and Programming, the Macalester International Organization, and the Quantitative Methods for Public Policy Project collaboratively designed and implemented this year’s International Week with a thematic focus on “Human Migration, Immigration & Refugees: Liberal Arts and Professional Perspectives.” This consisted of three days of panel discussions focusing on various aspects of immigration, migration and refugee issues; followed by the International Dinner, featuring a keynote presentation by Dr. Francis Deng, the Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons, and the presentation of the 2004 Macalester Internationalism Award to Karl Dahlquist ’04. A special addition to this year’s International Week was the Saturday Symposium, designed especially for Macalester students interested in international work involving refugee resettlement issues or immigration. The featured speakers with hands-on experience in these fields were Peter Hayward and Scott Borene. VII. International Center Staff: Selected Professional Activities and Professional Development Highlights Aaron Colhapp, International Student Program Coordinator, attended the Association of International Educators (NAFSA) national conference in Baltimore, Maryland. During the conference, he met and shared best practices with his equivalents from Middlebury College, Grinnell College, Oberlin College, and Carleton College. He helped the Admissions Office by hosting counselors from the United World Colleges and presenting a comprehensive overview of international student life at Macalester College. He served on a panel presentation about the Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) for the Minnesota International Educator Association, and conducted a nonresident tax workshop at Minneapolis College of Art and Design. In October, he visited ten Macalester international alumni studying at the London School of Economics and the Johns Hopkins SAIS program in Bologna, Italy. He also visited and presented on Macalester College at the United World College in Italy. Marilyn Cragoe, Administrative Assistant, continued to coordinate the Host Family Program, matching 43 students with 35 host families, 24 of whom were new to the program this year. There were seven cultural and educational events held throughout the academic year for program participants. Marilyn also finished her three-year term as secretary of the Minnesota International Educators organization, coordinating communications and helping with meeting logistics for the organization. Michael Monahan, Director, in addition to other activities and beyond the usual tasks in operationalizing the IC mission, was involved in the following: study abroad program development and evaluation projects in China, Hungary, Spain, Transylvania; service on the academic consortium board of the Council for International Educational Exchange (Portland, Maine) and the Institute of American Universities (Aix-en-Provence, France); service on the Macalester Self-Study Accreditation Committee and the Latin American Studies Steering Committee; the design and implementation of the first Macalester-Pomona-Swarthmore environmental studies program in South Africa; contributions to the new international student seminar on American Intellectual Traditions; and coordination of the Faculty Development International Seminar in Turkey. Paula Paul-Wagner, Assistant Director, worked extensively with study abroad program directors in China to initiate and implement a series of Macalester site visits in cooperation with the College’s Freeman Grant administrators and the Asian Studies Department. She also guided activities related to the first group of students to study on the Macalester-Pomona-Swarthmore consortium study abroad program in South Africa. This included direction of communication and related problem-solving with students, consortium partners, program director, Macalester administrative offices and on-site coordinators. In addition to assisting with the coordination of the Faculty Development International Seminar in Turkey, Paula served in various external relations roles during the extended overseas travel periods of the IC Director and Study Abroad Coordinator. Katherine Yngve, Study Abroad Coordinator, spent the month of August 2003 improving her command of Spanish by studying Advanced Business Spanish with Universitas Castellae, Macalester’s partner program in Valladolid, Spain. In November, she served as part of the instructional team for a Professional Development Workshop for beginning Study Abroad Advisors, "Study Abroad 101," in Kansas City. In April, she attended a conference on Study Abroad & Curriculum Integration at the University of Minnesota, and is eager to share methodologies and best practices from this conference with Macalester faculty. This June she is finalizing the chapter proofs for her essay on "Meta-Issues of Technology and Education Abroad" which will appear in the upcoming 4th edition of the NAFSA Guide to Education Abroad.
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