Comprehensive Internationalization

According to the European Association for International Education (EAIE- again acronyms!), the buzz term in the NAFSA conferences this past year has been "comprehensive internationalization" (CI). In the publication "Comprehensive Internationalization: From Concept to Action," they define CI as follows:


"Comprehensive internationalization is a commitment, confirmed through action, to infuse international and comparative perspectives throughout the teaching, research, and service missions of higher education. It shapes institutional ethos and values and touches the entire higher education enterprise. It is essential that it be embraced by institutional leadership, governance, faculty, students, and all academic service and support units. It is an institutional imperative, not just a desirable possibility. Comprehensive internationalization not only impacts all of campus life but the institution’s external frames of reference, partnerships, and relations. The global reconfiguration of economies, systems of trade, research, and communication, and the impact of global forces on local life, dramatically expand the need for comprehensive internationalization and the motivations and purposes driving it."


Obviously, this is a lofty goal, and surely will be difficult for some institutions to employ. In an interview I had today with a Study Abroad Coordinator, I was told that the most difficult aspect of her job was dealing with the administration. This, I am sure, is a common problem for International Offices across the country interested in implementing a plan for comprehensive internationalization at their school. Aside from that, many schools are experiencing tough financial strains that limit their ability to establish new programs, and may prevent them from thinking and acting globally.


But perhaps, as crazy as this sounds, money is weighed too heavily when thinking up new programs and projects that promote internationalization. There are many things that could be done to get students and staff thinking globally. Having study abroad material available for students when they go to see their academic advisors could be a huge step at getting students to consider studying abroad as part of their educational success. Creating social events that get international students more heavily involved with home students and organizations could be another way to create an international atmosphere.


Another aspect I did not consider about internationalization was getting professors, faculty, and staff to begin thinking more globally. As the report states, "Mobile students without mobile faculty and staff creates dissonance in the attempt to internationalize." Indeed, creating more opportunities for faculty to live, learn, and teach abroad will surely open up their worldview, which in turn will open up the worldview of their students when they return to campus and share their experience. More concerted efforts to have university professors engage globally should have a trickle down effect on students. Indeed, as the report suggests having a top down, bottom up strategies working in tandem will work to expose a wider amount of people involved with the institutions to global ideas and cultures.


Whether a university is experiencing financial strain or success in this stagnant economy, there are many things we can do as proponents of international education to get more people passionate about the world outside our borders.

Rule #11 for Breaking into the Field of Internationalization: Learn what is being discussed among IE professionals, and learn where you fit into this discussion.


LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/zack-wright/49/b26/265