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Education Abroad

Education Abroad 2011: Life Changing!

Photo caption: University of Maryland students taking part in Professor Mike Olmert’s Study Abroad class pose in front of the the monument to the WW I nurse/martyr Edith Cavell, who was executed on 1915 for allowing British officers to escape from her hospital ward. This is at the bottom of St. Martin’s Lane, London.

Online Release: newsdesk.umd.edu/engaged/release.cfm?ArticleID=2447

Read our student’s blog entries: blog.umd.edu/londoneastanglia/

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Anyone who’s traveled abroad knows that the experience can be life changing. For Maryland students, that’s especially true. The university has long encouraged students to have an education abroad experience and it’s key to the strategic goals of new University of Maryland President Wallace Loh.

Associate Provost for International Affairs Saul Sosnowski said, "We know they’re not going to acquire a comprehensive understanding of what the world is like unless they go out of here, and they go overseas and come back, transformed." Sosnowski is the long-time director of the Institute for International Programs (IIP) at Maryland.

For a number of years, Newsdesk has followed the summer adventures of English Professor Mike Olmert and a group of Maryland students (this year there are 13 in the class) as they are thoroughly immersed in the culture of England – focusing on London and East Anglia. This year the course runs from June 11 to 30.

Olmert says it’s easy to understand why he’s taught this class for more than a decade: "Britain – its literature, its architecture, its landscape, its age (6,000 years of humans living & changing the land) – were very important in my career and life. I’ve been to the UK more than 140 times, and every trip was like a 3-credit course in something new."

Olmert makes it clear to his Terp charges that the emphasis is on education – no sooner do they arrive in London and get a little rest than they are up and running with an intensive five hour walking tour. "Every single day they will learn at least ten new things. They will mainly learn what a kick it is to keep their eyes and ears open to new things, sometimes dangerous or delightful things," said Olmert.

This year’s program includes visits to a number of museums and plays including "One Man, Two Guvs" by Richard Bean and three at the Globe Theatre. There will be road trips to Castle Acre for a Shakespeare play, and to the County of Norfolk for a tour around the port town of King’s Lynn and its unique Red Mount Chapel. The students have 14 books to read, videos to watch and a journal to keep. Each student will also be contributing to this blog – which now has it’s own blog home on the University of Maryland website!. This year, hopefully that will include not just photos, but perhaps an audio report or video. We’ll share it all!

Contact Information:

David Ottalini,
301 405 4076
dottalin@umd.edu

How is Education Abroad Related to the College/University Mission Statement?

Article by Dr. Sandi Smith

It is important to draw justification for a study abroad program from the college/university mission statement. Look for excerpts from mission statements and senior level administration for internationalizing the curriculum, developing students with a global perspective, preparing students for a global workforce, etc.

Write a mission statement for study abroad that makes it a priority to integrate international education services into the foundation of the college/university mission. A study abroad office mission includes an academic enhancement role and student support services. It is essential to include with your mission statement, some measurable intended outcomes for study abroad. Your statements of intended outcomes will guide your policies and practice.

It is also important to understand that every institution invests dollars and staff in endeavors that support and enhance the institutional mission and outcomes. Just as we see different levels of support for campus housing on various campuses, we also see different levels of support for international education.

Study abroad has long been considered an elective or “luxury” experience and thus has not been tied to the core values (and therefore finances) of most institutions. The closer you correlate study abroad with institutional priorities, the more leverage you will have in gaining support for your endeavors.

An example of a campus mission statement that is easily identifiable with education abroad.

Mission Statement:

We educate students to put the liberal arts into action as citizens in a global society.

And they go on to describe their core values as:

Academic Excellence, Diversity, Equity, and Shared Governance, Education of the Entire Person, Adherence to Common Ethical and Moral Standards Community Service and Global Citizenship, Environmental Stewardship.

This makes it easy to integrate study abroad into the core values of the institution.

Another example of a university mission statement is:

Our mission is to educate and nurture students, to create knowledge, and to provide service to our community and beyond. Committed to excellence and proud of the diversity of our University family, we strive to develop future leaders of our nation and the world.

However, some university mission statements require a little more work to integrate international education into the core values. For example consider the following mission statement

Our mission is to discover, create, transmit, and apply knowledge to address the needs of individuals and society. This mission is accomplished through instruction, which communicates the knowledge and values and imparts the skills necessary for individuals to lead responsible, productive, and personally satisfying lives; through research, scholarship, and creative activities, which advance knowledge and enhance the educational process; and through public service, which contributes to the solution of societal problems and enriches the quality of life in the State.

And yet other university mission statements do not lend themselves easily to integrating international education as a core value.

Our mission as a multipurpose public institution is to develop educated persons of inquiring, creative, and disciplined intelligence to be competent in careers that are fulfilling and to be socially responsible contributors to society. This University strives, therefore, to graduate people on the bachelor’s and master’s level who have had sound education in the arts and sciences and relevant specialized training built upon that base.

A study abroad office mission statement can also come in many diverse forms and visions. The following mission statement is an example of a diverse vision:

The Office for Study Abroad promotes opportunities for global education to all eligible students in order for them to gain an understanding of other countries, regions, languages, and cultures through direct overseas experience.

Some universities have taken the approach of being very explicit about their connection to the institution’s core values:

In support of the University’s mission to “promote the process of lifelong learning from both global and integrative perspectives,” the Office for Study Abroad offers international education opportunities to students through the University’s overseas study centers, international exchange partners, and affiliated organizations. As an extension of the University’s academic program, we promote academic excellence and provide access to high quality international education programs in expanding geographic destinations to serve a diverse student population representing a wide array of academic disciplines. As educators, we facilitate the academic, personal, professional, and intercultural development of students through the programs and services we provide.

And one more example of a carefully crafted mission statement that not only integrates international education into the university core value, but also sets criteria and objectives for policy:

We are a world leader in research, teaching, and public engagement. Many hands – at home and abroad – make it so, and many benefit. Study abroad is one of the ways in which our students and others build and benefit from our University’s international engagement.

Our mission is to provide and facilitate a range of study and education opportunities abroad consonant in breadth and quality with on-campus curricula, offered for short or long duration according to curricular objectives and in consideration of students’ obligations, at a range of costs and with opportunities for scholarship or subvention such that study abroad opportunity is available to all students in good standing. Attention to students’ health, safety, and well-being abroad underlies all other considerations.

Our intention is that through study abroad we and our partners prepare students for global citizenship, guiding them to a greater understanding of world and domestic cultures and encouraging them to share that understanding with their hosts abroad and communities at home; that students gain or enhance area, linguistic, subject, and cultural knowledge and competence; that students contribute to their host communities; and that students emerge wiser and more engaged citizens

Education Abroad

Co-published with the Association for American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) If we are all becoming global citizens, what then are our civic responsibilities? Colleges and universities across the United States have responded to this question by making the development of global citizens part of their core mission. A key strategy for realizing this goal is study abroad. After all, there may be no better way for students to acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to become effect

The Handbook of Practice and Research in Study Abroad: Higher Education and the Quest for Global Citizenship

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Sub-panels on higher education
Education Abroad
The advisory committee on higher education after a third meeting on Monday formed four sub-committees to recommend changes in different aspects of the system.The sub-committees will look into: a) the long-term vision of education b) necessity of structural changes, such as modification of the rules governing the appointment of vice-chancellors, registrars and faculty c) technical education like …

Education Abroad question by crystal: Education abroad!?
is it a good idea to study abroad after high school(12th class)
i’m thinking of doing B.Sc.

Education Abroad best answer:

Answer by WAYNE T
Defiantly

When you put on a job aplication your education history

THEY — employers — all stop when they see you were a foreign student by choice on your application

You had to be responsible on leaving the country by yourself and you had the ambition to do it.

Look at the education history of some of Americas famous people

Only now which country to chose good luck there Just make sure it is one that likes Americans