Internationalization Task Force Final Report

I. Northern Michigan University will Continue to Develop and Support Leadership in the Internationalization Process and the Administration of Internationalization across the Campus

Leadership is an essential component of a successful internationalization program. NMU's ITF acknowledges the commitment senior administrators have made to internationalization in the very creation of this task force. This being said, the ITF recognizes that internationalization involves an on-going process, one that presents opportunities for continuous self-assessment and self-monitoring. Although this task force as it is currently configured will disband in spring 2005, the work of internationalization at NMU will be achieved through a series of steps that will take place over several years. Efforts to globalize the campus and the curriculum must be ongoing and sustained if they are to be successful. The ITF assumes that many deliberative and advisory aspects of this internationalization project will continue, eventually becoming a permanent structure in the institution, one designed to ensure the continuity of campuswide internationalization efforts.

Administrative leadership will also be needed to assure that recommendations made herein are fully deliberated by the campus community and that appropriate incentives will be forthcoming for faculty, for staff and of course, for students to opt into the process of internationalization. For this reason, the Task Force recommends the creation of an academic wing of NMU's existing Office of International Affairs, (to be renamed as the Office of Global Programs, see below). The new Office of Global Programs will need to be sufficiently empowered so as to have the authority necessary to work in a collaborative manner with all members of the NMU community, including the Academic Senate, the faculty, the deans, department and division heads, and Student Affairs. Office of Global Programs should be led by an administrative academic leader with full academic rank and international credentials. This administrative academic leader will work primarily in the academic wing of the office but will have oversight responsibilities over the operations wing of the Office of Global Programs. Qualifications of the Administrative Academic Leader will include the following: Tenure and the rank of at least Associate Professor; administrative leadership experience/potential; experience leading US students in one or more study abroad programs; significant long-term (duration of more than one year) professional experience in teaching or in administration in an academic setting serving non-US students, preferably in both the developed and the developing world; and a record of international research/study experience. An ability to speak, read, and write one or more foreign languages would be an additional desirable qualification.

The academic wing of the Office of Global Programs will be charged with working closely with colleges, schools, and department faculty to assure that their programs facilitate study abroad and integrate internationalization protocols. This academic administrative leader shall be advised by a group of faculty (similar to the Dean of Graduate Studies who is advised by the Graduate Programs Committee) who serve as an advisory body and assist in making academic decisions related to internationalization and to academic issues surrounding study abroad. This group shall be a recognized subcommittee of the Academic Senate. Complete by-laws governing the Global Advisory Committee (GAC) of NMU's Office of Global Programs will be developed.

To signal the importance of NMU's internationalization effort, the Task Force recommends the assigning of a new name, the Office of Global Program, to the reorganized International Affairs Office. As noted above, the newly named Office of Global Programs will house an academic wing and the operations wing, the latter formerly known as the Office of International Affairs.

Facilities-Office of Global Programs

Northern Michigan University will maintain a facility for the operation of international programs that houses both an academic wing and an operations wing. This facility will be called the Office of Global Programs. It will be overseen by an administrative academic leader who is also charged with the responsibilities of the academic wing. The academic wing will function to assure the academic rigor of internationally-related programs. These include 1) traditional study abroad programs (semester-long or yearlong programs; 2) CLEAs (Concentrated Learning Experiences Abroad, i.e., faculty-led short courses abroad); 3) international service learning opportunities; 4) interdepartmental internationally-related majors, minors, and certificate programs, and 5) new initiatives related to global programs, including visiting international faculty. The academic wing of the facility for Global Programs will also act in an advisory capacity to departments, recommending steps they may take in promoting internationalization of departments and programs.

The Operations Wing of the Office of Global Programs will function to 1) assure the processing of students who study abroad in all non-NMU CLEA programs (year/semester-long traditional study abroad programs, i.e., exchanges, consortia, summer programs, etc.; and 2) advise faculty along with the Office of Continuing Education on the delivery of non-academic portions of CLEAs and assist faculty in the processing students enrolled in faculty-led CLEAs. 3) The operations wing of the Office of Global Programs will also function to process international students attending Northern Michigan University , including the maintenance of databases on each student as required by the U. S. Department of Immigration and Naturalization. 4) Operation will also continue to work to process J-Visas for International Visiting scholars and advise, in conjunction with university attorneys on matters relating to immigration of regularly appointed faculty who are not US citizens.

The International Task Force Implementation Plan contains details that will promote these goals. Highlights include:

1. Broadening of the scope of work of the existing Office of International Affairs to include an academic wing, eventually with oversight responsibility over the operations wing. It also includes renaming of the office, i.e., Office of Global Programs.
2. Creation of a Global Advisory Committee (GAC) to serve in an advisory capacity for the academic wing of the Office of Global Programs.
3. Development of by-laws governing the Global Advisory Committee.
4. Provision of support for workshops/training of administrative personnel in all matters relating to ongoing internationalization practice and policy formation.
5. Expansion of the operations wing of the Office of Global Programs (currently International Affairs) to accommodate expected growth in study abroad programs.
6. Ease of accessing on the NMU website, electronic centralization, and dissemination of information pertaining to all matters international including study abroad information; upcoming CLEAs; opportunities for faculty seminars and workshops; grants related to internationalization; upcoming speakers and performers, etc.

Policy Recommendations: Internationalization of Administration

• The administration is urged to make international expertise a high priority in the appointment of senior-level administration.
• The administration is further urged to support internationalization efforts, in the form of workshops and other activities, for senior administration.
• The administration is urged to encourage all divisions to develop attitudes and work habits conducive to supporting an increasingly international climate at NMU.
• The university is urged to remain open to supporting promising opportunities for internationalization that may emerge from a faculty member, a staff member, or a member of the community, i.e., opportunities not envisioned in this report or in successive ones.