Report and recommendations of the task force on global education 22 may 2013 table of contents introductory Observations pp. 3-5 Student Programs Abroad
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- Administrative Structures
- Bibliography and Resources p. 44 Introductory Observations
- Baylor University Mission
- * * * Student Programs Abroad * * * A Brief History of Baylor Student Programs Abroad
- Current Participation Levels
- Year Rate Studied Abroad Graduates
- Undergraduate Study-Abroad Participation Rates, 2010-2011
- Study-Abroad Participation Rate Freshmen With Pell Grants (%)
- Baylor U 806 2,910
- Baylor University U.S. Universities
- Discipline-Specific Mission Programs
- Discipline-Specific Mission Growth
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REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE TASK FORCE ON GLOBAL EDUCATION 22 MAY 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introductory Observations pp. 3-5 Student Programs Abroad pp. 6-14 Global Academic Programs pp. 15-21 International Student and Scholar Services pp. 22-28 Administrative Structures pp. 29-32 Recommendations pp. 33-34 Appendices pp. 35-43 Figure 1: Center for International Education p. 35 Figure 2: Center for Global Engagement p. 36 Draft Job Description for Vice Provost for Global Engagement pp. 37-38 Draft Job Description for Director for Global Student Engagement p. 39 Draft Job Description for Director for International Student and Scholar Services p. 40 U.S.-Sino Pathways Program (Kaplan) p. 41 IRT-CIE Study Abroad data 2012 p. 42 QEP examples p. 43 Bibliography and Resources p. 44 Introductory Observations Baylor University has many points of touch with the world. There should be many objectives for a university and each member of the faculty and the student body should touch this world at some point. -----A.J. Armstrong, “Baylor’s World Touch,” The Baylor Bulletin, August, 1937 Baylor University Mission: The mission of Baylor University is to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service by integrating academic excellence and Christian commitment within a caring community. Pro Futuris: Our University vision Pro Futuris, clearly articulates the centrality of global engagement to Baylor’s mission. Aspirational Statement One of Pro Futuris, Transformational Education, states that “Baylor will be a community recognized for Transformational Education… where academic excellence and life-changing experiences ignite leadership potential that increases our students’ desire for wisdom, understanding of calling, and preparation for service in a diverse and interconnected global society.” To this end we will “provide greater opportunities for students to learn from the rich cultural diversity of the student body and surrounding community” and “we will continue to graduate students who are prepared and committed to influence the world through intercultural understanding and ethical and compassionate service to others.” Therefore, we will “increase opportunities for students to develop cultural competency for worldwide leadership through foreign language acquisition, study abroad opportunities, and internationally focused research.” Likewise, we will “expand opportunities to engage with community, state, national, and international leaders.” Aspirational Statement Two, Compelling Scholarship, calls upon Baylor faculty and students to provide “research discoveries [that will] illuminate solutions to significant challenges confronting our world” and to join “the national and international community of scholars and artists in exploring the manifold issues and creative possibilities at the forefront of human discovery.” With respect to this aspiration we will “participate in local, state, national, and international conversations regarding society’s greatest challenges, offering perspectives informed by our faith, scholarship, and call to Christian service.” Aspirational Statement Three, Informed Engagement, notes that our Christian faith inspires us to address systemic problems facing both the local and global community. We have sponsored, and will continue to sponsor, “an increased number of mission trips, especially those that are discipline specific, allowing students to use their intellectual and spiritual gifts to serve others while at the same time broadening their understanding of the rich cultural diversity found throughout the world. To this end we will “pursue academic partnerships with local, national, and global constituents that are focused on meeting human needs.” Finally, Aspirational Statement Four, Committed Constituents, exhorts us to “broaden Baylor’s constituency base by engaging the global Christian community in the activities and programs of the university.” Given all this, the Taskforce on Global Education strongly recommends that all Baylor students should develop a “global competency,” that is, a global cultural awareness. Upon graduation Baylor students should demonstrate: (1) An ability to interact effectively and respectfully with peoples of other cultures and diverse groups, both domestic and international. (2) Broad knowledge of world history, global current events, and frameworks for practice. Not only is this global competency desirable for academic and humanitarian reasons, it will also provide our students with practical and applicable skills in their lives beyond Baylor. (3) An ability to apply discipline-specific approaches to global issues.
Cross-Cultural Conflict Management (50%) Understanding of Non-US Cultures (47%) Understanding of Non-US Working Styles and Office Norms (42%) Throughout this document, we will illustrate Baylor’s impressive strides in expanding global opportunities for our students, faculty, and staff; however, maintaining the status quo is not enough as we seek to position our graduates for leadership in a global society. The time has come for Baylor to become a truly global university. * * * * * In August 2012, Elizabeth Davis, Provost and Executive Vice President of Baylor University, created a Taskforce on Global Education to examine the various elements of international engagement currently being pursued at Baylor and to make recommendations to her based on our findings how we might best proceed to realize the aspirations articulated in Pro Futuris and help our students to attain the skills, competencies, outlook, and habits of mind to become global citizens in the 21st century. The members of the Taskforce represented a broad cross-section of the university: Jeff Hamilton, Chair A&S, History Michelle Berry Provost’s Office Bradley Bolen Music Heidi Bostic A&S, MFL Jen Carron Enrollment Management Jennifer Smyer Dickey Social Work Eva Doyle Education, HHPR Steve Gardner Business, Economics Holly Joyner Global Living and Learning Community Naymond Keathley Center for International Education Ben Kelley Engineering/Computer Science Becky Kennedy Student Life, Global Missions Lai Ling Ngan Truett Seminary Mark Long Honors College, Baylor Interdisciplinary Core Mike Morrison Law School Liz Palacios Student Life Laine Scales Graduate School Lori Spies Louise Harrison School of Nursing, Faculty Senate The Taskforce was divided into four subcommittees to examine various aspects of international education at Baylor, and their findings are described below. * * * Student Programs Abroad * * * A Brief History of Baylor Student Programs Abroad Baylor University has a long and proud history of global engagement. In its earliest years, much of this contact was initiated by Baptist missionaries. In his 1937 essay on “Baylor’s World Touch,” Professor A.J. Armstrong noted that he had been hosted by alumni missionaries in Japan, China, India, and many other countries, and “It has been a matter of pride for a long time that Baylor University has furnished more missionaries in the foreign field than any other institution in America.” Even today, many of our study abroad and exchange programs are conducted at institutions that were established long ago with the assistance of Baptist missionaries – the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology (initially established in 1907 as Shanghai Baptist College), Seinan Gakuin in Fukuoka, Japan (founded in 1916), and Hong Kong Baptist University (1956). Professor Armstrong also played an important role in the creation of academic study-abroad programs at Baylor. During the 1920s and 1930s, he annually took groups of Baylor students and their parents on grand tours of Europe. Another milestone was passed in the summer of 1982 when the Baylor in the British Isles program was held for the first time. Now known as Baylor in Great Britain, the program has operated every year since that time, and, with an annual enrollment at times surpassing 100 students, it has been Baylor’s largest study-abroad program. The Maastricht, Netherlands, program was launched in Spring 1995, and for many years was our only faculty-led semester-long study-abroad program. Current Participation Levels With these and other pieces in place, Baylor’s overall study-abroad participation rate (including undergraduate and graduate students) grew rapidly from about 14% in 1996-1997 to nearly 33% in 2000-2001, but then was interrupted by the events of September 11th. In the aftermath of that tragedy, air travel was disrupted and new security measures and insurance requirements were introduced by Baylor and other universities. On the other hand, in 2003, Baylor also introduced its Glennis McCrary Goodrich Scholarship Program for International Study. Since that time, the Baylor study-abroad participation rate has grown slowly to about 25% in 2010-2011. The charts that follow illustrate rates of growth for the university, as well as offering a comparison to peer institutions. 
Year Rate Studied Abroad Graduates 1996/97 13.9 400 2881 1997/98 16.9 497 2933 1998/99 16.5 470 2841 1999/00 18.6 566 3047 2000/01 32.6 996 3051 2001/02 20.7 689 3325 2002/03 26.2 895 3415 2003/04 20.0 698 3498 2004/05 22.8 773 3387 2005/06 23.3 784 3371 2006/07 23.7 756 3190 2007/08 21.4 714 3339 2008/09 23.4 823 3516 2009/10 22.5 907 3589 Undergraduate Study-Abroad Participation Rates, 2010-2011
At 28%, Baylor’s undergraduate study-abroad participation rate is marginally higher than the rates at major state universities in Texas, but it is much lower than the rates at many of the top-performing private universities. Our lagging performance seems to be explained, in part, by the fact that Baylor students are less wealthy, on average, than students at many of the top-performing private universities. As evidence of that fact, we find that the share of Baylor students who qualify for Pell grants (21%) is higher than the share at most of the other top-performing universities. On the other hand, the economic fortunes of students at Pepperdine and Emory seem to be similar to those of Baylor students (judging by Pell eligibility), but their study-abroad participation rates are significantly higher than ours. With an improved set of programs, policies, and procedures, we should be able to significantly improve our participation rate. If we can also reduce the financial constraint through improved scholarship support, we should be able to move into the ranks of the top-performing programs. We also are concerned by the fact that short-term programs account for a relatively large share of our study-abroad participation at Baylor, and semester or academic-year programs account for a relatively small share (see the following table). This is a matter of concern, because, for example, our IRT survey indicates that only 20% of students in short-term programs strongly agree that “my foreign language ability has improved as a result of this experience,” compared with 65% strong approval among students in our longer-term exchange and affiliate programs.
On a positive note, students in our study-abroad programs – long-term and short-term – express a high level of satisfaction in voluntary surveys. Regardless of the durations of their programs, large majorities of our students report that they have grown in personal confidence and they would recommend the programs to others. Discipline-Specific Mission Programs We already noted the historic role of Baylor students and alumni in the mission field. In that tradition, Baylor University received a grant from the Lilly Foundation in 2002 for the purpose of helping students explore vocation and calling. This funding launched the Department of Missions. Since their inception, our discipline-specific mission programs have grown in the following areas.
Discipline-Specific Mission Growth
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