2002-2003 Annual Report of the Committee on International
Studies and Exchanges
To: The Representatives of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate
The Committee on International Studies and Exchanges (CISE) will have met 9 times by the end of the academic year, on 10/9/02, 11/1/02, 11/25/02, 12/6/02, 1/24/03, 2/14/03, 3/14/03, 4/15/03, 5/15/03 and 6/5/03. CISE tackled a number of issues relating to international programs, as outlined below.
Despite recent concerns with the war in Iraq and the SARS outbreak in Asia, student interest and participation in education abroad continues to grow at UC Davis. The number of UC Davis students who have applied, and been accepted for the UC Education Abroad Program in 2003-2004 stands at 415 (see Appendix 1). Spain, with 83 students, continues to be the #1 destination for education abroad, with the United Kingdom coming in second with 58 students. Under the very able and enthusiastic leadership of Prof. Peter Schiffman, the Education Abroad Center has successfully managed this growth in student interest and enrollment, despite significant limitations in budget and staff resources.
UC Davis Summer Sessions Abroad – a program run by the Office of Summer Sessions, continues to attract students from UC Davis (about 75% of the participants) and other UC campuses (about 25%). This summer, 24 courses will be offered around the world. These courses typically have an enrollment cap of 25 students. CISE wishes to commend Dan Wick – Director of Summer Sessions, and his staff for continuing to run a very innovative and academically-enriching program. Proposals for new courses with a science focus and a field trip component are invited for the summer of 2004.
This was the third and final year of the UC Davis pilot Short Term Programs Abroad (STPA). CISE is pleased that STPA will now be a permanent staple of our study abroad offerings, under the leadership of Associate Vice Provost Dennis Dutschke. Four STPA programs are being offered this Spring in Santander, Spain, Mendoza, Argentina, Perugia, Italy and London, England, with enrollments of 23-26 students each.
Additionally, some UC Davis students elect to participate in other (non-UC) study abroad programs, some of which have been approved by CISE and are sanctioned by our Office of Outreach & International Programs through Agreements of Association.
CISE is very pleased with the range of study abroad programs offered to UC Davis students, and by the existing balance between UC EAP programs and UC Davis programs (SSA and STPA).
In the Fall of 2002, CISE was asked by Chancellor L. Vanderhoef to assess the pros and cons of locating the EAC in various offices. In response, CISE made the following recommendations.
On April 1, 2003, the Education Abroad Center was officially moved from the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies to the Office of the Vice Provost for Outreach & International Programs, consistent with CISE’s recommendation.
CISE reviewed the draft of the UC Davis Strategic Vision Document in the Fall of 2002, and made some recommendations for strengthening the place of international programs in this vision.
Last year, the Academic Senate added the following duty to the bylaws of CISE:
4. To evaluate and approve courses offered for General Education credit through the Education Abroad Program (en. 6/5/02).
The courses offered in the context of the new UC EAP Summer programs in England – London Bloomsbury, Sussex, and Pembroke were reviewed by CISE for General Education credit. A list of those courses with approved GE denominations was forwarded to UC EAP Associate Director Scott Cooper and is available to students and faculty at the Education Abroad Center. New UC EAP programs in Paris, Rome and Barcelona have yet to be reviewed because detailed course descriptions for those programs are not yet available.
CISE developed a petition form for GE credit approval of individual courses taken by students abroad. This form is available to UC Davis students at the Education Abroad Center. CISE reviewed 6 petitions from individual students this year.
Proposed requirement for an international education experience in the International Relations Program
CISE reviewed a proposal by Prof. Jeannette Money to create a requirement for an international education experience for undergraduate students majoring in International Relations. In a memo to Dean E. Langland, CISE offered its strong endorsement for the proposal.
CISE met with Associate Vice Provost D. Dutschke and CA&ES Director of International Programs P. Brown to discuss One-to-One Agreements of Exchange. These exchanges are relatively common, particularly for the exchange of faculty and/or graduate students. It is UCOP policy, however, to have exchanges of undergraduate students through these agreements be set up and administered by UOEAP, not by individual campuses. In an effort to accommodate the specific needs of some UC Davis programs that were not served by current UOEAP agreements, UC Davis administrators initiated a small number of such agreements for the exchange of undergraduate students with foreign institutions in Japan and Europe. The initiative backfired and these programs had to be cancelled for next year.
CISE Chair J.-X. Guinard pushed for a resolution of the matter at the last meeting of the UC EAP university-wide Committee. UOEAP will make every effort to accommodate the education abroad needs of each campus through its new strategic plan for academic integration (see below), but it is not yet willing to relinquish its authority over one-to-one agreements of exchange for undergraduate students.
This was a very unfortunate and embarrassing situation which could have been prevented through proper dialogue with UOEAP. CISE strongly feels that these agreements should be initiated by faculty and departments, not by administrators, and developed though proper channels, so that the needs of the departments and programs are better served.
It is CISE’s understanding that the issue of authority over these agreements will be taken up by the Council of UC International Program Administrators headed by UC Davis’ Vice Provost Bill Lacy.
Integrating study abroad opportunities into the curricula of UC Davis departments and programs is a key priority for CISE. The creation of the position of Associate Director for Academic Integration by UC EAP and the appointment of Prof. Scott Cooper to this post are viewed very positively by CISE. Prof. Cooper met with CISE and EAP Faculty Liaisons on May 15, 2003 and presented his strategic plan for academic integration of education abroad. The plan is based on articulation projects, current supporting projects and future projects:
CISE recommends that a template showing how to incorporate an education abroad component into an academic program be created for faculty and departments on campus.
CISE approved the University of Pittsburgh’s Semester-at-Sea program for inclusion into the list of study abroad partner institutions sanctioned by Agreements of Association.
EAC’s efforts to create a “shelter course” to allow students to retain UC Davis student status and access to financial aid while participating in non-UC programs were halted after the Office of the President put an end to the practice at UC San Diego. CISE will explore this option again if, and when, the Office of the President is willing to change its stance on the issue.
CISE feels strongly, however, that every effort should be made to send UC Davis students interested in education abroad on UC programs first and foremost, and that they should only be directed to other institutions when the capacity of UC programs has been exhausted.
The committee appreciates and thanks Education Abroad Center Advisors Buffy Tanner and Aida Saldivar for providing administrative support to CISE and for drafting the minutes of our meetings.
The full minutes of the committee meetings are available upon request from Aida Saldivar (EAC).
For the members of the Committee on International Studies and Exchanges:
Patrick Carroll
Chia-Ning Chang
James Clegg
Dorothy Gietzen
Joanna Groza
Charles Lesher
Inge Werner
Sara Carmichael and Sharon Brenner, Undergraduate Student Representatives
Yan Xie, Graduate Student Association Representative
Buffy Tanner, Administrative Support for CISE (September 2002 – January 2003)
Aida Saldivar, Administrative Support for CISE (February – June 2003)
Jean-Xavier Guinard, CISE Chair jxguinard@ucdavis.edu