Taskforce on Global Education
Final Report
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
OF THE
TASK FORCE ON GLOBAL EDUCATION
22 MAY 2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introductory Observationspp. 3-5
Student Programs Abroadpp. 6-14
Global Academic Programspp. 15-21
International Student and Scholar Servicespp. 22-28
Administrative Structurespp. 29-32
Recommendationspp. 33-34
Appendicespp. 35-43
Figure 1: Center for International Educationp. 35
Figure 2: Center for Global Engagementp. 36
Draft Job Description for Vice Provost for
Global Engagementpp. 37-38
Draft Job Description for Director for
Global Student Engagementp. 39
Draft Job Description for Director for
International Student and Scholar Servicesp. 40
U.S.-Sino Pathways Program (Kaplan)p. 41
IRT-CIE Study Abroad data 2012p. 42
QEP examplesp. 43
Bibliography and Resourcesp. 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.
Student placement rates and success in the job market have recently been a topic of much debate and discussion in higher education. A recent survey in The Economist found that the most highly sought skills in global managers were:
Cultural Sensitivity (73%)
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, ChairA&S, History
Michelle BerryProvost’s Office
Bradley BolenMusic
Heidi BosticA&S, MFL
Jen CarronEnrollment Management
Jennifer Smyer DickeySocial Work
Eva DoyleEducation, HHPR
Steve GardnerBusiness, Economics
Holly JoynerGlobal Living and Learning Community
Naymond KeathleyCenter for International Education
Ben KelleyEngineering/Computer Science
Becky KennedyStudent Life, Global Missions
Lai Ling NganTruett Seminary
Mark LongHonors College, Baylor Interdisciplinary Core
Mike MorrisonLaw School
Liz PalaciosStudent Life
Laine ScalesGraduate School
Lori SpiesLouise 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), SeinanGakuin 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.
YearRateStudied AbroadGraduates
1996/9713.94002881
1997/9816.94972933
1998/9916.54702841
1999/0018.65663047
2000/0132.69963051
2001/0220.76893325
2002/0326.28953415
2003/0420.06983498
2004/0522.87733387
2005/0623.37843371
2006/0723.77563190
2007/0821.47143339
2008/0923.48233516
2009/1022.59073589
Undergraduate Study-Abroad Participation Rates, 2010-2011
University / Studied Abroad in 2010-2011 / Degrees Conferred 2010-2011 / Study-Abroad Participation Rate / Freshmen With Pell Grants (%)U. of San Diego / 1,031 / 1,188 / 87 / 18
Pepperdine U. / 612 / 806 / 76 / 20
Wake Forest U. / 737 / 1,019 / 72 / 13
U. of Notre Dame / 1,241 / 2,078 / 60 / 13
Duke University / 798 / 1,493 / 53 / 14
Boston College / 1,112 / 2,397 / 46 / 15
Vanderbilt U. / 734 / 1,735 / 42 / 15
Southern Meth. U. / 611 / 1,625 / 38 / 17
Emory U. / 706 / 2,018 / 35 / 22
Wash. U. St. Louis / 499 / 1,543 / 32 / 7
Texas Christian U. / 506 / 1,705 / 30 / 17
Brigham Young U. / 1,883 / 6,742 / 28 / 40
Baylor U / 806 / 2,910 / 28 / 21
U. Texas Austin / 2,350 / 8,838 / 27 / 29
Texas Tech U. / 1,000 / 4,454 / 23 / 30
Texas A&M / 1,856 / 8,451 / 22 / 20
Sources: Study-Abroad counts: Institute of International Education, Open Doors Data; Degrees Conferred: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Data Center; Pell Grant counts are based, in some cases, on U.S. News and World Report diversity rankings, supplemented with data from U.S. Department of Education.
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.
Baylor University / U.S. Universitiesnumber / % / %
Summer Term / 406 / 42.9 / 37.7
One Semester / 241 / 25.5 / 34.5
8 Weeks or Less of Ac. Year / 272 / 28.8 / 13.3
January Term / 19 / 2.0 / 7.1
Academic Year / 8 / 0.8 / 3.7
Other / 0 / 0 / 3.7
Total / 946 / 100.0 / 100.0
Institute of International Education. (2012). "Duration of U.S. Study Abroad, 2000/01-2010/11." Open Doors Report on Inter-national Educational Exchange. Retrieved from and Baylor CIE.
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.
•Student participation – From 2006 to 2013, student participation has increased from 150 to 390 (a 260% increase).
•Mission teams – From 2006 to 2013, the number of mission teams increased from 10 to 20.
•Mission sites – From 2006 to 2013, the number of sites (and global ministry partners) has increased from 3 to 16.
•Mission trips with academic credit – In 2009, the first trip to offer both academic credit and mission practice was Social Entrepreneurship in Africa. In 2011, seven trips offered academic credit. Teams begin course work in the spring, travel to the mission site for two weeks of intense work and conclude with reports (varies by course). After the 2011 trips, many of the faculty leading academic mission trips decided that until the university created a seamless process for this type of international trip they would no longer offer academic credit.
Discipline-Specific Mission Growth
Participants / Teams / Locations2008 / 150 / 7 / 5
2009 / 163 / 11 / 6
2010 / 240 / 13 / 10
2011 / 321 / 20 / 17
2012 / 223 / 18 / 12
2013 / 390 / 22 / 17
•2013 Locations: El Salvador, France, Greece, Guatemala (3 sites), Haiti, Kenya, Louisiana, Mississippi, Panama, Peru, Texas, Uganda, Vietnam, Washington DC, Zambia
•Academic Partners: Medical Humanities, HHPR, Family and Consumer Sciences, Engineering, School of Music, Accounting, Business, School of Social Work, & School of Nursing.
•Global Missions presentthe potential for transformational impacts. To take one recent example, SovannaraMoch from Cambodia studied at Baylor University School of Social Work in the Global Mission Leadership initiative. She received her MSW in May 2012 and returned to Cambodia to work directly with victims of human trafficking in Cambodia as well as to engage in shaping policy. In two years, having developed an ongoing relationship with her through career services, she may be prepared to receive a discipline specific mission team from Baylor Global Missions. This team would be led by a faculty member currently doing research about best practices for human trafficking survivors. The faculty member would bring a prepared team of students who are ready to engage their discipline (e.g., business, social work, health, journalism, political science) and Sovanarra, co-leading the team, would bring her cultural expertise and social work skills to the experience. In five years of ongoing relationship, informed engagement, and research, we could see transformation with regard to the current issue of human trafficking as well as in each individual participant who is shaped by this experience.
•With enhanced financial support from the President’s Scholarship Initiative and other fundraising through the Office of Development, Baylor is positioned to launch a much broader-based hybrid initiative in which international engagement can be built into academic courses (most likely at Spring Break). Travel might be strictly academic, discipline-based service, or missional.
Criteria for Selection and Approval of Programs and Partners
In the past, many of our programs and partners have developed in a reactive way, and with little strategic direction. Quite often, for example, we have signed partnership agreements with institutions that have selected and approached Baylor University, but seldom have we surveyed the landscape, selected partners that would meet our students’ needs and other strategic objectives, and approached the institutions with our own proposals. In the future, our programs and international relationships should be selected and proposed in a more deliberative and pro-active way to pursue our strategic objectives.
At the present time Baylor is under-represented in several crucial areas of the globe, most notably China and East Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. As we investigate expanding and strengthening partnerships, these global regions should be prioritized.
If an overseas university or other institution is being considered for a new or continuing relationship, the following questions and criteria should be included in the evaluation:
•What is the potential for building a deep, mutually beneficial, and sustainable set of relationships between Baylor University and this institution? Does it promise to provide opportunities for many of our students, faculty, and other stakeholders, or for only a few?
•Do we have existing relationships with similar institutions in the same country? Does this one bring something fundamentally new to the table? If this relationship is established, should others be discontinued?
•Does this program or institution allow us to meet the needs of underserved academic disciplines, to meet the potential demand for increased instruction in specific foreign languages, or to afford language instruction in a language not offered at Baylor?
•In addition to its traditional academic value, does this program or institution provide opportunities for our students to engage in practical experience (internships, service learning, discipline-specific missions, etc), that may contribute to their lives and careers?
•What are the prospects for utilization of telepresence, videoconferencing, and other advanced communication and instructional technologies in our interactions with this institution?
•If this program or institution is located in a country that carries a relatively high level of risk in the areas of health, safety, or security, are the potential benefits of the program commensurate with the risks?
One of the major objectives of our overseas programs is the improvement of foreign-language skills of our students, faculty, and staff, so the impact of each program on language instruction should be an important consideration in their evaluation. As the following table will indicate, Spanish accounts for about half of our foreign-language. This would suggests that we should place a high priority on the identification and development of institutions in Latin America and Spain that hold promise for deep strategic relationships. Strategic relationships in Latin America (and Canada) are particularly promising, because they provide opportunities for use of telepresence, videoconferencing, and other instructional technologies within a closer set of time zones.
Baylor Enrollment in Modern Foreign Languages (on-campus student credit hours)