Conference highlights WSU’s internationalization efforts

By Theresa Howlett, International Programs

PULLMAN, Wash. – Presentation teams from the Washington State University Office of International Programs (IP) traveled to Spokane last month to share international education and research expertise at the National Association for International Educators’ (NAFSA) Region 1 conference.

NAFSA is the world’s largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education and exchange, and WSU was one of 27 university and community colleges from Alaska, British Columbia, Idaho, Oregon and Washington selected to make presentations on a broad range of topics in international education and engagement.

IP was well represented at the conference, with 14 proposals selected for presentation. The presentations focused on benefits and assessment of international grants and research partnerships, benefits of global competencies and education abroad to students, WSU’s international admissions process, and best practices in student advising. Many of WSU’s presenters collaborated with colleagues from other institutions.

“It was truly a representation of the scope of services IP provides to our faculty, staff, and students to contribute to our university’s stature as an internationalizing university,” said Cheryl Hansen, Director, IP Global Services.

“IP’s participation reflects the value we see in the relationships we have and would like to foster with our regional colleagues,” added Christine Oakley, Director, Global Learning.

WSU’s presenters also highlighted IP’s work in integrating internationalization and multicultural education initiatives, an emerging trend in international education, showcasing WSU’s increasingly active participation in the field.

It was also the first time that IP’s  iCoug Tutorial was presented at a professional conference. iCoug went live in June 2013 and was piloted  for Fall 2013’s incoming undergraduate and graduate students.  The incoming students responded very well, saying that the format of the online orientation helped them feel connected to WSU before they arrived.

“We also received some positive feedback about iCoug from our NAFSA peers,” said Denise Keeton, Program Support Supervisor, IP Global Services, who presented with her collaborators from the WSU Global Campus.

WSU’s Erin-Kae Rice, Jane Payumo, and Kawkab Shishani collaborated with the University of Idaho (UI) on a presentation about the added value of international offices in establishing, monitoring and measuring impact of international research collaborations, another emerging trend in the field.

“The face of international partnerships is changing from traditional agreements classified primarily by transactional features to transformational partnerships that value multi-layered collaborations between institutions with complementary strengths. Research funding opportunities are likewise increasingly becoming internationally-focused,” said UI’s Susan Bender, Executive Director, International Engagement and Programs.

“Because of their connectedness, international offices are integral players in working with faculty to develop strategic international partnerships in line with institutional priorities.  I look forward to more collaborations with WSU as we expand our internationalization efforts at UI,” she said

UI is WSU’s number one collaborator for peer-reviewed publications in the last five years.

“WSU’s commitment to global engagement is evident in the draft of the 2014-2019 strategic plan,” said WSU’s Interim  Vice Provost for International Programs  Jerman Rose, “IP is committed to sharing our best practices and learning from other institutions to incorporate comparative perspectives in support of WSU’s teaching, research, and service missions.”

To read more about the 2014-2019 strategic plan draft, please visit: http://strategicplan.wsu.edu/

Please contact Theresa Howlett, International Programs, with additional questions: theresa.howlett@wsu.edu