Globally-Infused Curricular and Co-Curricular Experiences

The 2008-2016 Centennial plan "Transforming our Future" identified Accelerate Global Learning as one of three goals to transform student learning.

In 2009, legacy differential tuition funding was used to initiate the International Fellows Program (IFP) and, shortly thereafter, with the approval of the Blugold Commitment Differential Tuition program BCDT), the Faculty Led Intercultural Immersion Experiences (FLIIE). Since their inception, these programs have helped increase participation in learning abroad by providing shorter-duration, lower-cost options for students who would likely not otherwise study abroad. These initiatives, as well as the Domestic Intercultural Immersions (DII) program, directly align with the guidepost to provide 100% of students a high-impact practice by providing opportunities for students to participate in immersion experiences and increase their intercultural competency.

Furthermore, in 2013 the Council for Internationalization and Global Engagement (CIGE) was established by Interim Chancellor Gilles Bousquet. The Council was charged with creating, in collaboration with the Center for International Education (CIE), an overarching vision for international education at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (UW-Eau Claire) and conducting an inventory and assessment of international programs, activities, and resources. Realizing that approximately 75% of UW-Eau Claire students do not participate in learning abroad programs, the Council identified these students as a key focus group, and set out to establish campus events and learning opportunities to meet the global learning needs of this group. The Council was recommissioned by Chancellor James Schmidt in 2015 to continue the work under its original charter and was further charged with (1) identifying ways to make learning abroad more accessible to all students, (2) incorporating learning abroad experiences into all graduation plans, and (3) utilizing local business and civic leaders more effectively to help advance the University's internationalization efforts.

Concurrent with the work of CIGE, the campus established Global Perspectives (R2) as one of three responsibility learning outcomes in the Liberal Education Core . This learning outcome requires students to "evaluate the impact of systems, institutions, and issues in local and global contexts and across cultures" and requires that we assess that learning. The rigorous assessment of global learning represents a long overdue departure from our previous assumption that students automatically become globally aware (and competent!) simply by participating in an international experience. The Global Perspectives (R2)learning outcome has moved us toward a shared understanding of what we want students to learn and how we will assess that learning. Analysis of assessment data, along with evaluation and refinement of this outcome and its associated assessment rubric, will help continuously improve global learning at UW-Eau Claire. Through the work of CIE staff and a group of faculty, study abroad experiences have been approved to meet the Integration (I1) learning outcome. The group has conducted pilot assessment and data will be used to determine how to best help students take advantage of the opportunities available for integration during a study abroad experience.

The Academic Master Plan seeks to build upon the prior and ongoing work of CIE, CIGE, and the Blugold Commitment funded programs.