Forum on Education Abroad Standards of Good Practice Workshops

Standards of Good Practice Workshops Friday, February 5, 2016 CEA Study Abroad Barcelona Center, Spain

Student Learning, Development & Academic Framework (Standards 2 & 3) | 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. (CET) Wrestling with how to bring into line the best academic intentions with a meaningful education abroad experience? This workshop focuses on Student Learning, Development and the Academic Framework for Education Abroad and will help you to identify the resources and design programming to assist in this effort. Through simulations involving specific examples, participants will address critical issues often introduced by colleagues in higher education who are unfamiliar with the importance of tying these two areas together in education abroad.

Health, Safety, Security & Risk Management (Standard 8) | 2 - 6 p.m. (CET) This Standards of Good Practice workshop, with a focus on Health, Safety, Security and Risk Management (Standard 8), will provide the tools to assess and improve health and safety protocols. After examining the data available (including The Forum’s Critical Incident Database), workshop participants will consider how this specific Standard works in conjunction with the other Standards to guide programs in developing a solid risk management plan. Participants will practice applying different approaches to risk management as they discuss actual case studies from the field.

Register for both workshops and receive a $50 discount.

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ASAPI Comments on Irish Government International Education Policy

The Department of Education and Skills High Level Group on International Education met on 13 November 2016. Rebecca Woolf attended on behalf of ASAPI. Members of the group discussed a number of concerns, specifically visa processing times and lack of accommodation. A new online appointment system for visa processing is expected to go live shortly - there doesn't appear to be a quick fix for accommodation, and it seems unlikely to come from a single source. The members of the group were presented with the draft strategy on International Education 2016-2020 which DES is eager to publish before the end of 2015. ASAPI suggested the highlighted text in this subsection of the strategy for inclusion in the full document which, in its draft form, did not acknowledge the significant role of the study abroad community in Ireland. ASAPI will monitor the continuing development of the strategy and continue to raise awareness of the study abroad sector in Ireland.

ASAPI Attends Meeting of European Study Abroad Assocations

ASAPI, represented by co-Chair Stephen Robinson of Champlain College, attended a meeting of European Country Study Abroad associations recently.  The meeting was hosted by Webster University in Geneva, and was attended by representatives of country associations from Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany, and Ireland.  Delegates discussed the development of a Europe-wide study abroad association to share information, provide training, and lobby the EU government, and to provide support for all of those who affect the study abroad experience in Europe.  The group will be presenting at the CIEE Conference in Berlin in November, and will hold another group meeting at the conference.  For more information, please contact Stephen Robinson at srobinson (at) champlain.edu.

ICOS launches Diverse Voices - training for working with international students

Our colleagues at The Irish Council for Overseas Students (ICOS), an independent, national membership-based organisation that advocates for the rights of international students who choose Ireland as a study destination, have developed a training resource called "Diverse Voices," comprising a video and guide for higher education professionals working with international students in Ireland. The video looks wonderful. It is composed of short, thematic sections exploring topics such as cross-cultural adaptation, culture shock and homesickness; cultural difference and cross cultural communication; adapting to a new academic environment (including language, intercultural classroom, approaches to assessment); and advice on supporting international students. ICOS interviewed over 35 international students and staff (both academics and support staff) from five higher education institutions as part of the video project. It includes a genuinely diverse range of participants.

https://vimeo.com/71323288

The resource pack is being made available free-of-charge to ICOS member institutions and also is available for purchase – see www.icosirl.ie.

Government Policy Update on International Education Sector and Student Immigration System

ASAPI welcomes the acknowledgement and inclusion of the study abroad sector in the most recent Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service policy statement on the international education sector. INIS writes that "Established semester programmes (primarily involving students from US universities attending courses in Irish colleges) will be dealt with outside the ILEP arrangements by the Department of Justice and Equality. The Government recognises the cultural exchange potential of such programmes and the linkages between prestigious universities overseas and Irish colleges with a track record in this field and supports their continued operation." (Page 10-11, note 3) The recognition of study abroad in official government policy is a signficant step forward and ASAPI will continue its dialogue and advocacy for greater understanding of study abroad with INIS and the Department of Education and Skills on a direct basis as well as members of the High Level Group on International Education.

The full text of the policy statement is available here: Policy statement on International Education Final