CEPA Foundation Webinar #6 “Helping Students Make the Most of their Study Abroad Experience” Presented by: Lynn C. Anderson, Academic Director, CEPA Foundation Dr. Jon Stauff, Director, Center for Global Engagement, The College of New Jersey February 9, 2015 at 12 pm eastern, 11 am central, 10 am mountain, and 9 am pacific time The presentation will last approx. 45 minutes. There will be a 15 minute Q&A session afterwards. Sponsored by the CEPA Foundation - Cultural and Educational Programs Abroad 1

 Share ideas and resources related to motivating students to develop and fulfill academic, career, and personal goals for education abroad.  Describe what some colleges/universities are doing to help students develop goals pre-departure  Describe what the CEPA Foundation and others are doing to support goal achievement while abroad  Describe what some colleges/universities are doing to support students with goal realization upon return  Discussion, Questions, and Answers Topics Sponsored by the CEPA Foundation - Cultural and Educational Programs Abroad 2

 We cannot assume that students know TO do this or HOW to do this on their own—create level playing field  Motivate students by sharing national, local, and institutional data and articles of interest  Collaborate with career development office  Find out what skills local employers who hire your graduates are looking for  Give students opportunities to discuss with each other and with staff members Academic, Personal, and Career Goal Development Sponsored by the CEPA Foundation - Cultural and Educational Programs Abroad 3

Kolb’s Learning Styles Inventory Sponsored by the CEPA Foundation - Cultural and Educational Programs Abroad 4

 Traditionally pre-departure sessions focused on administrative nuts and bolts  As field has professionalized, “study abroad” = a experiential learning activity with student learning outcomes, changing the nature of “pre-departure”  Pre-departure activities need to prepare students to learn in different ways, all the while reminding them that “they are going abroad to study” in classrooms Goal Development in Pre-Departure Advising Sponsored by the CEPA Foundation - Cultural and Educational Programs Abroad 5

 Offices should review their vision and mission statements and determine what outcomes they want students to achieve abroad  Consult NAFSA and Forum on Education Abroad resources for updates on best practices  Inventory campus resources available to support pre- departure advising  Consider the best means of delivery of information  Tailor the program to campus population/culture and to the office’s desired outcomes upon return Resources for Pre-Departure Advising Sponsored by the CEPA Foundation - Cultural and Educational Programs Abroad 6

 Small office (N=4), 400+ students abroad/year, large cohort of peer advisors  Staff, GA, and peer mentors deliver a “curriculum”:  Study Abroad 101 – Weekly Info Session/Group Advising  Study Abroad 201 – Post Acceptance/Pre Departure Series (5 sessions, 2 nd half of semester)  Study Abroad 401 – Returnee Programming Series (5 sessions, 1 st half of semester) TCNJ - Study Abroad Advising

 Range of academic and experiential opportunities  Semester or short-term  Classroom-based study, internship, or combination  Direct enroll, study abroad center, faculty-led  Student perspectives  Goal-setting exercise  Student requests advising appointment with more specific goals in mind  Refining the goals in the advising appointment Study Abroad 101 at TCNJ

 Communicate rules and regs while creating an interactive learning activity  Students often want to talk about the boring stuff  Staff often want to focus on loftier goals  Strive toward efficiency (e.g. using websites and online orientation videos) while not neglecting the human element (e.g. value of peer mentors)  Develop a program that prepare students appropriately, yet does not overwhelm them Achieving Balance in Pre-Departure

 UC San Diego – Website, video, program- and country- specific sessions in person UC San Diego  St. Norbert College and The College of New Jersey – Required workshop(s) supplemented by series of optional meetings on specific topics St. Norbert CollegeThe College of New Jersey  Maximizing Study Abroad  Global Scholar (online course from Center for Global Education) Global Scholar Pre-Departure Advising Models

 On-Site Director teaches Experiential Learning Seminar  Handbook of information for students  Opportunities for students to process and reflect on their experiences as they engage with the local community  Mock Interview while abroad  Resume and Cover Letter Critique via Skype while abroad CEPA Foundation On-Site Support Sponsored by the CEPA Foundation - Cultural and Educational Programs Abroad 11

 Formerly known as “Re-Entry Programming”  Recognition that  students often need help adjusting to campus life  students continue to process their experiences after returning home and “learn” – how do we prepare them to capture those lessons and use them  With more dedicated EA professionals  more attention paid to this phase  more exciting resources available to professionals Coming Home: Returnee Program

 Identify campus offices to help you deliver returnee programming – share the burden/raise awareness of underutilized resources  Determine to what degree your office can deliver the programming yourself – put the finishing touches on your program and promote those desired outcomes  Develop peer mentors and alumni mentors to show students the way (and relieve office staff of the need to lead all returnee programs) Connecting Returnees with Resources On Campus and Off

 Five-week series of programming for returning students (each weekly session = 30 minutes)  Introduces a variety of returnee activities to help students process their experiences and use them in their post-graduate planning  Connect students to campus resources, encourage them to make appointments to discuss how to integrate study abroad outcomes into future activities Study Abroad 401 at TCNJ

 Lessons from Abroad – provides framework for multi- campus/regional returnee conferences, may inspire certain campus-based sessions or workshops Lessons from Abroad  “Unpacking Your Study Abroad Experience” – Michigan State research report focused on strategies to use with returnee studentsUnpacking Your Study Abroad Experience  NAFSA website – volume of resources reflect interest in this aspect of EA programming NAFSA website Benchmark Resources

 Motivating students  Students at different level of development  Finding sufficient staff time to implement and maintain  Goal setting and actualization for shorter- length programs  Gathering data on impact Challenges and Opportunities Sponsored by the CEPA Foundation - Cultural and Educational Programs Abroad 16

Discussion, Questions & Answers Sponsored by the CEPA Foundation - Cultural and Educational Programs Abroad 17  We look forward to your questions and comments.  Please use the chat function on your screen to post questions and comments for the presenters.

Thank you for participating today and also thanks to the CEPA Foundation for providing this free series of academic webinars for faculty and education abroad professionals! Your feedback is important to us! Please complete the brief survey about this webinar: Check our website regularly for information about future webinars. Upcoming Webinar Sponsored by the CEPA Foundation - Cultural and Educational Programs Abroad 18

Contact Information Lynn C. Anderson, Academic Director CEPA Foundation Dr. Jon Stauff, Director Center for Global Engagement The College of New Jersey Thank you for participating in this CEPA Foundation Webinar Sponsored by the CEPA Foundation - Cultural and Educational Programs Abroad 19