Jan 27

Today’s Top Ten Tips for Faculty Led Study Abroad

By Missy Gluckmann Uncategorized No Comments »

1)  Before you create a faculty led study abroad program, take the time to gauge potential student interest. Distributing a simply e-survey is the best investment in planning faculty led study abroad.  Let your customers (students) determine the path and price point.
2)  During these difficult economic times, be sure to confirm your college/university’s travel and purchasing policies. They may have changed unexpectedly. These difficult economic times are throwing all sorts of curve balls into our plans.
3)  Require emergency/medical evacuation insurance for all faculty, staff and participants. Whether it is a run to the hospital for a stomach bug, a mugging, or an earthquake in Haiti, you’ll be relieved that you did.
4)  Train your university police and weekend phone operator about your course abroad and provide them with a roster for each traveling program. A parent’s worst nightmare is turning on the news and seeing an “issue” in the host location on a weekend – and having the university’s first response employee answer their harried call, but not sound as if they have a clue about your child or program abroad.
5)  Inform your faculty and staff that are traveling abroad that they are eligible for Worker’s Compensation. This program covers any university employee who is injured while on the job.  The paperwork must be completed in a timely manner, so best to share the information prior to departure.
6)  The night before you return home, have students physically show you their passports. There is nothing worse than arriving at the airport and realizing that someone lost or misplaced his/her passport in the host country!  (I once had a student who dropped her passport in her hotel room, accidentally kicked it under the bed, got on the bus to the airport and then couldn’t get on the plane. Then, 2 hours later, she returned to the hotel, found the passport and paid a hefty fee for having to change her flight. Ugh!)
7)  Enthusiasm does not automatically translate into paper applications. Promote your program straight through to the application deadline.
8)  Tip your bus or van drivers. They are sitting on a not so comfortable bus/van while you are out in the field, learning and exploring.  They are loading your luggage, dealing with traffic, handling tricky road conditions. Make sure you put them in your budget, and if you have travel policies that restrict tipping, be sure to prepare students to have cash on hand toward tipping the driver.
9)  Invite senior administrators to the “send off” on your campus. There is nothing better for students and parents than to see your college or university President, Provost, Vice President and Dean showing their support for study abroad.  Send them off in style!
10)  Conduct a 360-degree program assessment upon your return Students/Faculty/Administrators/Providers. What was each group’s perspective? What went well? What providers would you want to hire again?  What did the students appreciate most?
What required flexibility? What are you going to do with this information to improve your program next year?

What tips would you add to this list?   Comment below….

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Jan 20

Thoughts on Travel Into/Out of the United States

By Missy Gluckmann Travel Tips, safety abroad 2 Comments »

I have been daydreaming recently about how easy it used to be to fly.  For those of us who traveled before 9/11, our biggest worry may have been ‘what movie is being offered on the plane?  Or should I ask for the pretzels or peanuts?’

Boy, travel sure has changed since then.

Thanks to the antics of the “Christmas Day bomber” over Detroit, the rules and processes for entering the US resulted in a bit of Transportation Security Administration lunacy.  First, we were told that airlines landing in the US would not be permitted to allow passengers to stand one hour before arrival.  Then we were told that no one could cover their lap with a blanket, jacket or anything else, including a magazine.

I had to ask myself the obvious questions: Couldn’t someone light their undergarments 1 hour into a flight (vs 1 hour prior to landing)?  Or couldn’t someone ignite something hiding in the sleeve of a shirt (vs on their actual lap)?  Wasn’t this getting a bit silly?  I mean really, if you’re willing to blow your private parts up for the sake of terrorism, I think you could get up an hour and ten minutes before landing and achieve the same outcome in the toilet vs. in your seat?

I don’t mean to minimize the importance of security.  I want to be safe at the airport and on the plane as much as the next person. Yet, when I really stop and think about the number of flights going into and out of any major airport in the States, I am humbly reminded that safety cannot ever be guaranteed.  That is, unless each person that attempts to get on a plane arrives 6 – 10 hours before a flight, is strip searched, has a body scan, has every item in their possession analyzed and tested for chemicals and after the trauma of all of that, likely will need some emotional comfort before proceeding to their seat! (After all, we do love our therapy in the US!)

But really now – who wants to live in a world that has to operate this way?

Considering the number of flights that depart/arrive in the US each day, we seem to have relatively few security issues.  Statistically, we are doing pretty well.  Yet when something does go wrong, the TSA’s response is to come up with knee-jerk, laughable rules that last a week until someone sits down and realizes how truly ridiculous they are.

Somehow, instead of laughing, I just feel rather sad about the whole thing. I feel such a deep loss that a young man could be convinced that setting off an explosion in his underwear would be a useful and productive way to communicate a message of anger and hatred.  I even feel sad about the loss of his future, one that once appeared so promising. I feel for his parents and imagine their confusion and horror. I feel for the people on that flight who could have lost their lives. I think of their families and friends, particularly since I went to high school with a remarkable young woman who died on Pan Am 103.  How does one go on when such a tragedy occurs to a loved one?

And at the same time, I cannot help but think -  Is  it more ridiculous to blow up your undies than to have to monitor how much water you drink on a flight because you can’t get up 60 minutes before you land?

And today I am asking myself – what went wrong in this world that I have to write such a horrific blog post?

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Jan 18

Defining Global Skills and How They Translate to the Workplace

By Missy Gluckmann Career, International Education Tools No Comments »

Guest blogger, Ms. Pamela Ruiz

I’m thrilled that today’s post is written by a dear colleague and friend, Ms. Pamela Ruiz.  Should you want to reach out to her directly, please find her bio below.

Thank you Pamela for an informative post and useful links!

Why study, work, or volunteer abroad? For a student, the answers to this are many: to learn another language; to confirm one’s identity; to see another part of the world. An ever increasing reason to go abroad is to give the student a leg up over his or her peers upon graduation and into a career. How can the global skills attained while abroad translate into career skills? What are “global skills” anyway?

Some define global skills specifically as having to do with international, cultural or linguistic knowledge. While that may be true, global skills can mean so much more than that. When an individual spends time abroad and immerses his or herself into another culture, that person is not only learning the language and culture, but also about his or herself. One learns to adapt and be flexible in new situations. One learns that the best results come from listening and trying to understand before acting. One learns that communication goes beyond the spoken word. Perhaps the most useful lesson is that the new way to do something may not be better or worse, just different.

“Global skills” are not just for those going into the international/intercultural fields anymore, on the contrary; global skills are a requirement for all job seekers. More often that not, an individual will work with someone with a different background, even if they are both from the same country. No two people are alike, therefore in the workplace those that have confidence, flexibility, adaptation skills and the ability to work with all types of people are the ones who prove to be most successful. All of the above could also be used to describe a leader.

Confidence is gained as a student is continuously put in new and unfamiliar situations. Don’t know the language? “No problem, as long as I give it my best shot. My peers study/work/function differently than I do, and I am learning to study and work with them.” Immersing oneself in a new culture allows a student to study or work with others within a team – others that may have grown up with different socio-economic, religious, familial, or educational values. The problem-solving and adaptation skills required to succeed overseas are just the skills that hiring manager and savvy corporations require of new graduates.

Acquisition of global skills are not limited to those that have the wherewithal to travel abroad. As universities around the globe grasp the importance of campus internationalization, students are given many opportunities to enhance their skills without ever leaving their home country. International exchange students or international interns introduce host students to the world beyond just by their presence in their classrooms, dorms, and study groups, and the different ways of doing things.

There are challenges to the translation of global skills to career skills. First, students must embrace available international and intercultural opportunities, whether abroad or on their own campuses. Next, students, guided by career centers, professors, and parents, must process and understand how they have changed and have the confidence and skills to communicate what they have learned and can accomplish in the future. Finally, more hiring managers must see the value in international experience and how it equals what they are seeking in new hires. Students can ensure that their resumes are on top of the pile not only by stating that they studied or worked abroad, but by giving specific examples in a well-written cover letter of flexibility, leadership and confidence to step outside of their comfort zones.

Additional resources and information:

ISEP Handbook

University of Michigan

IAESTE United States

New England Study Abroad Re-entry Conference

About the Author:

Pamela Ruiz is the Director of Membership and US Member Relations at ISEP: International Student Exchange Programs. Previously, Pamela has worked with an international internship company as the Director of Operations, and prior to that as the Director and National Secretary of IAESTE United States, a program of the Association for International Practical Training, where she oversaw the exchange of international internships for technical students. Her career has also included work in translation and international relocation. 

Ms. Ruiz has lived, studied and worked in Italy, and has traveled through Europe, the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa. Pamela is in the field of international education because she truly believes in the value of international experiences for the individual and for the world as a whole. She can be reached at : pamelaruiz8@hotmail.com or via her LinkedIn profile.

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Jan 12

Dreaming in Hindi – Landmarks in Progress

By Missy Gluckmann ESL, India, Multicultural Lives, Research, Uncategorized 1 Comment »


See larger image

Dreaming in Hindi (Hardcover)

By (author) Katherine Russell Rich

I have finally finished one of my new favorite reads, a delightful book entitled “Dreaming in Hindi: Coming Awake in Another Language” by Katherine Russell Rich.  Why do I love this book?  Probably because it would be my dream to be able to take off to India and study Hindi for a year. This is exactly what the author did and it resulted in a book that is part journal and reflection, yet loaded with recent research in second language acquisition.  Ms. Rich writes about her intensive Hindi program, politics in the region, her cultural informants, travel experiences, homestays, her classmates, and the idea of who do you become in another language/culture.  There is much to digest when reading this book, but she writes with intent, seriousness and a dash of witty humor.

There was so much that struck a chord with me in this book.  Ms. Rich writes about her early days in India, when she is living with a large family of Jains. (Jainism is an ancient religion in India that emphasizes non-violence to all beings in the world.) She writes about her early days of speaking in Hindi and how the family all sits down for dinner and asks her very simple, polite questions about the food, night after night.  Rich writes:

“Dinners go like this till one day, playing badminton in the drive, I give an automatic high-five.  The gesture startles everyone, shuts down the action. From then on, I high-five often. Did I like the soup? High-five! Did I like the lentils? High-five me more! They laugh so hard when they slap my palm, it ends all further discussion.”

This had me in tears, as I can completely relate to the American automatic need to high-five occasionally.  I recall an experience recently, despite all  of my years in the field of International Education, where I attempted to high-five a student who had recently arrived in the US  for university study.  I put my hand up, awaiting an enthusiastic hand slap in return, only to have the student continue with her remarks as if nothing was happening.  I caught myself quickly and instead moved my hand into my hair, as if to move it out of my eyes or something rather unnecessary. Ms. Rich’s description of the automatic American high-five had me in stitches, especially because it became a bonding moment for her and her Jain family, one that eventually allowed them to move past the basic “how is your dinner” kind of questions that we all get when we’re abroad and attempting to practice another language.

Ms. Rich’s humor shines through when she writes about her orientation to the language school which took place in Hindi – with the occasional warning coming through in English. Ms. Rich writes:

“The orientation leader, Vidhu, states: ‘If you see a group of sacred cows, we ask that you not disturb or frighten them as that can make them rush this way and that and possibly brush you. Last year cows strained a girl’s leg. She was a dancer.’ Vidhu warned, and then I was desperate to know what else they’d said.”

This had me laughing out loud and seriously wondering what I’ve covered in orientation to the US that has had my students mystified, horrified or hysterical!  (I’m guessing that the US health care system is the section of orientation that sends most of my students over the edge – it seems so very ridiculous to them when I describe how much a visit to the hospital can cost.  Come to think of it, it seems most ridiculous to me also!)

Much of this book with Ms. Rich’s personal experience as an intensive language student with fascinating research on language acquisition.  One simple statement that deeply resonated with me referred to the landmark of progress in language acquisition.  Ms. Rich writes:

“Some people say you’ve turned a corner when you can make jokes,” the linguist Ellen Bailystok says.’Some say it’s once they’re translating , others when they dream in the language. People put up landmarks of progress.’ ”

While I am not fluent in another language, I have studied Spanish, Italian and French and have taught ESL for several years.  I have seen my students’ joy when something “connects.”  And as a language student, I recall those landmarks of progress.  While living in Switzerland during graduate school, I had to navigate through the local food market every few days. I really wanted to order turkey from the deli counter, but didn’t know how.  After several weeks, a friend taught me the phrase in Italian and I practiced it daily, awaiting my big moment at the market.  One of those landmark moments, for me in Italian, was successfully ordering some turkey at the market.

Today, I pose the question:  What are YOUR landmarks of progress?

Take a moment to enjoy this playful video by Ms. Rich.  Note the high-five at the end! YouTube Preview Image
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Jan 03

NY Times Article – Dubai Campuses are Struggling

By Missy Gluckmann Globalization No Comments »

The New York Times recently printed this article about the increasing number of US universities that opened in Dubai, UAE and are struggling as a result of the financial crisis.

Readers, how is the economy impacting international education in your region?  Please comment with specific examples of what is not being covered in mainstream media.

New York Times Logo


December 28, 2009

University Branches in Dubai Are Struggling

By TAMAR LEWIN

The collapse of Dubai’s overheated economy has left the outposts of Michigan State University and the Rochester Institute of Technology in the United Arab Emirates struggling to attract enough qualified students to survive.

In the last five years, many American universities have rushed to open branches in the Persian Gulf, attracted by the combination of oil wealth and the area’s strong desire for help in creating a higher-education infrastructure. Education City in Qatar has brought in Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Georgetown, Northwestern, Texas A&M and Virginia Commonwealth.

Abu Dhabi, one of the seven emirates that make up the U.A.E. and the one that controls most of its oil, is still flourishing. And it is still generous in its support for the most ambitious American educational effort in the area, New York University’s liberal-arts college, which is scheduled to open there next fall with a highly selective class of 100 young students from around the world.

In Dubai, however, the timing for Michigan State and the Rochester Institute of Technology could hardly have been worse. Both started classes in August 2008, just before Dubai’s economy began to crumble. By this month, Dubai’s debt problems were so serious that Dubai World, a government-owned investment company, avoided a bond default only with a $10 billion bailout from Abu Dhabi.

Because most Dubai residents are expatriates, thousands of them left when their jobs disappeared, and the prospective college-student pool in the area has shrunk substantially. “Nobody could have anticipated the global meltdown, which has certainly had a negative effect on our student marketing,” said Brendan Mullan, executive director of Michigan State Dubai.

Michigan State, with only 85 undergraduates, is seeking to raise that figure with a scholarship offering half-price tuition to the first 100 qualified transfer applicants for the semester that starts next month.

“We’ve had close to 200 transfer applications, some from other universities in the U.A.E., but others from India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Oman,” Dr. Mullan said. “We are not compromising on quality, even if that means it takes us longer to gain traction here. We actually turned down 30 percent of our applicants last fall.”

Dr. Mullan said that while the break-even point for the campus was now expected to be five years, up from the original goal of three years, Michigan State was determined to remain in the Gulf.

“We still believe this is viable and valuable,” he said. “We’re not just going to be a teaching storefront here; we’re going to have significant research capacity, and our commitment to Dubai is unyielding.”

Rochester, which began only with graduate programs, accepted almost 100 students for this academic year. But Mustafa Abushagur, president of the Dubai campus, said it ended up with only about 50, spread among electrical engineering, computer networking, finance, and service and leadership studies. Rochester plans to start an undergraduate program next year, Dr. Abushagur said.

“Our plan for next year is 100 to 120 students,” he said, “which we think we can get, because we’ve studied the market very closely and we believe that as an institution, we can distinguish ourselves in certain programs that are in demand here.”

George Mason, one of the first American universities to open a branch in the United Arab Emirates, closed its Ras al Khaymah temporary campus in May, having never graduated a single student.

While the higher-education projects in Dubai face serious challenges, New York University’s plans in Abu Dhabi are moving ahead smoothly, with Abu Dhabi even going so far as to fly in top high school seniors from around the world for two days of meetings with those at the university.

“We’ve had a worldwide recruiting effort, identifying top candidates at high schools around the world,” said Linda Mills, the N.Y.U. senior vice provost overseeing the Abu Dhabi admissions process.

The cost of attending for a year, with tuition and travel and living expenses, is about $63,000, but Ms. Mills said students would get enough financial aid that no student would have to graduate with debt.

“We looked at the leading universities around the world,” Ms. Mills said, “and what we’re offering is on a par with Swarthmore, which I think offers the most generous financial aid.”

In fact, the head of the new Abu Dhabi campus is Alfred H. Bloom, the former president of Swarthmore, which has need-blind admissions, meets full financial need and, as of last year, replaced the loans in financial-aid packages with larger scholarships.

The admissions timetable has been somewhat different for the Abu Dhabi campus than the Greenwich Village one, with early-decision candidates having until Jan. 15 to accept a spot in the Gulf, and not expected to commit to Abu Dhabi without a visit.

Already, N.Y.U. has had more than 500 early-decision applicants for next year’s inaugural class, and has admitted students from Australia, Brazil, Britain, China, Ethiopia, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Morocco, Russia and Taiwan. About 100 have already been flown to Abu Dhabi for a visit.

“Everyone introduced themselves, in English and whatever language they wanted,” Ms. Mills said. “From French to Russian to Arabic to Hungarian, they’d say things like ‘I traveled 30 hours to get here,’ or ‘I’ve never been on a plane before.’ It was kind of a goose-bump moment.”

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