“Formal” Culture & Institutional Change:

Internationalization at Drake University

NAFSA: Association of International Educators

May 27, 2008

The Challenge: Context• 27% of U.S. colleges & universities had no

2005 graduates who had studied abroad• % of institutions that require course on

international 41% in 2001 → 37% in 2006• < 40% of institutions refer to international

in mission statement• Most do not have full-time oversight of

international

Institutional Culture:Shared:• Values• Assumptions• Standards of behavior• Aspirations

“Infusion Approach”1

• Top-Down Leadership• Bottom-up collaboration and

cooperation

1 Skidmore, Marston & Olson, “An Infusion Approach to Internationalization: Drake University as a Case Study,” Frontiers, Aug 05

“Formal Culture” manifested in:

• Foundational documents (e.g., mission statement; mission explication; vision documents; strategic plan)

• Institutional structure: reporting relationships & governance

• Programming: curricular & co-curricular

“Formal Culture” manifested in, cont.:

• Policies & procedures• Resource allocation• Accountability: assessment,

revision, transparency

Vision & Mission• Why is international important to

the mission?• Who are our students?• What are our learning goals?• What is the vision of our future?

Program Review (2000)• DRAKE PROGRAMMATIC OFFERINGS

MUST EMPHASIZE THE GLOBAL NATURE OF KNOWLEDGE, OF THE WORKPLACE, AND OF HUMAN SOCIETY. THE UNIVERSITY MUST PREPARE STUDENTS TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF OTHER CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES; TO UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE THEIR OWN PLACE ON THE GLOBE;

Program Review, cont.AND TO FUNCTION EFFECTIVELY—BOTH PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY—IN A VARIETY OF CULTURAL CONTEXTS. FACULTY MEMBERS SHOULD BE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL DIMENSION OF THEIR RESPECTIVE DISCIPLINES, AND SHOULD ENSURE THAT THAT PERSPECTIVE INFORMS THE SUBSTANCE OF LEARNING EXPERIENCES AT THE UNIVERSITY.

Strategic Plan: 2001-2006 (2003-2008)

• GOAL IV: ENSURE THAT DRAKE STUDENTS, FACULTY AND STAFF ARE ABLE TO FUNCTION EFFECTIVELY AS MEMBERS OF DIVERSE LOCAL, NATIONAL AND GLOBAL COMMUNITIES

Vision 2025 (2005)

• IN 2025, DRAKE UNIVERSITY IS A GLOBAL INSTITUTION: A DRAKE EDUCATION PREPARES STUDENTS TO FUNCTION EFFECTIVELY AND PRODUCTIVELY IN A WORLD IN WHICH GEOPOLITICAL BORDERS HAVE BECOME IRRELEVANT TO HUMAN ACTIVITY.

Vision 2025, cont.• KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS GLOBAL

EDUCATION INCLUDE ACQUISITION OF CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIES (INCLUDING COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE IN OTHER LANGUAGES), A LEARNING OR WORK EXPERIENCE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY, AND THE INFUSION OF GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES AND ISSUES THROUGHOUT THE DRAKE CURRICULUM (AS APPROPRIATE TO EACH ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL AREA).

Vision 2012:

•DRAKE UNIVERSITY IS A MODEL FOR GLOBAL EDUCATION

Strategic Plan 2008-2012

• ONE OF 3 PRIMARY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE UNIVERSITY: ENGAGEMENT OF DRAKE STUDENTS, STAFF, AND FACULTY WITH THE CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES, DEMANDS AND NEEDS OF A RAPIDLY CHANGING SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, CULTURAL, POLITICAL AND PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT ON LOCAL, NATIONAL AND GLOBAL LEVELS.

Mission StatementDrake’s mission is to provide an exceptional learning environment that prepares students for meaningful personal lives, professional accomplishments, and responsible global citizenship. The Drake experience is distinguished by collaborative learning among students, faculty and staff and by the integration of the liberal arts and sciences with professional preparation.

Mission Explication:RESPONSIBLE GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP: DRAKE GRADUATES UNDERSTAND THAT THEIR INDIVIDUAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS MUST BE CONNECTED TO THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF ALL CULTURES TO THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE. IN PRACTICING ENGAGED CITIZENSHIP THEY UNDERSTAND AND EXERCISE THE INDIVIDUAL FREEDOMS AND INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY, AND STRIVE TO SUSTAIN AND EXPAND THE COMMON GOOD. 

Mission Explication, cont.

• DRAKE GRADUATES:

– DEMONSTRATE AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL FOUNDATIONS OF A SOCIETY OTHER THAN THEIR OWN.

– UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT THAT OUR NATION AND ITS CULTURES HAVE ON THE LARGER GLOBAL COMMUNITY.

Mission Explication, cont.

– ENGAGE IN STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE INTER-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION.

– ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE COMMON GOOD OF LOCAL, NATIONAL, AND GLOBAL COMMUNITIES.

– FULFILL THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES AS CITIZENS IN A PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY.

Mission Explication, cont.

-SERVE AS ACTIVE STEWARDS OF BOTH THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF SOCIETY.

Infrastructure: Reporting Relationships & Governance:• International Office (Provost)• Admissions staff• DULAP (Dean of A&S)• Center for Global Citizenship

(Assoc. Provost)

Center for Global Citizenship• Campus programming• Faculty development• Curricular development• Global Ambassadors Program• Community Outreach

Infrastructure: Reporting Relationships & Governance, cont.:• International Partnerships (Director,

Int’l Programs reports to Provost)• China Cultural Exchange Program

(Provost)• Coordinating Council for

Internationalization (Provost’s Office)

Policies & Procedures• Financial aid portability • Expertise in admissions & financial

aid• Tenure & Promotion criteria• Preference in hiring• Salary increases

Resource Allocation:• Funds for financial aid for study

abroad• Faculty development funds• Funding for new partnership

development• Funds for international recruitment• Fundraising efforts for CGC, DULAP

Accountability:• Indentify goals and objective

indicators– Hold people accountable for meeting

goals• Formative assessment

– Global Perspectives Inventory• Annual Internationalization Audit• Transparency

Dynamic Environment:• Need for structural and behavioral

flexibility• Responsiveness• Agility:

– To anticipate and manage change– To create change– To exploit opportunities

3 C’s of danger:•Commonplace•Complacent•Calcified

Some final thoughts about cultural change…• CULTURAL CHANGE CANNOT AND SHOULD

NOT BE AD HOC; IT MUST BE CONTEXTUAL; IT MUST BE SEEN IN RELATIONSHIP TO ALL THE OTHER ELEMENTS OF THE INSTITUTION THAT IT TOUCHES

• CHANGE MUST BE STRATEGIC AND DRIVEN BY INSTITUTIONAL MISSION—HOW DOES THIS CHANGE GET US CLOSER TO OUR VISION OF WHAT WE NEED TO BE IN THE FUTURE?

Some final thoughts about cultural change…

– CHANGE CANNOT HAPPEN BY DOING THINGS THE SAME WAY YOU’RE ALREADY DOING THEM

– CHANGE MUST BE CONSTITUENT DRIVEN—BY THAT I MEAN THAT IT MUST TAKE INTO ACCOUNT, FIRST AND FOREMOST, WHOM WE ARE SERVING--WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT KEEPING OUR PROMISE TO OUR STUDENTS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN OUR PERSONAL SELF-INTERESTS

Some final thoughts about cultural change…• CHANGE MUST BE COLLABORATIVE

—IT HAS TO BE A TEAM EFFORT, AND EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW THAT THEIR VIEWS AND VOICES ARE IMPORTANT, THAT THEY ARE HEARD AND GIVEN CONSIDERATION

• DON’T PRESENT PEOPLE WITH A SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM THAT THEY DIDN’T KNOW THEY HAD

Some final thoughts about cultural change…• CHANGE IS CONSTANT—SUCCESSFUL

INSTITUTIONS, ORGANIZATIONS AND PROGRAMS DON’T MOVE FROM ONE LEVEL OF STASIS TO THE NEXT AND SIT THERE, COMPLACENT THAT THEY HAVE CHANGED; IT IS A CONSTANT PROCESS OF ONGOING ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION, MEASURING WHERE YOU ARE AGAINST WHERE YOU WANT TO BE

Some final thoughts about cultural change…

• SIMILARLY, ASSUMPTIONS SHOULD BE CHALLENGED ON A REGULAR BASIS – WHAT EVIDENCE DO WE HAVE THAT THE ASSUMPTIONS ON WHICH OUR CURRENT BEHAVIOR IS BASED ARE STILL OPERATIVE, VALID AND USEFUL

Some final thoughts about cultural change…• TO THE GREATEST EXTENT POSSIBLE,

CHANGE SHOULD BE DATA DRIVEN—WHAT IS YOUR EVIDENCE THAT CHANGE IS NEEDED, WHAT IS YOUR EVIDENCE THAT IT IS HAPPENING, AND WHAT WILL BE YOUR EVIDENCE THAT IT WAS SUCCESSFUL?

Last thought about cultural change…• CHANGE IS HARD—DON’T EXPECT

EVERYONE TO BE ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT IT, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE MOST DIRECTLY AFFECTED. PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW AND BELIEVE WHY THE INSTITUTION WILL BE BETTER IF SOMETHING CHANGES, AND THEY NEED TO KNOW HOW THEIR PROFESSIONAL LIVES WILL BE BETTER IF SOMETHING CHANGES.

Last thought about cultural change…• SUCCESSFUL CHANGE REQUIRES

CLEAR GOALS AND CLEAR REASONS FOR THOSE GOALS, CONSTANT COMMUNICATION, ATTENTIVE LISTENING BY THOSE LEADING THE CHANGE, TRANSPARENCY, SENSITIVITY, RESPONSIVENESS AND AN ABUNDANCE OF GOOD WILL.