Internationalised Curriculum in the Context of the Off-shore Campus

Professor Margaret MazzoliniSwinburne University of TechnologyMelbourne Australia

In collaboration with B. Giridharan (Curtin Miri), V. Goerke (Curtin Australia), P. Ling (Swinburne Australia), S. Yeo (Curtin), G. Lueckenhausen (Swinburne Sarawak)

HE Academy Conference 2011, July 2011

Context: Swinburne Australia & Swinburne Sarawak

Swinburne Australia (SUT) has 5 campuses in Melbourne, Australia: Dual-sector, commenced 1908, University since 1922; Approx 17,000 HE students, 16,000 VET students, 2,500 staff; High ranking in national L&T measures; also in SJT 400-500; Over 36% on-shore international HE students, around 25% undergraduates are VET articulants,

off-shore delivery in several Asian countries.

Swinburne Sarawak (SUTS) in Kuching, Malaysia : Opened 2000, partnership between Swinburne Australia & Sarawak government; More than 3,000 students and over 340 SUTS staff; Programs taught by on-campus staff; Staff visits between Melbourne and Sarawak

support QA, external accreditation & academic collegiality.

Branch campus students: who are the locals and who are the internationals?

Domestic students at SUTS are Malaysian nationals from Sarawak, including Bumiputras (indigenous people of Malay Archipelago); West Malaysia.19% international students, from more than 45 countries Including SUT Australia students.SUT Australia students at SUTS Semester long studies (23 in 2010); Study Tours, ‘Winter’ Term in Sarawak (14 – 46).SUTS students can also study in Melbourne Second year studies, return to Kuching to complete

(11 in 2010); Final year in Melbourne (43 in 2010).

Branch campus experience – expectations

SUT Sarawak domestic student expectations Australian education/qualifications; Low cost international education, family expectations & Australian connections; Enabling access to university education for ethnic groups.International student expectations (not Australian) Low cost international education, simpler visa access than Australia. SUT Australia student expectations Adventure, experience other cultures, hopefully not ‘Bali

with classes’?Sarawak government Seeks technological education to support State development, access for indigenous groups

education, soft skills development.

> Is an ‘internationalised curriculum’ part of the expectations?

Branch campuses and the ‘Australian education experience’

Is the ‘Australian educational experience’ offered by branch campuses> the ability to study Australian programs for Australian qualifications> an internationalised curriculum with an ‘Australian flavour’, and/or> ‘Australian’ (=Western?) approaches to learning & teaching, and/or > real participation in the L&T community of an international

university, which happens to have its headquarters in Australia?

OECD definition of Internationalisation of the Curriculum:Curricula with an international orientation in content, aimed at preparing students for performing (professionally/socially) in an international and multicultural context, and designed for domestic students as well as foreign students.’”

… remembering who the domestic and foreign students are at branch campuses.

Branch campuses and Trans-National Quality Assurance

Swinburne Sarawak QA policy Equivalence of learning outcomes, moderation of assessment; Evolved away from matched content and delivery; Driver of curriculum alignment in Melbourne as well as Kuching; Now needs to accommodate Sarawak-specific offerings.Trans-national QA for branch campuses in general Drivers are student & parental expectations, university governance, national QA authorities,

professional accrediting bodies … Ensuring on-shore educational qualifications, experiences,

and/or quality? Tendency to do QA ‘to’ rather than ‘with’ off-shore colleagues,

although relies on collegiate relationships in practice, but ….. collaboration is complicated where multiple partners are involved.As off-shore campuses evolve and mature, can we cope with

the shift to ‘sharing control’?

Internationalisation of the curriculum or/and learning in context?

In the context of trans-national education, does ‘internationalisation of the curriculum’ imply that we apply everywhere the same ‘internationalised’

Content and assessment? Syllabus? Curriculum? Learning objectives and standards?

Conceptualising curriculum* as Planned learning opportunities, together with the experiences students encounter and the skills

& expertise they develop, Includes consideration of all aspects of the learning environment designed to support learners.

Implies that even an ‘internationalised curriculum’ will (should) be influenced by local context.

* (Angelo, 2007, Print, 1987, Scott, 2006)

Whose curriculum is it anyway?

We seek to establish internationalised learning experiences, but Course content, QA processes, published literature, tend to be on-shore centric; Vexed issue of ‘branch campus’ status, impact on staff career paths & retention; Where off-shore academics can’t develop & accredit programs, are we encouraging ‘tunnel vision’

teaching – and learning? To what extent does delivery with external partners as well as off-shore campuses constrain our

options?

‘Internationalised learning in context’ could involve local or international examples … assessment … content … learning experiences? program components, or even whole programs; learning & teaching approaches?within ‘internationalised curriculum’ which has the

potential to evolve faster at off-shore campuses than on-shore.

Trans-national roles and academic career pathsWorkloads increasingly divided between teaching, research, administration, plus

TNE liaison, QA and off-shore teaching. Off-shore academics share many of the leadership challenges from the challenging ‘branch campus’ perspective Career development limited due to QA restrictions & limited research options; Expertise in handling internationalisation & cross-cultural issues, but Ways in which TNE roles can contribute to career paths frequently unclear.

ALTC funded 2-year Leadership project, commenced early 2010“Learning without borders: Linking development of transnational leadership roles to international and cross-cultural teaching excellence”

Collaboration SUT Australia – Curtin Australia – SUT Sarawak – Curtin Miri *

http://www.swinburne.edu.au/chancellery/lwb/

*Margaret Mazzolini (SUT, co-leader), Shelley Yeo (Curtin Aust, co-leader), Veronica Goerke (Curtin Aust), Gillian Lueckenhausen (SUTS), Beena Giridharan (Curtin Miri),

Peter Ling (SUT, project officer)

Parting assertions … Branch campuses challenge on-shore views of institutional identity, student cohorts, and internationalisation of the curriculum. Approaches to QA reflect our views of the 'Australian educational experience', and can be used to assert ‘control from a distance’, or to support the branch campus learning experience and internationalise our curriculum. This all relies on TNE academic leaders having viable career paths, plus effective collaboration to improve programs and delivery. So far there is very little published research to back up

any assertions!

Can we develop evidence-based approaches to support both on- and off-shore staff & students in taking part in international learning experiences participating in international learning communities building international universities?

Internationalised Curriculum in the Context of the Off-shore Campus

Professor Margaret MazzoliniSwinburne University of TechnologyMelbourne Australia

In collaboration with B. Giridharan (Curtin Miri), V. Goerke (Curtin Australia), P. Ling (Swinburne Australia), S. Yeo (Curtin), G. Lueckenhausen (Swinburne Sarawak)

HE Academy Conference 2011, July 2011