Following is a list of questions/topics which represents the input from the International Education Committee members, as well as the Consultants and the Student Association Representatives to the IEC.  This list should provide us with many opportunities for further discussion at our meeting with Chancellor Hastad and Provost Hitch on November 5, 2003.

1. What kinds of decisions would you like the departments to make with respect to advocating for the acceptance of more international transfer courses? Based on a survey completed by students who had studied abroad, the number one fear reported by students was that credits wouldn’t transfer (money was number four); there seems to be a need to make the process smoother and easier for students as they currently spend quite a bit of time going from professor to professor trying to find out whether or not their credits will transfer. It was expressed that greater emphasis be placed on a curriculum that is geared to students’needs, pertaining to individualized curriculum. Stress the need for “equivalence concept” in linking foreign courses with our courses for student credit. The correspondence may not be identical but the experience may be “equivalent.”  A university wide “equivalence committee” may be a suggestion as it could help with this student/teacher concern.
2. Should individual faculty pursue international projects or should there be some type of department master plan? Will there be international liaisons or contact people within every department who have knowledge of study abroad experiences? What will be the role(s) of the International Education Committee, the Office of International Education, the Director of the International Studies Curriculum, the Instructor of orientation to Study Abroad (the INS courses), the Faculty Senate, and the Student Association?  Who will oversee the international initiative? How will administration, faculty and students be integrated as participants in the initiative? Will all students be required to take the pre-departure course (INS 250) and what support will be in place for the number of sections to be offered?
3. As we define what an international experience is, will we need to look at ways to have an international experience IN La Crosse, especially as a way to overcome the financial barriers that some students may experience, perhaps prohibiting their international travel? Could there be interactions with international students on the UW-L campus? How can we use existing resources to create a simulated international experience at UW-L?
4. How do we facilitate the transfer of international coursework to General Education credit? Currently, the multicultural area cannot be fulfilled abroad for specific courses offered at UW-L. How do the courses taken abroad fit into the curriculum at UW-L?
5. How will the needs of the international students attending UW-L me met: tutoring, advising, counseling, support services? What changes do you foresee for the ESL, TESOL and INS programs at UW-L? How can we get more support to do more interdisciplinary classes with international students?
6. What length of time constitutes an “international experience” for students and for faculty? What assessment tools will be in place to measure outcomes? How will individual departments assess the international experience in relation to the University community?
7. Departments may not be able to afford to have faculty leave for international experiences without at least hiring ad hoc faculty? What measures will be in place to assist departments in securing coverage for courses without further burdening the remaining faculty with course overloads while a colleague is completing an international experience?
8. The initiative does not address the foreign language requirement. What is the role of foreign languages in the international experience and why wouldn’t/shouldn’t it be a requirement?
9. How would international experiences be reviewed as part of the retention/tenure/promotion process for faculty? Would an international experience be required for promotion from assistant to associate or associate to full professor?
10. Would there be funding allocations made to support the initiative, i.e., support for the financial aid office, the registrar’s office, the Office of International Education?