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Present: Task Force Members: Peter Bankart (Wabash College), Cathy Benton (Lake Forest College), Patti Brown (Denison University), Sue Mennicke (Southwestern University), Milton Reigelman (Centre College), Elizabeth Hayford* (President, ACM), Daniel Sack (Program Officer, ACM), Sarah Schwab (Program Associate, ACM)

Not attending: Roger Casey (Rollins College), Anne Ledvina (Birmingham-Southern College), Blake Michael (Ohio Wesleyan University), Michael Monahan (Macalester College), Eva Posfay (Carleton College), Pat Quade (St. Olaf College), Neal Sobania (Hope College)

*members of the GPP Coordinating Committee

Elizabeth Hayford welcomed the task force and made introductions, including several new members who will be part of the task force for at least two years (if the Mellon grant is renewed). She also introduced Dan Sack as the new ACM officer for the Global Partners Project (GPP). He joined ACM in July and has become very well informed about related activities, including Best Practices.

Elizabeth observed that in her view that the Best Practices Task Force is the "core of the Global Partners Project," with the goal of using communication among the tri-consortial colleges to share collective wisdom and improve models for international education on the campuses. While this goal is shared by other activities and centers run by the GPP, the task force is a central part of the work.

The Conference

The committee reviewed the Best Practices Conference of June 14-17, 2001. The focus and team-based structure seemed to work well in most cases. Milton Bennett laid a good groundwork in his keynote speech. The Lake Forest College campus was a good location for the event, although the dormitories were not ideal for the guests. A report of the conference was sent to the ACM deans and presidents and to the GLCA and ACS offices to forward to their campuses. Patti Brown and Sue Mennicke will follow up with the distribution of the report to their consortia. The report is intended to keep the dialogue going on the campuses.

Dan Sack told the committee that 31 campuses sent representatives to the conference; about half of those applied for Partners Project grants, while others are working on projects independently. The committee discussed ways to involve campuses that did not attend or did not receive grants. Patti Brown suggested that ACM write to the deans to determine their campus situation and find out if there is a better way for Best Practices to serve their campus. This information could also be useful as a preparation for the grant renewal, and Dan Sack will follow up on it.

Elizabeth reiterated the ongoing problem of communication with campuses and faculty members, who do not know enough about the GPP. Communication networks need to be improved; the Web site should be better advertised and utilized. Patti Brown suggested that the GPP and the Best Practices task force be announced and discussed at consortial meetings, including the ACM and GLCA meetings with off-campus study (OCS) directors, which occur in late September. Teresa Wise is working to bring OCS directors from ACS to a regular meeting. Regular meetings of college deans would also be a good place to further the discussion about GPP. Cathy Benton suggested that faculty be identified as contacts in addition to the deans to expand the network. She also noted that the ACM Notes, a bi-annual publication to all faculty and administrators at ACM colleges, is a good way to reach faculty directly. The other consortia have different formats which may be pursued.

Partners Projects

Ten Partners Projects, which came out of the conference, are being pursued by a total of fifteen campuses. The proposals were not as competitive as expected; the proposal process should be reviewed if similar projects or continuations of current projects are planned for the second phase of the GPP. Some of the projects had been in the works before the Lake Forest conference, while others were a direct result of the conference. Dan said that the projects will be put on the Web site along with contact names for each one. The projects should be completed by August 1, 2002; in their final reports, project teams will be asked to evaluate the process of carrying out the projects and the usefulness of their results. This information will be useful for future projects. Final reports will also be posted on the web site to pique others' interest and help to disseminate the findings of the projects.

The task force decided that progress reports on the projects would be beneficial for the project process and for task force planning. The reports would not demand "product," but rather check on the progress of the process. The goal is not to check up on the projects, but rather to get a feel for what works and what doesn't, and to encourage teams to produce something tangible. The deadline for this report is March 1, 2002; Dan Sack will inform the teams shortly of this requirement so they can plan accordingly.

The committee explored the possibilities for building on proposals on intercultural communication and service learning. The Southwestern University/Lawrence University project entitled "Break On Through to the Other Side: Integrating Intercultural Experiences into the Liberal Arts Tradition" could be an important cornerstone for future Best Practices work. Possibilities for expanding the projects include seminars or workshops on specific topics for interested faculty and materials developed by project teams which could be distributed. These possibilities would help to further the institutions' discussion about these issues in relation to their goals and strategic plans. Each would provide an intellectual or theoretical framework as well as practical models that can be implemented.

Project Extension Proposal

The committee discussed sections of the Global Partners project extension proposal. The plan for Strategic Briefings could help make campus leaders aware of the issues and discussions involving international education. A series of retreats for chief academic officers would allow them to concentrate for an extended period on international education. A Leadership Institute would bring together a select group of presidents, chief financial officers, and trustees to discuss financing issues and report to the Global Partners community. These programs would be organized by the Great Lakes Colleges Association, Inc. Cathy Benton pointed out that the current international events could give the issues additional importance and urgency. She suggested that the briefings be well thought out, specific and practical. Milton Reigelman added that presidents want to spend money wisely on important and forward-looking developments. Members agreed that the Best Practices Task Force could make important contributions to these briefings.

Milton Reigelman endorsed the proposal's interest in regional collaboration for off-campus study programs. In areas where several schools have programs, resources should be shared and coordinated for greater efficiency and improved academic experiences. The GPP Web site is a valuable resource for such an endeavor because it contains a database of all off-campus study programs provided by or used by the 42 member colleges. It can be searched by location, and it gives contact information for possible collaboration.

The committee looked at the role of Best Practices in the extension proposal. From a list of possible issues, the committee identified a few particularly important and relevant topics to focus on in the future. Patti Brown stressed the importance of intercultural competence, which should be incorporated into the full college experience. She argued that off-campus study needs to address cultural competency and identity issues. There are already several models for thinking about these issues. The Lawrence/Southwestern Partners Project will be discussing the importance of cultural competence as part of a liberal arts education. IES is developing an on-line pre-departure class which will addresses similar issues. It may prove to be a useful model to build on and will be monitored. Peter Bankart pointed out that some faculty, especially within language departments, would resist the topic. It should be approached carefully and avoid any on-campus political dimensions. Task force members discussed holding a seminar or series of seminars that would explore methods for providing a context that encourages critical thinking about intercultural experiences.

Peter Bankart suggested considering student issues, especially international students and those students who do not leave campus. Science students and athletes are particularly challenging. A special effort should be made to ensure the availability of opportunities for these students in their academic schedule. Members agreed that they did not want to create a division between those students who had studied abroad and those who had not. The task force raised other student issues, but did not explore them in great detail.

Issues of service learning, both abroad and domestically, are relatively new and can sustain a useful conversation and analysis. The experiences can be compared and contrasted to determine better learning and assessment models. Several of the Partners Projects involve service learning. Cathy Benton described the Global Citizenship project at Lake Forest College, which places students in internships in social services in minority areas of Chicago. She also incorporated internship experiences into the ACM India Studies program this fall. Other projects involving service learning are Ohio Wesleyan's project on civil society and the Rhodes/St. Olaf/Southwestern project in Honduras. These are just a few examples of service learning initiatives which could benefit from collaborative discussion.

Possible dissemination models for these second-phase projects include the seminar model proposed last spring by Michael Monahan, including Partners Projects teams in seminar panels, campus visits by project participants to stimulate discussions and planning, and a book. Sue Mennicke pointed out that the broad issues are consistent from campus to campus, although there is a wide variation specific to each campus and student population. The work of the Best Practices task force, through projects and discussions, could respond and shape these issues. Each topic should be carefully balanced and not too focused on specific campus projects or resources.

The ideas from this meeting will be used in the grant proposal and brought to the GPP coordinating committee. The task force plans to meet again in the spring to review the Partners Project progress reports and formulate specific plans to move forward with the ideas for the second phase of the project.

Notes by Sarah Schwab and Dan Sack