More Praise for Dickinson College’s International Focus
Photo by Carl Socolow '77.
Often Copied, Never Duplicated
For more than 50 years, Dickinson has operated its own global study programs—now numbering 17, on every inhabitable continent on Earth—forming a worldwide network of living laboratories. Through these programs, and Dickinson's many partner programs, students can trace the causes and consequences of global forces, examine differing policy responses to change and assess and learn from successes and failures.
At our global sites, students are confronting new academic environments and expectations, living more independently, navigating new spaces and often using their language skills inside and outside the classroom. And our students embrace these programs to the tune of 60 percent studying abroad as undergrads (nationally it’s around 2 percent). Now, the Forum for Education Abroad has finished its lengthy review of all Dickinson has to offer, finding new ways to praise Dickinson's often-lauded global focus.
“Going into the process, I knew that we had a lot to be proud of,” says Samantha Brandauer ’95, associate provost and executive director of Dickinson’s Center for Global Study & Engagement (GSE) “Having the formal review crystallized for me what makes it difficult to soundbite how Dickinson does global education.”
In its review—which included a site visit to Dickinson's Bremen program in Germany—the forum said of GSE and its vast abroad programming, "Dickinson College’s Center for Global Study & Engagement is to be congratulated on their ongoing efforts to retain the best elements of an already strong education abroad portfolio and improve upon it. Their thorough Self-Study and thoughtful responses to the Peer Review Report reflect a commitment not only to implement current best practices but also to look ahead and maintain their valuable model in light of future trends. The supportive Dickinson community is a great asset that should continue to be appreciated and nourished."
Recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission as the Standards Development Organization for Education Abroad, the Forum for Education Abroad “develops and disseminates comprehensive standards of good practice, resources and training, advocates for education abroad and its value and engages the field in critical dialogue to benefit students.”
“We have an incredible, strong foundation that relies on devoting both human and financial resources for the long-term,” says Brandauer. “This has created a unique flexibility to remain both true to our core values and innovate at the same time. Our collaboration across campus and with our partners abroad has infused our model with new ideas, sustaining our leadership in education abroad, even as the world has grown more complex.”
TAKE THE NEXT STEPS
Published September 20, 2018