International

The Western Balkans region of Southeast Europe, encompassing the seven countries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia), is still a largely overlooked part of Europe when it comes to higher education reform. Lucia Brajkovic looks at how capacity-building projects and international strategic partnerships play a crucial role in institutional change strategies at institutions in these countries.

Strategic international partnerships are a hot topic in higher education right now. Collectively, we seem to be moving away from an initial philosophy of “let’s sign as many MOUs with foreign institutions as we can,” to an approach that emphasizes careful planning, deliberate action, and attention to quality, depth, and sustainability. Now that we’re headed down this path, however, the nuances of what we mean by “strategic” are increasingly important.

In keeping with Johnson & Wales University’s mission of encouraging cross-cultural engagement to prepare students for the global workforce and civic life, JWU leaders undertook a strategic plan in 2012 that incorporated recommendations from ACE’s At Home in the World: initiative. Shelley Stephenson and Loren Intolubbe-Chmil discuss an innovative international program at an innovative institution.

With Colombia’s annual GDP growth of 4.8 percent between 2010 and 2014 and the final elements of the peace process falling into place, the dust of turmoil is settling—which will have an impact on higher education partnerships with the country.  Heather Ward reports on her recent trip to Bogotá to assess how to strengthen collaboration between U.S. and Colombian institutions.

Patti McGill Peterson, who has served for the past five years as presidential advisor for Global Initiatives at ACE, recently gave the commencement address at Stockton University in New Jersey. As she prepares to step down from her post at ACE, we would like to reprint her remarks to Stockton’s graduates, which focus on jobs—and dreams.

Glenville State College in West Virginia is bringing global learning to its rural Appalachian campus—where 85 percent of students come from the surrounding counties—by connecting faculty and students online to teach and learn with their peers in Spain and Mexico. Megan Gibbons and Heather Ward look at how making international connections through online learning is transforming the college.