Foundational Principles
The mission of the Office of International Education is to promote the internationalization of the students, faculty, curricula, programs, and community of Harper College. The Office will serve as a focal point for coordination and leadership of all internationalization efforts. The Office will also
*provide essential and coordinating services for study abroad, internationalization of the campus, and serve as a point for external communications and partnerships;
*promote and advance faculty development through international scholarship and research/study opportunities;
*coordinate campus event-planning through the SG International Studies and Programs Committee;
*offer an innovative curriculum of courses that will provide students with the cultural, economic, political, and historical foundations for understanding global issues;
*recruit and support international students and scholars;
*seek out international development opportunities and partnerships locally and internationally;
*provide a forum for the discussion of issues of global significance; and
*create opportunities for student, faculty, staff, administration, and community experiences abroad.
The Office of International Education will support and coordinate international activities of campus units, utilize campus resources efficiently and effectively, and maximize support for and results of all efforts at internationalization on campus.
Vision Statement
The Office of International Education strives to be a regional leader in providing campus-wide programming and learning opportunities that foster an inter-culturally competent campus culture through the ongoing and transformative education of Harper College’s students, faculty, staff, and community.
Affirming Statement
The Office of International Education is committed to being an inclusive, respectful, and equitable educational community for students of all genders, sexualities, abilities, ages, socioeconomic classes, nationalities and ancestries, immigration statuses, races, ethnicities, military histories, and religious and cultural identities. Participating students, faculty, and staff are expected to do their part to uphold this commitment so as to ensure that the program remains accessible to all involved.
Internationalization Itinerary
The Itinerary is the philosophical linchpin of our comprehensive approach to internationalization and consists of three integrated tracks: Strategic Planning, Curriculum Infusion, and Demonstrable Deliverables. The building blocks of our intentional approach are the following:
Global Focus Initiative is a 3-year cycle of interdisciplinary programs and area studies centered around a region of the world. Designed to strengthen undergraduate education in the area of the regional focus, the Global Focus initiative is marked by specific goals and a theme for each year. The first year features a professional development Faculty International Field Seminar including coursework and travel to the region, followed by a Visiting Faculty Lectureship in the second year, and student study abroad experiences to the Global Focus region in the third year.
Shared Governance International Studies and Programs committee began as a typically inert committee, but it has become an engine of change and serves as an advisory board to Office of International Education. The committee has four work groups (Advocacy, Curriculum, Faculty Development, and Grants/Scholarships) which have operationalized our Strategic Plans, developed interdisciplinary Globally Infused Curriculum Units as models for faculty, and launched several “communities of practice” through our Academy for Teaching Excellence, including Service Learning and Study Abroad. The committee organizes and sponsors approximately 8-10 programs each semester including workshops, guest lectures, presentations, and panels.
Student Education Abroad opportunities have grown from zero faculty-led programs in 2010 and 4 students studying through our state consortium to an average of 4 - 6 faculty-led programs a year with an average of 50+ students a year studying overseas. We have developed protocols, faculty and student manuals, application forms, risk management procedures, faculty and student orientations. Perhaps our greatest achievement has been the Educational Foundation grant which allowed us to subsidize student study abroad and faculty development for three years.
