My first reaction to reading this article in the Globe & Mail about an increasing number of American student's enrolling in Canadian universities was surprise. I cannot completely explain this reaction. Perhaps it has to do with the media exposure that the US generally receives in Canada, the history of the US being the destination for many students from around the world or the fact that US students on Canadian campuses receive little profile compared to students from other countries. At my school students from more than 100 countries are represented it would be difficult for students from any particular country to receive all of the attention.
Towards the end of the article I began to realize it should not be that surprising considering the quality of our educational system and the proximity to the US. Increasing recruitment efforts would certainly contribute to this increase as well. I would be curious to know the outcome of the points raised around finances and whether schools receive more funding from an international student when compared to a domestic student. The point about school's not making money on international students because of increased expenses related to recruitment or services is not new to me.
From a learning and student life point of view bringing students from abroad is a great move. The different points of view and diversity that will be added to the campus will benefit the entire community and raise the level of learning for all students.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Details
Its been a while since I've posted any new material so I thought I'd share one of the projects that has occupied my time recently.
From 2006 to 2008 I had the opportunity to serve on the Executive Board of the Association of College & University Housing Officers, International (ACUHO-I). It has been one of the most powerful professional development opportunities in my career. The quality of the people I worked with on the board & in the central office was truly impressive.
When my term ended on the board I knew I wanted to stay involved, but was I was unsure of how I would make that contribution. Fortunately, I was invited to the ACUHO-I Knowledge Summit in September 2008. It was there that an opportunity presented itself - The Credentialing Task Force.
The Credentialing Task Force was created to explore new ways to provide more in-depth professional development opportunities for student housing professionals. The group has been in place for more then three years and the outcomes are becoming very real now. Assessment has been the first area of focus and a series of courses are now being developed.
Creating a course is an impressive process. The DACUM method has been adopted to develop the courses. In the fall a group of student housing professionals developed 51 tasks split into six categories that are required to carry out assessment in student housing. This past week another group of people, including me, further defined the tasks involved and we now have 189 tasks identified. Each task includes the desired outcome, the resources required, knowledge & skills required, behaviour needed, decisions to consider, cues to help guide decisions and errors that would result if the task is not done correctly.
Digging this deep into an issue is not normal work in the life of a staff member in higher education. I would imgaine that few people in our line of work have identified processes with nearly 200 tasks ;-)
"This is hard!" was our slogan as we worked toward adding content over our three days together. It was awkward work at first, but in the end we painted a very clear picture of what is involved in developing an assessment plan.
From 2006 to 2008 I had the opportunity to serve on the Executive Board of the Association of College & University Housing Officers, International (ACUHO-I). It has been one of the most powerful professional development opportunities in my career. The quality of the people I worked with on the board & in the central office was truly impressive.
When my term ended on the board I knew I wanted to stay involved, but was I was unsure of how I would make that contribution. Fortunately, I was invited to the ACUHO-I Knowledge Summit in September 2008. It was there that an opportunity presented itself - The Credentialing Task Force.
The Credentialing Task Force was created to explore new ways to provide more in-depth professional development opportunities for student housing professionals. The group has been in place for more then three years and the outcomes are becoming very real now. Assessment has been the first area of focus and a series of courses are now being developed.
Creating a course is an impressive process. The DACUM method has been adopted to develop the courses. In the fall a group of student housing professionals developed 51 tasks split into six categories that are required to carry out assessment in student housing. This past week another group of people, including me, further defined the tasks involved and we now have 189 tasks identified. Each task includes the desired outcome, the resources required, knowledge & skills required, behaviour needed, decisions to consider, cues to help guide decisions and errors that would result if the task is not done correctly.
Digging this deep into an issue is not normal work in the life of a staff member in higher education. I would imgaine that few people in our line of work have identified processes with nearly 200 tasks ;-)
"This is hard!" was our slogan as we worked toward adding content over our three days together. It was awkward work at first, but in the end we painted a very clear picture of what is involved in developing an assessment plan.
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