Student Council introduced a survey about the internationalization of the University curriculum this week to gauge student interest in de-Westernized programs and to discover whether or not current offerings have met demand.
The survey "will help us better target our valuable resources," said Leigh Grossman, vice provost for international affairs. "What the University provides might not be on point with what students want, and this will help us merge the two."
The survey is funded by a grant from the Parents Program and is cosponsored by the offices of the provost and vice president of student affairs and the International Studies Office, according to Student Council President-elect Lauren Tilton.
The survey breaks down analysis of the University curriculum into internationalization, regional studies, language instruction and international and transnational programs.
Survey results will be collected in July, and the committee will meet late this summer to interpret the data. Although the Curriculum Globalization Committee, an ad-hoc Student Council subcommittee, already has some expectations for the survey responses, the members will still need to draw more specific conclusions from the student generated data, committee chair Ryan McElveen said.
The committee is composed of students recommended by professors to develop questions for their respective departments.
"By researching each department, we could put together a survey to encompass the whole undergraduate experience," McElveen said. Participating departments include African studies, economics, English, history, music, philosophy, politics, religious studies and studies in women and gender.
"We had to decide what tool was best to gauge student input ... and decided to go with the survey method," McElveen added.
About 3,000 students have been randomly selected from the University's undergraduate schools to complete the survey.
Other peripheral survey issues include the use and acceptance of International Baccalaureate credit for incoming first-year students and the establishment of a special international distinction on certain program diplomas, McElveen said. The survey also addresses the role of study abroad programs at the University.
The survey is being conducted through the Office of Institutional Assessment and Studies, whose employees will act as "editors and consultants," according to Jonathan Schnyer, assistant director and assessment coordinator of the office.
The survey is expected to take about 20 to 25 minutes for students to complete, Schnyer said.
"We already have a 10 percent response rate, but [we] expect it to be close to 70 percent by the end," Schnyer added.
Upon gauging the results of the survey, McElveen said he hopes to see money from the Capital Campaign used to fund a more internationalized curriculum.
"With the Capital Campaign, $123 million is devoted towards faculty development, and we would like to see it with internationally focused programs," McElveen said.
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