This reflective paper shares the experiences of a higher education professional living and working abroad and the long-term impacts of those experiences on their self-authorship journey through reflection ten years later. The story of this reflection focuses on how cultural differences and community ties helped to facilitate growth and…

This is an interview with Prince Afriyie. He is an Assistant Professor, General Faculty, in the Department of Statistics at the University of Virginia. This interview took place via email on May 30-July 1, 2020. He speaks about his education in Ghana, education in the United States, teaching statistics and data science, and racial injustice in the…

India desperately needs good governance in colleges and universities so as to create a culture of innovation, and entrepreneurship so as to become and remain competitive in world market. Poor governance and poor leadership is observed to be the root cause for all ills in university education. Indian students and professors are brilliant but…

International students face many challenges when pursuing a degree in higher education. Communication and cultural differences are typically cited as the most challenging aspects of any study abroad program. Students attempting to complete a healthcare program face sometimes insurmountable issues, as communication, cultural differences, and…

In this Thinkpiece, the author, who is a Fulbright Teaching Assistant, examines what it really means to have mutual cultural exchange. She reflects on her experience as an American working in a university in Bucharest. In this paper she describes how some of her assumptions about academic life were challenged, and how being open to these…

The year 2017 saw the publication of one of the strongest endorsements of language education on record: "America's Languages: Investing in Language Education for the 21st Century" (henceforth "America's Languages"). Commissioned by a bipartisan group of members of Congress and authored by the Commission on Language Learning of…

Study abroad programs in higher education increasingly play a major role in training students for global citizenship. This case study, conducted in a large research university in the United States, identifies the information needs of students and faculty in study abroad programs. Of particular interest is how awareness of library resources and…

Twenty years ago, the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) convened a group of experts to examine international higher education and make recommendations for the future of study abroad programs at U.S. universities. In its report to CIEE, the group--which represented a wide range of experience in higher education, foreign language…

Discusses the intercultural effects on college faculty teaching abroad through an exploration of the experiences of two teaching academics working in Hong Kong with emphasis on issues of language and communication and social and cultural distance. Argues that the development of intercultural understandings must permeate the curricula, and be a…

Two college teachers acting as administrators of study abroad programs in France identify unique challenges found in the job, including unfamiliar administrative responsibilities, foreign bureaucracies, student logistical and personal problems, extensive paperwork, "on-call" student supervision, taking a family abroad, and relations with…

Mobility, flexibility, and reciprocity in relations between German higher education institutions and those of other European countries are examined as they relate to the geographic and academic mobility of German students, which despite widespread efforts and the creation of new programs, have remained relatively static. (MSE)

This essay focuses on how people respond to cultural difference, and, specifically, two tendencies. One tendency is to romanticize the cultural differences encountered. Another tendency is to rush to a negative judgment about the specific people involved, and about their culture more generally. In this essay, the author illustrates these…

A Dartmouth College (New Hampshire) professor comments on the value of study abroad programs, not only for students but also for faculty. Issues for the institution to consider in designing an overseas program are discussed, including academic purpose, costs, unique administrative problems, implications for tenure-track faculty, compensation…

A college language instructor recounts his experience in a retraining program in business German at the West Germany's Goethe Institute. Twenty-eight individuals from the United States and from five European countries participated in a program that offered (1) a 14-day immersion into business-related German, (2) establishment of German business…

The director of a University of Virginia Arabic language program in Jordan discusses issues, sometimes unfamiliar, with which the administrator must deal. In addition to logistical and administrative tasks, in this context these include the role of women in the Arab university and students' questions about the universality of social values. (MSE)