Posted on by Natallia Kolbun

W8 – Strategic Planning for Internationalization in Higher Education

This week’s readings focused on strategic planning for internationalization in Higher Education. Moreover the readings went beyond a simple discussion of the process and why strategic planning is important, they provided some detailed examples of the existing global strategic plan (Baruch College), examples of successful implementation of strategic plans (The University of Kentucky, Rutgers University, and Beloit College), and a case study of the problems that can arise during international strategic plan implementation (University of Derby).

First, I want to bring up AIEA definition of strategic plan, as it seems to be the base for further discussion, “Strategic plan is ideally developed through an inclusive collective process through which the participants develop a mission and a set of priorities to move the college or university toward an aspirational, but attainable, future state over a period of five or more years.” What I find to be the most important in strategic planning is the collaboration and involvement of everyone in the strategic planning. In order to determine and true direction of where institution would like to be headed, it is important to get everyone on the same page (board of trustees, faculty, operations, finance and marketing people, etc.) From the examples provided by the University of Kentucky, Rutgers University, and Beloit College, all of them were involved in providing ideas, however at the end of the day the decisions were made by board and the president. In addition, implementation almost always falls onto faculty, which increases their workload and jeopardizing failure of the strategic plan, as mentioned in the University of Derby study case.

Other important aspect of strategic planning is “setting mission and set of priorities…toward an aspirational, but attainable future state”. As stated in the AIEA report Principle#6 in successful strategic planning is “to focus on the curriculum and student learning”. As also further elaborated, it is often overlooked due to other interests the leadership in the institution might have. As a result, this can lead to a failure of following institution’s mission and overall long term strategic plan. Moreover, focusing on something realistic that the institution has a implantation plan for is even more important, because setting up unrealistic goals that do not seem to fit into the institutional mission will result in automatic failure, even if it looks good on a paper.

EAIE created its own definition of international strategic planning, which I really liked, “Strategic planning is problem focused and future driven. It involves prioritizing and making explicit choices, setting realistic goals for internationalization but stretching the institution beyond its current capacity. It involves making effective use of resources. It is implemented and reviewed in a continuous cycle, and it creates a sense of ownership and ambition.  In other words it becomes an instrument of institutional and individual change.” I find it to be very important to touch upon individual and institutional change when talking about strategic internationalization planning, since many people and especially faculty are very resistant to change.

 

Natallia

Posted on by Kristen.VanVleck

W8 – Strategic Planning for Internationalization

Strategic Planning for Internationalization in Higher Education, a publication by AIEA, introduces the history of strategic planning in higher education and provides a helpful definition which states: “A strategic plan is ideally developed through an inclusive, collective process through which the participants develop a mission and a set of priorities to move the college or university toward an aspirational, but attainable, future state…” (p 4).  It goes on to stress the importance of strong leadership, faculty input, utilizing data and measurements to inform objectives and track progress, and investing time to develop consensus in a decentralized environment.

A case study of issues of strategy implementation in internationalization of higher education looks at the challenges that a UK institution faced when implementing their internationalization plan.  Focusing on internal challenges such as coordination and fear of change, they conducted one on one interviews with the leadership, faculty, and marketing teams.  Unsurprisingly, “resource allocation” was a concern shared by all three teams, especially financial resources, which is an ever-present constraint throughout many aspects of education.

One thing I thought was interesting was that the availability of staff resources was viewed differently among the different groups.  While faculty, the people on the ground dealing with increased workload, were concerned about having enough manpower and time to complete tasks during the busy times, the leadership team did not think this should be a problem, as they viewed these resources as already having been allocated during the planning phase.   Jiang and Carpenter (2011) sum it up well by noting, “The potential reason for this discord is that the corporate group is responsible for strategy formulation, rather than strategy implementation” (p 9).  I think this example is illustrative as it also encompasses other issues discussed in the reading including cooperation and communication.  Additionally, leadership being unaware of volume and complexity of staff duties is not unique to education.

It is important that institutions apply AIEA’s definition of strategic planning so that it is truly “an inclusive, collective process” where representatives from various departments and levels are involved in strategic planning.  Fear of change, risks to institutional reputation, and external factors such as visa regulations and other governmental policies are also factors that can impede internationalization on campus.  In order to overcome these challenges, the authors suggest more staff training and professional development, increased communication to ensure common values when internationalizing, and more cross-departmental cooperation.

Baruch’s Global Strategic Plan 2014-2019 was easily my favorite reading this week.  Baruch’s comprehensive global plan included initiatives such as international student recruitment, increasing study abroad, and encouraging faculty collaboration.  Not only did we get to see the recommendations from the previous readings put into action, but it is great to know that the institution where I will earn my master’s degree is making the effort to invest in a global strategic plan that is comprehensive and closely linked to the overall strategic plan of the university.  One example suggested by AIEA is the benefit of targeting specific countries for internationalization initiatives, which Baruch did expertly, not only by providing a comprehensive list of current global initiatives, but also identifying “Country Commitments” where future resources and efforts will be focused.   I also liked that Baruch’s internationalization strategic plan ended each section with plans for measurement and evaluation of its goals.

Posted on by a.ilazarova

W-8 Strategic Planning and Internationalization

AIEA report on strategic planning dives into the history and the world of strategic planning. the Report states that strategic planning was initiated for military purposes and then gained its way to businesses. Internationalization is also mentioned and how with its growth in the U.S it is being interwoven into many of the college’s strategic plans. The report discusses an array of necessary principles that should be used to successfully implement strategic planning ideas on internationalization around campuses. Is places great importance on  follow through all the steps of the plan.

A research case study presents issues of strategy implementation on internationalization of higher education. This case discussed how different strategic planning could be in the higher education world. Unlike in the business world, there are a few different factors that disable the implementation of the correct and workable strategies in higher education. The AIEA, as well as the research study both state that unlike businesses colleges are very decentralized hence the formulation as well as the implementation of strategic plans, is often quite hard to do. It is important to note that change is still very possible with this kind of system considering the factors that need to be present are resources, communication, implementation and follow-up.

Then we have presented an example of the global strategic plan for Baruch College. It is interesting to see the Baruch college plan for internationalization. The plan encompasses all the ideas for a successful strategic plan for raising internationalization. However, it does lack of providing some important things such as where the funds will come from for this project. In the Recent news, the budget does not allocate any money to support CUNY schools for the upcoming fiscal year. Without those funds, the tuition for general students will grow even higher.

Many funds are needed for the implementation of the strategic funds, considering there would need to be more staff needed to implement and keep the program. Although students coming from different countries would be paying a higher tuition rate this may not turn out to be a good choice since affordability is the first on the list to attract students from all over the world. Baruch college does have connections with private gift givers which helped raise funds for the school when cuny started exhibiting financial problems with the state. Yet according to the reports, schools that have implemented and carried out good strategic plans for internationalization have been one of the oldest schools in the US and have connections where they are able to raise funding without relying predominantly on the state for assistance as a public institution.

Posted on by Zeline Santana

W8, Global strategic plan, its principles and internationalization

The AIEA reading for this week clearly explains the importance of strategic planning in higher education. In the course of this program, we learn that many families are interested in knowing and understanding the strategic plan of a college and/or university. For the most part they [the family] wish to understand the course of direction the institution is going, but my question is how will a college and/ or university know when international involvement in the university matters?

The AIEA reading presented 12 principles of internationalization. There is really nothing (in my opinion) that seems out of the ordinary when it comes to planning and IHE vs. higher education in general. Some principles that were said to be important are obtaining knowledge on internationalization, campus input, the time-line of success, transparency, and quality of the curriculum. This very much adds importance to the readings we have had thus far in where we have discussed the importance of campus wide initiatives that includes the faculty. In my opinion, faculty input, knowledge, and support can result in great outcomes in the quality of IHE in the nation or at that institution. Also, input of the local community can be great to include in planning initiatives because it can aide to understand what international involvement local families wish to see in the educational system. Overall, I think opportunity mapping in the U.S. explains why IHE has not prevailed like in many other countries. The AIEA reading states that priorities in the region are also important and having the data to support what priorities align with potential sources of external support is vital for IEH success.

To conclude, cooperation and coordination in strategic planning provides cohesion within an organization as explained in the AIEA reading. Like in Baruch understanding how the college fits within global cities in the world is important, which allows the college to consider a global strategic plan for the future. I really liked how the Baruch global strategic plan emphasis the needed of more faculty involvement, which should aide IHE in the college and hopefully impact other CUNY schools, the State of NY, and the nation.

Posted on by Ben Levine

Strategizing International Partnerships

From the readings for this week, it can be gleaned that strategy is now at the forefront of international education policy, as well as higher education in general. Success is usually determined by whether an institute has developed and implemented a sound strategy. The desire for strategic planning can be found in all corners of education; in the finance class, we are learning how budgets are not as simple as adding and subtracting, but puzzles that need to be solved in order to place institutions in solid financial positions. In order for international education programs to get off the ground, and sustain themselves, those in charge must do a lot of analysis and looking to the future.

After reading the three pieces, one particular passage stood out to me, and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. In the case study, the authors point out that choosing an international market is an extremely important decision. Sometimes a choice can be pretty obvious- an institution in a capitalism country probably isn’t going to try to develop a partnership with North Korea (not that it would be able to make any contact in the first place). More often than not, though, deciding which nations and the particular institutions within them to partner with could be a time-consuming activity.  The authors list “culture and languages, governmental regulations and policy, transactional costs, risk, opportunity and market size” as just some of the factors that need to be taken into consideration (p. 6). That’s a lot to think about!

The first example that popped into my head was the Confucius Institute. These centers purport to offer “language instruction, cultural immersion, teacher training, scholarships, and testing,” according to one of its sites in the United States. Unfortunately, Confucius Institutes are generally mired with controversy over their true purpose. In 2008, the Vancouver Sun released an article whose first paragraph sums up a lot of people’s opinions on the Chinese organization: “There are deeply divided views about the Confucius Institute in Vancouver: Some say it’s a goodwill gesture by Beijing to teach Chinese language and culture, while others believe it’s part of a plot by an emerging superpower to infiltrate and influence foreign citizens and their governments.” Whoa. That’s quite the accusation.

That’s a first-world country, though. It’s not too shocking that people in the wester world would be suspicious of Chinese activities. What about other parts of the world? Didn’t we learn at the beginning of the semester that the Confucius Institutes were pretty popular in Africa? Now that makes sense. Going back to strategies for international markets (which is the whole point of this blog), I feel like whoever decided for African-Chinese partnerships did his or her research.

A few weeks ago I mentioned in a blog about how relationships outside of the western world don’t even appear on our mental spectrum because we have absolutely nothing to do with them- but they do exist. The more I think about the Confucius Institutes operating in Africa, the more it seems so obvious. Many nations in Africa have long been subjugated to both colonialism and neocolonialism by European powers. In swoops China, another country that has been affected by the far-reaching grasp of western empires. The Institutes offer to operate in HEIs in various countries, accessing thousands of bright young minds (except for the students who were sent abroad to study). Now that is strategy at its finest- slowly create a generation of educated people who are more likely to associate with China due to their exposure to its language and culture. Why create ties with the western world when there are just as many opportunities to the east.

Perhaps the intentions of the Confucius Institutes are not quite as nefarious as I make them out to be, but still, partnerships in former colonies seem like a pretty good idea. In any case, this goes to show that determining the appropriate international market is a major step in creating a successful international education program.