Dive Brief:
- A new report from the American Council on Education’s Center for Internationalization and Global Engagement provides a guide for schools to incentivize internationalization in tenure policy.
- According to eCampus News, internationally focused teaching activities were found to be the least commonly included criteria for tenure and promotion, even though the process of internationalization has become a greater priority for institutions.
- ACE’s report builds on the 2011 mapping study that first identified the disconnect between institutional goals and practices, and it pulls from 91 best-practice policy documents to provide examples of language, trends, content, and strategies that forward-thinking institutions are already using.
Dive Insight:
In 2011, ACE conducted a survey, "Mapping Internationalization on U.S. Campuses," and found just 8% of respondents reported their institutions had guidelines for incorporating a faculty member’s international work or experience in tenure or promotion decisions. While the report does not address non-tenure track faculty directly, it does call for more research about how to engage this large, and growing, population.
Today’s students are going to be called upon to work in global contexts more than their parents. Study abroad is on the rise, giving more students international experience individually, but campuses also look to international students to diversify their campuses and offer domestic students opportunities for intercultural exchange. Through faculty, this brush with international experience could also be meaningful.