Global Citizenship At Becker College: Vision 2019

1. Global Citizenship At Becker College:Vision 2019 By: Joseph Spero Post University Education 505

2. History of Becker College • Becker College traces its history to 1784—one of the nation’s top-25 oldest institutions of higher education • The College evolved from the union of two institutions: Leicester Academy—the third preparatory school in Massachusetts, the first in central Massachusetts, and the first in the Commonwealth to accept female students—and Becker’s Business School, a Worcester school that offered career preparation for men and women. • Over the years, the institution served as the launch pad of many program “firsts”—including the first major in journalism to be offered in the East (1937); a medical secretarial major (1938), the College’s first offering in the health sciences that became a national model; the first retail merchandising program in Massachusetts (1950); and the first accredited associate degree in science, in veterinary technology, in Massachusetts (1978). • In 1943: Becker School of Business Administration and Secretarial Science changes its name to Becker Junior College of Business Administration and Secretarial Science, and receives the authority to grant associate in science degrees. • In 1990: Becker Junior College of Business Administration and Secretarial Science changes its name to Becker College • In 1991: Becker College receives authority to grant bachelor of science and bachelor of arts degrees

3. Present Day @ Becker College • Becker College is a private, independent, coeducational four-year college, offering undergraduate (associate’s and bachelor’s) degrees, and adult education degrees (associate’s and bachelor’s) and certificate programs. • Mission: transformational learning experience—anchored by academic excellence, social responsibility, and creative expression—that prepares graduates to thrive, contribute to, and lead in a global society. • The College’s six core values—excellence, accountability, community and diversity, social responsibility, integrity, and creative expression • 29 diverse Bachelor degree programs • Enrollment: 2,081 • Class Size/Student to Faculty Ratio: 16:1 • Two Diverse Campuses: Worcester and Leicester ( 6 miles apart) • Becker has been named one of the best institutions for undergraduate education by The Princeton Review for two consecutive years • Today’s leading-edge programs—game design and development, vet tech and pre-veterinary, nursing, and more • Becker College is proud to have a 99% placement rate for its graduates, for employment and further study. • In 2012: Becker College begins Global Citizenship initiative; “Global Citizenship touches all aspects of life”

4. Key Terms Being Put to Use • The term “futuring” is the art of analyzing and calculating what the lies ahead in the future; Educational organizations should not be building for the present, but rather the future. • “Scanning for trends in global education involves attending to the economics and politics of education, as well as changes in the efficacy and delivery of instruction and research” (Grummon, P. 71). • “The use of scenarios can change the corporate culture, compelling its managers to rethink radically the hypotheses on which they have grounded their strategy” (Mietzner & Reger, 2005, P. 235). • The purpose of these terms is to help educational organizations build for a successful future. • The main challenge that lies ahead is to create a Becker College organizational structure that supports comprehensive Internationalization and Global Citizenship.

5. The Process • Four Sub-Comittees have been created to begin the “scanning” and “forecasting” process. The chart below indicates the common themes identified across the sub-committees are as follows: • A central office/dedicated resources to oversee that the Becker College Global Citizenship initiatives are recognized • Student recognition: a means to identify, record, and reward student participation in Global Citizenship initiatives • Creation of the Global Citizenship Points system, which would be tied to student transcripts to record activities and participation in Global Citizenship at Becker College. • Facilitation of an Education Abroad program. • Recommendation of the sub-committees that the College should initially focus on short-term overseas study programs (service-learning) • Natural progression over time to offer the longer immersion experience of a semester or academic year duration program of study.

6. The Process

7. Educational Technology • “Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources” (Bozkaya & Aydin; P. 1) • Education paradigms are shifting to include online learning, hybrid learning and collaborative models. • Leverage technologies such as tablets and mobile devices to connect the curriculum to real life experiences/ issues • Self connection to learner would create a better atmosphere for students; main component: It is relevant to them • More Student Centered

8. Financial Trends Program Budgeting -Primary Components: the program plan, the program budget, and cost–benefit analysis -Organizes and presents information about the costs and benefits of an organization’s activities. -Program planning establishes goals and objectives for the organization and relates them to the organization’s activities. -The costs and benefits of different approaches for achieving the goals and objectives are established through an examination of resource requirements and estimated benefits to be gained. -An important aspect of the program budget is the projection of costs and program output over a number of years to provide along-term view of the financial implications of those programs.

9. Step 1. • Create a Becker College organizational structure that supports comprehensive Internationalization/Global Citizenship 1. Establish a Center for Global Citizenship to centralize management of Internationalization/Global Citizenship operations. A central office, with administrative oversight, for coordination among: a. Faculty Coordinator for Global Citizenship b. International students; International student services / international student recruitment c. International programs/Education Abroad d. Global/partnerships coordination (service-learning) e.(scanning) Clearly delineate where/how Global Citizenship fits within the College’s organizational scheme, reporting lines, and which functional areas, or components, fall under its purview.

10. Step 2. • Enhance international curricular opportunities for students at Becker College 1. Develop and implement Global Citizenship coursework, minor, concentration and major 2. Consider aligning Gen Ed with Global Citizenship to support the global learning outcomes 3. Expand semester-long and year-long education abroad opportunities in order to be competitive with peer and aspirant institutions. 4. Focus on lower cost short-term education abroad experiences in summer, spring break, intersession, or May-mester

11. Step 3. • Increase the number of international students at Becker College (recruitment and retention) 1. Build comprehensive international student recruitment 2. Gateway Program—find ways to internationalize or develop separate summer programming for international students. Students from other countries want exchange experiences in the U.S.; invite participation from other nationalities. 3. Improve services to international students A. International student orientation B. International Student Services (ISS) office has launched international student support for current international students

12. Step 4. • Establish globally focused engagement opportunities at Becker College 1. Global Points System (cultural type credits/non- academic) A. Badging system (electronic tracking) 2. Expand, develop and promote programs and activities with an International /Global Citizenship focus 3. Expand domestic and international service- learning opportunities A. Develop local, regional, domestic and international partnerships

13. Step 5. • Implement an assessment program that tracks the effectiveness of Internationalization /Global Citizenship initiatives 1. Assess Global Citizenship learning outcomes across the curriculum. 2. Assess Global Citizenship learning outcomes across the co- curriculum. 3. Assess the efficacy of the Center for Global Citizenship. 4. Assess the efficacy of Office of Enrollment Management (Admissions, Financial Aid and Registrar) in international recruitment. 5. Assess the efficacy of International Student Services in international retention

14. Global Point System • The Global Points System (GPS), will require students to earn 16 Global Citizenship points (global points) in order to graduate. To receive a global point, students must attend cultural programming or engage in co-curricular activities that meet the Global Citizenship learning outcomes. • For example, one global point is equivalent to attending approximately one cultural programming opportunity and completing a written or oral assessment of the program.

15. Conclusion • “An overall goal of education is to create a classroom as a place where all students can practice and live as responsible citizens” (Dammania & Indani,2012, p. 3) • When it is all said and done, Becker College graduates shall have acquired, through a variety of experiences, the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that enable them to understand world cultures, events, and global systems; appreciate cultural differences; and to apply this knowledge and appreciation to their lives as citizens and workers so that they may thrive, contribute to, and lead in a global society.

16. References • Becker College. (2014, March). About Becker College: Mission &Vision. Retrieved from Becker College http://www.becker.edu/about/vision- mission/ • Becker College. (2014, March). About Becker College: History. Retrieved from Becker College http://www.becker.edu/about/history/ • Becker College. (2014, March). About Becker College: Presidential Report. Retrieved from Becker College http://www.becker.edu/about/president/communications/ • Dammani, K., & Indani, M. (2012, November). Golden Research Thoughts: Changing Role of Education with Reference to Global Perspectives. Monthly Multidisciplinary Research Journal. Volume II Issue V, p. 1-3. Retrieved from http://www.aygrt.isrj.net/UploadedData/1688.pdf

17. References