$8,086
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Conference and Professional Development Grant Proposal:
Networking for Effective Intensive English Programs
Abstract
Campus units that recruit, educate and offer support services to international students
rarely have the opportunity to interact as a team either at professional conferences or in a
sustained way on university campuses. This lack of coordination can cause breakdowns in
communication and disruption in service. To avert or to address such problems, the goal of the
proposed project is to offer a professional development program, sustained over one academic
year, to develop the capacity of the UW-System regional, comprehensive universities in
establishing and sustaining campus programs that effectively serve international students through
1) stronger coordination of efforts among campus units responsible for the education and support
of international students, and 2) the integration of intensive English programs (IEPs) into the
mainstream of campus life.
Objectives are:
1. To invite all UW-System comprehensive universities to form campus teams,
representative of constituencies that serve international students. At least six
campuses will send teams of 4-5 members.
2. To facilitate campus team efforts through projects capped by two professional
development workshops for campus teams.
3. To provide a networking opportunity for comprehensive UW institutions that serve
international students and offer IEPs.
4. To evaluate conference and project outcomes.
The project will be managed by personnel from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
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Conference and Professional Development Grant Proposal:
Networking for Effective Intensive English Programs
PROJECT GOAL
The goal of the proposed project is to offer a professional development program, sustained over one
academic year, to develop the capacity of the UW-System regional, comprehensive universities in
establishing and sustaining campus programs that effectively serve international students through 1)
stronger coordination of efforts among campus units responsible for the education and support of
international students, and 2) the integration of intensive English programs (IEPs) into the
mainstream of campus life. The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, along with UW-Oshkosh and UWRiver Falls, are establishing new IEPs, programs that offer intensive English language instruction to
international students who are, in the main, preparing for post-secondary education (including graduate
education) in an English-speaking country. IEPs that are housed at UW campuses serve as effective
recruitment and retention mechanisms and enhance globalization and diversity in ways that support
Growth Agenda goals. These three regional comprehensives will join sister institutions in Eau-Claire
LaCrosse, Madison, Milwaukee, and Stevens Point in further opening their campuses to international
students.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
1. To invite all UW-System comprehensive universities to form campus teams, representative of
constituencies that serve international students. At least six campuses will send teams of 4-5 members.
Campus units that recruit, educate and offer support services to international students rarely have the
opportunity to interact as a team either at professional conferences or in a sustained way on university
campuses. 1 This lack of coordination can cause breakdowns in communication and disruption in service.
Furthermore, at UW-System regional campuses, the number and percentage of international students are
1
Fredricka Stoller, Ph.D., founding director of the intensive English program at Northern Arizona University and the co-editor of A Handbook for Language
Program Administrators, 2nd Ed.(published by Alta Books: Miami, 2012), personal communication , 9 February 2012.
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small when compared to the number of regional students. International students may feel isolated and lost
in the crowd. One goal of the IEP programs is to increase the number of international students enrolling as
full-time students in our degree programs. Therefore, it is in the interest of recruitment and retention of
this population for the regional campuses to develop a well-coordinated network of academic and social
support. Participation in this project requires institutions to form interdisciplinary teams of four or five
people who represent the following campus units: office of international student programs, IEPs,
administrative offices (e.g. registrar, admissions, recruitment), and faculty from outside of the IEP serving
a significant number of international students (e.g. business, engineering) will be invited to participate in
the professional development opportunity explained under Objective 2 below.
2. To facilitate campus team efforts through projects capped by two professional development
workshops for campus teams. This objective will be accomplished in five steps, as follows:
1. Conduct a needs assessment survey to determine team interests and concerns.
2. Sponsor a workshop on team-building and leadership for those working with international students
to coincide with the NAFSA Region V annual conference. NAFSA is the premier organization for
international education in the United States. The 2012 NAFSA Region V 2 conference will be held
October 24-25, 2012 in Madison, WI. A leader in IEP development, such as Elizabeth Soppelsa,
Deputy Executive Director of NAFSA and long-standing director of the Applied English Center at
the University of Kansas, will develop and present a workshop on team building and leadership
for successful IEP integration at regional universities.
3. Develop action plans at the conference, based on individual campus goals for better IEP program
integration into the campus.
4. Implement the plans throughout the 2012-2013 academic year, and submit a simple, web-based
status report to guide the second workshop.
5. Invite Fredricka Stoller, founding director of the Program in Intensive English at Northern
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Region V comprises Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.
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Arizona University and recognized leader in program administration and development, to conduct
a second workshop in which participants will share their projects and plan for further collaborative
efforts. This workshop will be held in May 2013 at UW-Whitewater.
3. To provide a networking opportunity for comprehensive UW institutions that serve international
students and offer IEPs. Forums such as the two workshops will enable campus teams to share ideas and
strategies for recruiting, retaining, and supporting international students, especially in the effort to
integrate the IEP into the campus. Students in an IEP are often set apart from other students, including
international students, because their focus is within the intensive English program. On campuses where
there is a limited international presence within the student body, it is important that these students feel a
part of the community, especially if the students’ goal is to be admitted to a degree program upon
satisfactory completion of IEP study. Rather than a silo approach to working with colleagues of similar
positions from different campuses (e.g. IEP directors with IEP directors, student counselors with student
counselors), the network of teams enables all institutional stakeholders to develop mutually supportive
relationships to address common concerns and to share strategies for program improvement.
4. To evaluate conference and project outcomes. Before the first workshop, a call for teams will be sent
to UW-System comprehensive campuses through the respective Provost’s office. The needs assessments
will be conducted online and collected at UW-Whitewater. Results will inform the conference presenter
of the particular strengths and concerns of participants to ensure a productive workshop experience.
By April 15, 2013, teams will submit a simple online status report, highlighting progress toward
project goals. Team members will also complete a second needs assessment survey. Results of this survey
will be sent to the second workshop presenter to ensure appropriate focus. At the end of each workshop,
participants will complete an evaluation. Results will be used to assess the overall effectiveness of this
year-long effort and will be shared with campus teams and other interested campus personnel.
STATEMENT OF PROJECT NEED
Paying attention to the needs of the international student population is especially important in UW5
System regional, comprehensive universities, where international enrollment represented approximately
5% of UW comprehensive campus enrollment in 2010, 3 and at some campuses, such as UW-Whitewater,
where international students make up slightly more than 1% of the student body. There is clearly room to
grow in attracting international students, but this growth must be matched by adequate services.
The proposed project addresses elements of the UW-System Growth Agenda and the UW-Whitewater
Strategic Plan. First, the Growth Agenda calls for increasing the number of Wisconsin graduates.
UW-
Whitewater plans to increase the number of full-time degree seeking international students on campus
from the current 120 to 600 in the near future. Like many UW campuses which have recently re-focused
their international recruitment efforts, UW-Whitewater understands that achieving this goal requires
campus-wide collaboration. Second, this project supports the Growth Agenda goal of creating more wellpaying jobs by developing a workforce to meet future economic needs. UW campuses have embraced the
need to develop intercultural knowledge and competence as among UW-System graduates.
Internationalizing the student body of UW-System comprehensive campuses advances this goal. It
exposes Wisconsin students to a variety of international students in their classrooms, dorms and clubs,
increases the likelihood that Wisconsin students will consider study abroad and expands the network of
international alumni with ties to the state. In a time marked by transnationalism, the goal of expanding
the international perspectives of our graduates requires a cross-campus effort. The team approach
proposed for this project reflects this idea. Since many of these new international students will also be
served by the IEP, strong campus relationships and appropriate procedures must be in place so that the
program is successful.
As mentioned under Objective 4, each phase of the proposed Conference and Professional
Development Project will begin with a needs assessment. Reflection of the development cycle is built into
the project through conference evaluation, spring 2013 status report, and a final sharing at the second
3
Information has been derived from the UW System Total Headcount by Race/Ethnicity, available from
http://acadaff.uww.edu/ir/downloads/student/demographics/uws_ethnicity_all_09-10.xls. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
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conference. Teams will then submit an online report that details next steps in program development. The
project is timely, as three universities (Oshkosh, River Falls, and Whitewater) have recently initiated, or
will soon initiate IEPs. These three institutional teams will learn from those who have established
programs.
ASSESSMENT PLAN. UW-Whitewater personnel are responsible for project management.
Objective & Activity
1. Establish teams on at least
six campuses
Measure
At least six campuses will develop
teams of 4-5 participants.
2. Facilitate team efforts
• Offer two workshops
• Conduct needs assessment
prior to each workshop
3. Provide networking
opportunities
• Attendance, evaluations
• Needs assessment collated and
sent to conference presenters
State extent and value of networking
in progress report
4. Evaluate conferences and
project outcomes
• Conference evaluations
• Final project evaluation
Outcome
All teams prepare an action plan
to address goals pertaining to
international students.
Professional development tailored
to institutional needs.
Use results to develop more
appropriate networking options
after project (e.g. listserv, wiki,
annual system meetings)
• Use results to inform
stakeholders of their professional
development
• Reflection of progress; use for
future goal-setting
TIMELINE OF ACTIVITIES
 Spring 2012: Invite campus participation through each institution’s Office of the Provost; conduct
initial needs assessment.
 Spring 2012: Campuses identify team members and begin the local planning process
 October 2012: In conjunction with NAFSA Region V conference in Madison, first workshop
occurs, focused on campus goal setting; teams develop a plan to address goals.
 Fall 2012-Spring 2013: Teams implement plans.
 By mid-April 2013: Teams submit progress report and complete a second needs assessment in
preparation for the Spring 2013 workshop to be held at UW-Whitewater.
 May2013: Teams meet for second workshop; present on progress to date.
 May 2013: Teams submit online report, projecting further actions.
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PROJECT TITLE:
CATEGORY:
INSTITUTION:
University of Wisconsin System
Growth Agenda Grants Program
2012-13 BUDGET FORM
Networking for Effective Intensive English Programs
Conference and Professional Development Grant Proposal
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
FY2012-13
PERSONNEL SALARY
*Identify Personnel in Budget Narrative
1 Faculty and Academic Staff:
2 Classified Staff:
3 Limited Term Employee:
4 Research and Grad Assistants:
5 Student Workers:
6 Other (i.e., Guest speakers, Consultants, etc):
7 Fringe Benefits
Guest Speaker Honorarium
FY2013-14
Funds
Cost to
Funds
Cost to
Funds
Cost to
Requested
Institution
Requested
Institution
Requested
Institution
$3,000.00
$0.00
$3,000.00
$0.00
Conference Supplies and Postage
Speaker Travel Expenses
$250.00
$1,176.00
$0.00
$0.00
Conference Food and Facility Rental Fees
$3,660.00
$0.00
Supplies & Expenses Sub Total:
$5,086.00
PROJECT FUNDING TOTALS:
$8,086.00
Personnel Salary Sub Total:
FY2014-15
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
EQUIPMENT/SUPPLIES & EXPENSES
Briefly identify items. Justify each in Budget Narrative detailing travel (i.e., mileage, meals, lodging)
1 Equipment:
2 Supplies & Expenses:
3 Other (describe):
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Budget Narrative
Personnel Salaries
Funding is requested for guest speaker honorariums of $1,500 each for a total of $3,000.
The tentative guest speakers are Elizabeth Soppelsa, who will speak on team building and
leadership for successful IEP integration at regional universities, and Fredericka Stollar, who will
present on program administration and develop plans with participants for further collaboration
projects and activities.
Supplies
Funding is requested for supplies in support of conference activities and postage/printing
in support of conference marketing. The total funding request is $250.
Growth Agenda funding is requested to support speaker travel expenses. Speaker travel
expenses include roundtrip airfare ($400 each, $800 total); two days of meals at the in-state
maximums ($34 per day for two days for two speakers, $136 total); one night of lodging at the
in-state maximum ($70 per night for two speakers, $140 total); and ground transportation to/from
airport ($50 per speaker for two speakers, $100 total). Total speaker travel expenses are $1,176.
Funding will also support conference expenses, including food the facility rental fee.
Food during the two conferences is budgeted at $34 per participant for 45 participants for a total
of $3,060. One conference will occur in Madison, Wisconsin at the Concourse Hotel to coincide
with the 2012 NAFSA Region V conference. As a result, a facility rental fee of $600 will be
incurred in order to host one conference in Madison.
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Mickey Goggin, Coordinator
English Language Support Services
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Office of International Education
800 Algoma Blvd.
Oshkosh, WI 54901
February 15, 2012
Dr. Seth Meisel, Associate Dean
School of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
800 West Main Street
Whitewater, WI 53190
Dear Dr. Meisel,
Susan Huss-Lederman of your institution has submitted a conference and professional
development grant proposal entitled "Networking for Effective Intensive English
Programs" to your office. The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh supports this proposal.
We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate across UW-System institutions to address
the specific needs of international students and we look forward to the prospect of sharing
strategies for effective administration of intensive English programs.
Our intensive English program is still relatively new and this networking opportunity
gives us a chance to share ideas and strategies for recruiting, retaining, and supporting
international students, especially in the effort to better integrate our IEP into our campus.
The opportunity also gives us a chance to provide professional development for
stakeholders on our campus who interact with our IEP program and/or support our
international student population.
Sincerely,
Mickey Goggin
OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION * ENGLISH LANGUAGE SUPPORT SERVICES
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN OSHKOSH * 800 ALGOMA BLVD * OSHKOSH, WI 54901
(920) 424-0775 * EMAIL [email protected]
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