World Citizenship Proposal - Draft

For QEP

August 1, 2005

Aim: To provide our students with opportunities to expand their understanding of different cultures.[k1]

Background: Hampden-Sydney College, since its founding in 1775, has educated young men to assume positions of leadership in the world. The alumni of the College have gone on to significant positions of leadership in civic organizations, in government, the professions, education, and the world of business. Leadership in the 21st century requires a broad understanding of our world, both within the boundaries of the United States and beyond. Data from surveys indicate that our students have limited exposure to individuals whose backgrounds and beliefs are unlike their own. The College needs to seek ways to expand their understanding of different cultures if our graduates are to continue the centuries-old tradition of assuming leadership positions beyond the gates of the campus.

A significant facet of the mission of Hampden-Sydney College is “to promote an understanding of the world and our place in it.” The College’s core curriculum points toward accomplishment of this portion of the College’s mission with its requirement for a three-semester sequence in Western Culture, a Foreign Language requirement and the requirement for International Studies. Further, the College seeks through enrollment of a more diverse student body, including ethnic minorities and students from foreign countries, to enhance student understanding of the world. Nonetheless, Hampden-Sydney College continues to enroll a largely homogeneous student body, and students report in surveys that they have serious conversations with students of a different race or ethnicity less frequently than national averages. They also less frequently have serious conversations with students whose religious beliefs, political opinions, or personal values vary widely. In addition, our students indicate that the College’s environment encourages contact among students from different economic, social, racial, or ethnic backgrounds less effectively than other liberal arts colleges, and that their experiences here are also less effective in helping them understand people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds.

The Hampden-Sydney College Long Range Plan states: “ An excellent education includes a diversity of experiences and perspectives throughout and beyond the curriculum. Broadening our community will allow our students the opportunity to learn, to live, and to interact with diverse groups both within and without the classroom.” The proposed World Citizenship Plan seeks to address this goal by increasing student contact with other communities, both within the gates of the college and in the community at large. [k2]

The Hampden-Sydney 2004-05 Intercultural “White” Focus Group Report found that many of our students fail to take advantage of the programs offered that would enhance their understanding of other cultures and that many fail to understand why such an understanding would be important in the world of the 21st century. These findings are not in keeping with the general educational goals of the College of preparing our men to “be active and informed participants in the life of their communities.” This plan addresses integrating such programs into a community where some members are uncomfortable with differences and have come to the College to seek a homogeneous environment. It defines World Citizenship in broad terms and realizes that even within the dominant culture of the College there is much diversity to be recognized and valued.

Potential Quality Enhancement Plan Item—World Citizenship

Part 1. Focus of the Plan

1) Has the institution provided a clear and concise description of the critical issues(s) to be addressed?

The core issue is the gap that exists between our goal of creating students who are prepared to be leaders in a world culture and the lack of opportunities (and desire for those opportunities) that exist for our students to interact with people whose backgrounds are different from their own. In a college that is overwhelmingly homogeneous, we believe this discrepancy needs to be addressed. The challenge will be to do so in a way that is meaningful to our students and in a way that they see as relevant for helping them navigate in the world that exists beyond the college gates.[k3]

2) Has the institution described the relationship between the focus of the plan and student learning?

The World Citizenship plan seeks to create a learning environment that expands the type and frequency of meaningful opportunities for students to interact with differing cultures. The plan will offer educational opportunities that emphasize contact and immersion experiences with those of other cultures. It will do so in a way that enhances the general educational goals of the College and when possible provides support for existing goals and needs within departments.

3) Has the institution provided relevant and appropriate goals and objectives to improve student learning?

What follows is a six-fold plan with goals, objectives and benefits that we believe will offer students increased opportunities to expand their understanding of different cultures. It is our objective to create an environment that is more conducive to productive interactions.

Items I—III focus primarily on exposure to international cultures. Items IV-VI focus primarily on exposure to American minorities. (It is possible for this QEP to focus on either or both of these areas.)

I. Sponsor Amity scholars to be part of the Hampden-Sydney community

“Amity scholars are native speakers, between the ages of 20-30, who volunteer to work in the United States in order to promote the culture of their native country and to learn more about U.S. culture. We propose the employment of four Amity Interns per year: two in Spanish and one each in French and German.[k4]

“The benefits of having Amity Scholars for the Modern Languages Program and for the College community are enormous. Amity Scholars interact with members of the college community in various capacities: as teacher aides in the Modern Languages, by becoming fellow classmates in courses in other departments and by participating in extracurricular

activities. They help educate our students about the culture of their native countries in formal, structured presentations, as well as through casual conversation and new friendships with members of the college community. They create and stimulate interest in international affairs, foreign languages and opportunities for study abroad. Their presence makes foreign languages a tangible reality and not just some vague subject from a textbook. Amity scholars are an inexpensive way to bring the far away parts of the world to Hampden-Sydney and help our students open their minds to the possibilities beyond our borders.” (Modern Language Report)

II. Establish Language Houses as a way of promoting the language and culture of other countries

“There is no doubt that language houses successfully promote and encourage the study of foreign languages. They are a space for students of a shared academic interest to gather, to practice that academic interest (the speaking of a foreign language) and to find means of promoting the language and culture to the entire campus community by hosting activities, meals, presentations, etc. Language houses can provide a place for language club meetings, for tutoring sessions for the language students who are fulfilling their graduation requirement, and for a reading room.” (Modern Language Report)

Amity scholars could live in the language houses, providing a native speaker for the students to model.[k5]

III Provide students with greater opportunities for Study Abroad

Study abroad is an excellent way for students to be exposed directly to other cultures and ideas. The study abroad experience takes advantage of the type of learning that comes from immersion[k6] in another culture. These experiences need to be made available to students regardless of economic status. A poll of departmental needs yielded requests from both the Classics and Honors departments for travel opportunities that would enable students to interact academically outside the classroom and for enhanced funding to support these opportunities.

IV. Increase the number of minority and foreign students on campus.

We need to work aggressively to achieve this goal, one that is an important part of our long-range plan. This part of the plan is particularly challenging since Hampden-Sydney often is not the first choice for minority students given the current homogeneous climate. We will address this goal by hiring minority student(s) to work as recruiting officers and by recruiting in areas where we are likely to have more contact with minority students. We will also hire an English as a Second Language teacher to work with international students.

V Continually work to increase the number of minority faculty and professional staff members.

We plan to establish a “Grow Your Own” Program. This program would offer high achieving minority students scholarships for graduate school if they return to work in a staff or faculty position at the College. Returning students are obviously more aware of the challenges of being a minority student at Hampden-Sydney. They could provide role models and mentoring relationships for our current minority students. This in turn could help minority students feel more comfortable as members of the college community.[k7]

VI Provide students with a variety of school-supported opportunities for interacting with

differing cultures and communities outside the college gates.

Fewer of our students indicate that they plan to participate in practicums, field experiences, or internships than do students from other liberal art colleges. We need to make a wider range of experiences available to our students and, when necessary, fund these experiences for students who do not have the financial resources to take advance of them. These experiences should go beyond attending lectures or events and focus on active involvement in a community or culture.[k8]

Public Service Internships or Service Learning Classes offer students the opportunity to participate with cultures unlike their own. These opportunities could take the form of a school sponsored service trip during spring break or a special project such as Habitat for Humanity. Other examples of projects that have successfully introduced our students to cultures unlike their own are the student research project that Professor Vitale is leading at the Piedmont Regional Jail and the Communicating Common Ground class that brought Professor Deal’s oral rhetoric class into the classroom of the local elementary school to discuss diversity. Communicating Common Ground projects occur simultaneously across the United States. Each project has a specific focus, but all share the same overarching goal: to implement a program that fosters respect for diversity and combats prejudice in communities across America.

Service-oriented classes and/or projects could also involve the sciences with projects that focus on environmental testing and evaluation[k9] .

This service component is also supported by the College’s long range plan that states: “We will support programs and other initiatives so that our students will learn that the capacity to live a moral life and to provide leadership and service are among the most important outcomes of higher education…Pedagogy extends beyond the classroom to active engagement in co- curricular student life. Promoting a sense of community within our rural academic village is essential if we are to succeed in our academic mission…The College expects and supports student, faculty, and staff participation in major service activities (e.g., construction of a Habitat House) and will promote involvement in service activities beyond the gates of the campus.”

4) Has the institution provided a comprehensive and clear analysis of the crucial importance of

the Plan for improving the learning environment?

Our institution has defined the issues addressed in this QEP as those of crucial importance. To answer this question we will return to the Hampden-Sydney College Long Range Plan that states: “An excellent education includes a diversity of experiences and perspectives throughout and beyond the curriculum. Broadening our community will allow our students the opportunity to learn, to live, and to interact with diverse groups both within and without the classroom.”

Additionally, the Hampden Sydney College Intercultural Affairs Committee states: “It also reasons that to be a viable citizen of the world and to function as good men and good citizens, one must be exposed to diverse populations both inside and outside of the classroom.”

5) Has the institution identified the benefits to be derived from the QEP?

The World Citizen QEP is a six-fold plan, with each part benefiting the educational and/or institutional goals of the college. The educational benefits of each aspect of the plan are listed as part of the description of the goals and objectives in question number three.

Part 2. Institutional Capability for the Initiation and Continuation of the Plan

1. Has the institution provided a time line for implementing and completing the QEP?

The six items listed in the above QEP plan of action could be implemented in the first year of the plan[k10] . Expanding student understanding of different cultures will not happen immediately. We are describing an organic process and not one that can be required of any student. It is our expectation that a student who spends four years on a campus with significantly increased opportunities for interaction with differing cultures will have exposure and interactions on a more frequent basis than they currently experience.

2. Has the institution assigned qualified individuals to administer and oversee its improvement

We plan to hire a second International Studies Coordinator in order to expedite the study abroad component of this plan[k11] . Additionally, we will hire an English as a Second Language teacher to help our foreign students make the transition to a new language. Systems are already in place to administer the Language Houses and the Amity scholars. The school already offers courses with projects that are part of the Communicating Common Ground Program. The Assistant Dean of Students in conjunction with the Academic Dean could oversee expanded opportunities for service learning. The Provost would oversee the Grow Your Own program. The Dean of Admissions would seek to expand minority recruitment.

3. Has the institution provided evidence of sufficient financial and physical resources to implement, sustain, and complete the QEP?

What follows is a list of financial and physical resource requirements to fulfill the goals of the QEP.

The Amity scholar costs are approximately $3500 per academic year, per scholar, plus housing and board at approximately $6000 per semester[k12] .

An International Studies Coordinator would require a yearly salary of $35,000, plus 25% benefits ($8750) and a one-time cost of $4000 to conduct a search. We would also need to budget administrative/office costs of $2500 for professional travel plus additional supplies, though this person presumably would be under the umbrella of the Office of International Studies, which already has a budget covering much of this work[k13] .

The English as a Second Language teacher would command a salary of approximately $38,000, plus 25% benefits ($9500) and a one-time cost of $4000 to conduct a search. Additionally, we would need to budget approximately $2500 for travel and sundry expenses.[k14]

The Grow Your Own scholarship program would need approximately $50,000 [k15] to support one person per year.

Additionally, our long range plan states: “By 2008, the College will have an endowment of at least $2 million to underwrite the expenses for students to engage in internships related to their studies, and another endowment of at least $2 million to underwrite study abroad and other educational experiences beyond the campus that widen their perspectives.”

4. Has the institution identified relevant internal and external measures to evaluate the Plan?

Externally, we will use data from NSSE to monitor our student’s interaction with those whose religious beliefs, political opinions, economic, social, racial, or ethnic backgrounds or personal values vary from their own. Internally, we will continue to use Focus Groups of the Intercultural Affairs Committee to monitor this program.[k16]

5. Has the institution identified an internal system for evaluating the QEP and monitoring its progress?

No, we have not[k17] , but could assign this chore to the Assessment Committee along with help from the Dean’s Office and Institutional Research.

6. Has the institution described how the results of the evaluation of the QEP will be used to improve student learning?

If successful, the programs outlined in the QEP will lead to our students having a greater awareness and appreciation for different cultures that exist within the United States and throughout the world[k18] .

Part 4. Broad Based Involvement of the Community

1. Has the institution described the methods used for the development of the QEP?

In response to this criterion we will merely describe how we went about formulating the plan.

2. Has the institution demonstrated that all aspects of its community—faculty, staff, students, board members, and administrators—were involved in the development of the QEP?

We believe that we have sufficient faculty members on the planning committee, and plan to open the discussion to all faculty members. We currently have three administrators on the committee. We will have trustee participation when we present this topic to the board at several Board of Trustee meetings. Additionally, we will seek input from the student members of the Student Affairs Committee and other student leaders.

PRO	CON
Provide our students with opportunities to expand their understanding of different cultures.	An International Studies Coordinator would require a yearly salary of $35,000, plus 25% benefits ($8750) and a one-time cost of $4000 to conduct a search. We would also need to budget administrative/office costs of $2500 for professional travel plus additional supplies, though this person presumably would be under the umbrella of the Office of International Studies, which already has a budget covering much of this work. [$1,000,000 Endowment Cost]
The proposed World Citizenship Plan seeks to address this goal by increasing student contact with other communities, both within the gates of the college and in the community at large.	The English as a Second Language teacher would command a salary of approximately $38,000, plus 25% benefits ($9500) and a one-time cost of $4000 to conduct a search. Additionally, we would need to budget approximately $2500 for travel and sundry expenses. [$1,000,000 Endowment Cost]
The core issue is the gap that exists between our goal of creating students who are prepared to be leaders in a world culture and the lack of opportunities (and desire for those opportunities) that exist for our students to interact with people whose backgrounds are different from their own. In a college that is overwhelmingly homogeneous, we believe this discrepancy needs to be addressed. The challenge will be to close the gap in a way that is meaningful to our students and in a way that they see as relevant for helping them navigate in the world that exists beyond the college gates.	The Grow Your Own scholarship program would need approximately $50,000 to support one person per year. [$1,000,000 Endowment Cost] [The three items above are all PRO items, but carry significant endowment fundraising price tags. The QEPC must rank them, in terms of importance, since not all will likely be funded. In this sense, they carry CON connotations.]
We propose the employment of four Amity Interns per year: two in Spanish and one each in French and German	Has the institution identified an internal system for evaluating the QEP and monitoring its progress?[Answer: NO]
Amity scholars could live in the language houses, providing a native speaker for the students to model ($3,500 & $6,000/year)
We plan to establish a “Grow Your Own” Program
Provide students with a variety of school supported opportunities for interacting with differing cultures and communities outside the college gates
Service-oriented classes and/or projects could also involve the sciences with projects that focus on environmental testing and evaluation.
six items listed in the above QEP plan of action could be implemented in the first year
Externally, we will use data from NSSE to monitor our student’s interaction with those whose religious beliefs, political opinions, economic, social, racial, or ethnic backgrounds or personal values vary from their own. Internally, we will continue to use Focus Groups of the Intercultural Affairs Committee to monitor this program.