Degree Name
MA in International Education
First Advisor
Linda Gobbo
Abstract
The University of Indianapolis (UIndy) currently hosts a large number of Ningbo Institute of Technology (NIT) students enrolled in a Joint Dual Degree program. The students, majoring in English, International Business, and Finance, have spent the first two years of their programs on the NIT campus in Zhejiang Province, China, and are unfamiliar with life in the United States. One of the University of Indianapolis major goals is to “grow beyond its physical borders” and welcome students from around the world on the campus. In an effort to fully help students make the transition to the United States, the university offers three programs aimed at helping students feel at home in Indianapolis: a specialized orientation, academic support workshops, and a conversation partners program. This proposal is for a new, single program that incorporates and streamlines existing programs while expanding them into something that better meets student needs.
This proposed program, ‘Bridging the Gap’; has been developed after a full assessment of current NIT programming on the UIndy campus and on holistic development in education theory. Students will engage with the program for one year, starting with an online pre-departure community while they are still enrolled in NIT coursework. Once students arrive on campus they will attend a modified orientation and a complete program of ongoing support workshops. Students will have the option to take part in field trips and extra English practice to help them feel part of their new community. The Bridging the Gap program is flexible enough to change as future student evaluations come in and to adjust to future requests from either students or faculty. This new program will use less financial resources that current programming, and save the university almost $5,000 a year.
Disciplines
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education | Higher Education Administration | International and Comparative Education | Student Counseling and Personnel Services
Recommended Citation
Wann, Sarah, "“From China to the US: Bridging the Gap between University of Indianapolis and Ningbo Institute of Technology”" (2011). Capstone Collection. 2441.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/capstones/2441