“We have spent too little time discussing what it means for a nation to draw on many identity communities, or for an individual to live a life that constantly crosses boundaries and weaves together webs of significance from multiple circles – larger and smaller – that may both intersect and contradict.”

~AAC&U’s The Drama of Diversity and Democracy: Higher Education and American Commitments, second edition (2011)

Conversations on the Bridge:The Bridging Cultures Project at Middlesex

Community College

Dona Cady, Dean of Global EducationCarina E. Self, Assist. Dean of Social Sciences & Service LearningMatthew Olson, Dean of Humanities & Social Sciences

About Middlesex Community College

• Two campuses – Bedford and Lowell, MA• Non-residential• 9664 students (headcount)• 5618 full-time equivalent (FTE)• 61% part-time• 39% full-time

Overview

• Middlesex Experience with Global Learning– Long history of emphasis on global education– Twenty-three year relationship with the Asian

Studies Development Program at the East West Center

– Twenty year old service learning program‐ ‐

Strategic Direction

• 2011-2014 Strategic Plan lists six “Strategic Directions” including…

“We will transform learning by integrating -academic, workplace and global experiences to meet personal, professional and community needs.”

• https://www.middlesex.mass.edu/strategicplanning/downloads/stratdir.pdf

Global Education

• DONA?

Service Learning Program

• In 2012-13 academic year, 950 students participated in the service-learning program and performed a total of 19,000 service hours.

• Fall 2012 - 38 faculty in 36 different courses (64 sections)

• Spring 2013 - 37 faculty in 34 different courses (58 sections)

Assessing Global Learning

• Internal: Institutional Student Learning Outcomes (ISLOs) – Social Responsibility and Multicultural & Global Awareness

• External: NEASC, Massachusetts Board of Higher Education’s VISION Project

Integrating Efforts

• Previously, a series of separate efforts (in silos)• The Middlesex Bridging Cultures Project (BCP)

is a unified effort to develop:• cross disciplinary knowledge‐• cultural literacy• active awareness of individual and collective responsibility• synergy and economy across efforts

The Massachusetts Vision Project

• In 2010, the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education unveiled a strategic plan called the Vision Project with 6 key outcomes

• In 2012, an additional key outcome was added

AAC&U Global Learning VALUE Rubric

• What is the Global Learning VALUE Rubric• Used to evaluate activities or experiences for

students (SLOs)• Examples form Middlesex Community College• Examples from your schools?

AAC&U Global Learning Inventory

• Assessing a college, campus, or other major area (school or division)

• Two dimensions:Breadth: the degree to which efforts are

connected (Isolated/Integrated)Depth: the degree to which efforts are embedded

throughout the institution (Superficial/Embedded)

Some Questions about Pervasiveness

• How well-connected are programs/activities/courses? What structures help with integration?

• How do efforts build on existing work?• How are activities “scaffolded” for

development over time?• How do we know we are making a difference

(student learning AND campus culture)?

Modeling and Practice

• Examples from Middlesex Community College

• Examples from your school (think

aloud)

Benefits of One Identifiable Program

• Galvanize faculty, create identity for this work• Faculty see work as connected to something

larger• Work is linked to goals of MCC strategic plan– Gen Ed reform, Closing Achievement Gap

• Better uses of resources– Speaker series– Bridging Cultures (IDS) Weekend

Conversations on the Bridge:The Bridging Cultures Project at Middlesex

Community College

Dona Cady, Dean of Global EducationCarina E. Self, Assist. Dean of Social Sciences & Service LearningMatthew Olson, Dean of Humanities & Social Sciences