Marjorie Bazluki, CATL; Heather Linville, Educational Studies; and Diane Sasaki and Emelee Volden, both International Education, Engagement; received the award for US-Japan COIL Initiative at U.S.- Japan COIL Initiative on Oct. 26 in Washington, D.C.. ACE named the six accredited, degree-granting U.S. colleges and universities participating in the U.S.-Japan COIL Initiative?, which aims to expand U.S.-Japan higher education ties through collaborative online international learning (COIL).
City University of New York College of Staten Island, DePaul University (IL), James Madison University (VA), University of Alabama, Sinclair Community College (OH), and University of Wisconsin-La Crosse will partner with six Japanese higher education institutions to develop, deliver, and assess COIL courses to be offered in 2019. Faculty from the selected U.S. and Japanese institutions will collaborate to develop a joint syllabus, and students in the two countries will then work together to complete assignments that meet shared learning objectives.
“An indispensable aspect of the selection process was that the six schools represented the vast diversity of U.S. higher education. Students who attend community colleges, small private, large public, or other types of institutions deserve access to global perspectives,” said ACE President Ted Mitchell.
The U.S.-Japan COIL Initiative is supported through a grant from the U.S. Embassy Tokyo, and coordinated in partnership with Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT).
“The U.S. Embassy is proud to support the development of new COIL courses to connect U.S. and Japanese institutions. COIL is a promising option for U.S. and Japanese students. It is a potential gateway to study abroad in the other country, and it gives students experience collaborating virtually with teammates across the globe, an increasingly vital skill in today’s workforce,” said Carolyn Glassman, Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.
COIL is a method of linking faculty and students in two countries for shared teaching and learning using online communication. For over a decade, ACE has recognized the COIL model—developed and disseminated by The State University of New York’s (SUNY) COIL Center—as a cost-effective, accessible method for delivering global learning and intercultural experiences to greater numbers of U.S. students, particularly the 90 percent of U.S. undergraduates at four-year institutions who do not participate in education abroad; among community college students, the participation rate is under 2 percent.
ACE hosted a COIL course development workshop Oct. 24-26, 2018, in Washington, DC, for the selected U.S. institutions and their Japanese partners and will also conduct site visits to campuses during the COIL course delivery to provide additional support and guidance. The SUNY COIL Center will partner with ACE to provide professional development support to institutional teams.
The Initiative is designed to test the idea that students who participate in COIL courses will increase their understanding of the partner country, sharpen their cultural competency skills, and become better prepared for in-person education exchanges. If successful, ACE aims to expand the program with additional funding and partners to include more U.S. and Japanese institutions.
Submitted on: Nov. 19, 2018
