A Resource Guide to Internationalization for Chief Academic OfficersWhy a site for the role of CAOs in internationalization?
The CAO, along with his/her administrative team of deans, assistants, and sometimes even department chairs, leads internationalization in several ways:
Understanding the key role that CAOs play in internationalizing a campus, ACE undertook a three-year project funded by the Henry Luce Foundation, the Internationalization Forum for CAOs. The forum engaged 50 CAOs from different sectors to participate in a national dialogue on broadening and deepening internationalization on their campuses. These forum meetings formed the basis for a publication, A Guide to Internationalization for Chief Academic Officers (coming soon), and this online resource center. Access our list of recommended readings on internationalization for campus leaders. How can the CAO learn about the institution's level of internationalization?To decide what activities will move the institution to the next level of internationalization, the CAO must know, as comprehensively as possible, what the institution, in all its units, is currently doing and how well the current initiatives are working.
What is the leadership role of the CAO in promoting institutional change that internationalization requires?Once a CAO has a picture of what the institution is doing internationally and has assessed the potential contributions of the chief international officer and the international programs office, he/she must determine a strategic course to engage the appropriate players in defining and moving to the next level of internationalization. In this regard, the CAO has a wide range of levers and incentives to move the institution. From policy development to resource allocation, from faculty and staff development to encouraging program improvement and creation, the CAO can address all responsibilities with a focus on how they can have a positive effect on internationalization. Implementing Internationalization
National Awards for Internationalization Efforts
What is the evidence that the institution is in the process of becoming internationalized?The central and frequently vexing questions in undertaking any change is: How do we know we are getting there? What are our metrics of success? Increasingly these questions are being asked about all aspects of higher education by boards, accrediting agencies, and the public. Institutions should think about responding to these questions as they begin their work in internationalization, not as an afterthought when the process is well under way.
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