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San Francisco State University

http://www.sfsu.edu/

Contents

General Institutional Overview

1. Vision and Goals for Internationalization
2. Progress
3. Successful Strategies
4. Future Plans

General Institutional Overview

History
San Francisco State University (SFSU) was founded in 1899 as San Francisco State Normal School, a two-year teacher training college. It was the first normal school in the nation to require a high school diploma for admission. It later became known as the SF State Teachers College (1921–35) and finally, in 1974, became known as San Francisco State University. SFSU became part of the California State College system (now the California State University) in 1960. SFSU is a Carnegie-classified Comprehensive University. Robert Corrigan is the current president of SFSU.

Mission
The mission of SFSU is to create and maintain an environment for learning that promotes respect for and appreciation of scholarship, freedom, human diversity, and the cultural mosaic of the City of San Francisco and the Bay Area. SFSU also aims to promote excellence in instruction and intellectual accomplishment and to provide broadly accessible higher education for residents of the region and state, as well as the nation and the world.

SFSU is part of the nation's largest system of higher education. Within its 83 academic departments and programs, SFSU awards bachelor's degrees in 117 areas of specialization and master's degrees in 97. Jointly with the University of California Berkeley (UC Berkeley), SFSU offers a Ph.D. and Ed.D. in education with a concentration in special education. SFSU also offers, in conjunction with UC San Francisco, a master of science degree in physical therapy. The university offers 28 credential and 34 certificate programs.

Enrollment
In fall 2000, SFSU enrolled 20,365 undergraduate and 6,461 graduate students. Students of color numbered 15,303, and the total number of students reporting ethnicity was 23,765. The total number of international students in fall 2001 was 2,488.

Community Partnerships
SFSU has approximately 100 centers, institutes, and programs that link the university to the Bay Area community and beyond. Among its community-focused programs are the Bay Area Center for Training in Early Childhood Violence Intervention and Counseling, the California Research Institute, the SFSU Institute on Disability, and The Office of Biomedical Research.

Extended Learning
Members of the public can take regular university classes without formal admission to San Francisco State University through the College of Extended Learning's Open University. In addition, the College of Extended Learning offers hundreds of classes each year for professional development and personal enrichment.

Overview of Internationalization Efforts

I. Vision and Goals for Internationalization

FSU completed a comprehensive strategic plan in the late 1990s. This plan presented the following vision for SFSU's internationalization efforts:

• The university must develop an international curriculum by placing a new emphasis on global and foreign language instruction, requiring an international component as part of its upper-division requirements, incorporating more international sources in existing curricula, and encouraging the learning and use of second languages.
  
• The university administration, faculty, students, and staff can help promote an international environment by supporting existing international programs, encouraging communicative exchanges across social and ethnic groups, promoting study-abroad and foreign exchange programs, and supporting and engaging ethnically diverse international students in all segments of the university.
  
• The university can play a major role with local communities in the area of international concerns by establishing an International Center, which will serve as a clearinghouse for international information. The Center will support the development of international opportunities for faculty and students, coordinate faculty and student study grants, help develop cross-cultural understanding, and serve as the headquarters for all international service activities.

The vision of SFSU is to create a campus that is comprehensively internationalized by integrating international education into every facet of campus life. The goals for campus internationalization fall into three areas:

1. Build an effective structure for international education.
   
2. Enhance services and programs for international and domestic students.
   
3. Internationalize the curriculum.

II. Progress

Internationalizing the curriculum. SFSU has offered many international courses and programs in undergraduate and graduate concentrations, minors, and certificate programs. Various colleges are intimately related to international education, as are departments such as International Relations, Classics, English/TESL, World and Comparative Literature, Women's Studies, International Business, Broadcast and Electronic Communications, Art, and several departments within the College of Ethnic Studies. Program examples include the Model United Nations program, the Institute of International Media Communications, Vietnamese and Yoruba language studies, bilingual education with a focus on Spanish and Cantonese, an interdisciplinary minor in global peace, human rights, and justice studies, a minor in global peace studies, and a summer institute on sexuality, society, and health. The Department of Foreign Languages offers a minor, a major, subject preparation for single-subject teaching credentials, and master of arts degrees in seven languages (French, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, German, Italian, and Russian); it is the only department in the CSU system that offers such a comprehensive program.

Data from the SFSU Student Pulse Surveys provide one assessment of the university's endeavors to internationalize the curriculum. In both 1998 and 2000, approximately two-thirds (65.3 percent and 63.9 percent, respectively) of respondents rated their coursework as excellent or good in terms of increasing their understanding of global issues beyond U.S. borders. In 2000, 76.7 percent of respondents indicated that they would take a portion of their SFSU academic program in another country if circumstances and resources permitted. Virtually all respondents (98.6 percent) agreed that they liked learning about issues from the point of view of different cultures.

Study-abroad and international exchange programs. Office of International Programs sponsors a wide variety of activities to achieve the goal of sending students overseas. These activities include publicity and promotion on campus; outreach to faculty and administration; and information and application meetings. Major events include study-abroad fairs, pre-departure orientation programs, and re-entry workshops. Advising addresses a wide variety of issues before, during, and after the study abroad experience. The Study Abroad Library provides resources to students researching a variety of topics. SFSU students study abroad through CSU system international programs, SFSU bilateral exchange programs, short-term study abroad, international service learning, and international practicum/internships.

SFSU also hosts a Peace Corps Support Program. At present, 16 SFSU students have enrolled in the Peace Corps. Since 1961, SFSU has sent 1,084 students abroad as Peace Corps volunteers. It ranks 17th among all colleges and universities in the nation and first among non-Ph.D.-granting institutions in terms of number of volunteers.

The Fulbright Program. Between 1991 and 2001, 17 SFSU faculty members earned Fulbright awards. Faculty returning to campus have helped internationalize the curriculum through new courses, lectures, cocurricular colloquia, dialogues, and projects. In 1997, OIP hosted the Western Regional Fulbright Workshop sponsored by the Council on the International Exchange of Scholars. Later that year, OIP sponsored a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Fulbright program. SFSU avidly supports the Fulbright experience and has housed the president of the Fulbright Alumni Association, Northern California Chapter, since fall 1998.

Infrastructure for International Education. In 1992, the OIP was composed of one study-abroad advisor, one international student advisor, and a part-time secretary, with directorial oversight provided by the associate vice president for academic programs and planning. At the time, OIP was housed in a temporary building and in former storage rooms that were inadequately ventilated and lacked natural light and running water. In 1998, OIP moved into the Administration Building as part of Academic Affairs. This location affirms the importance and seriousness that an office such as OIP deserves, and is consistent with the university's commitment to raise the profile of international education on campus. By 2001, OIP had hired a staff of 15. Levels of support for OIP have increased every year. The OIP budget for 2001–02 is more than six times that of 1993–94.

The increase in staff, budget, and space has led to significant growth in the international functions, programs, and services available to the SFSU community. OIP now provides leadership, support, and coordination in many areas, including:

• Faculty international development.
  
• Curriculum internationalization.
  
• Study abroad and international exchanges.
  
• International student outreach and recruitment.
  
• International student services and programs.
  
• International alumni services and development.
  
• International visitors and protocol.
  
• International living community.
  
• Fulbright and international scholar services.
  
• Grants and international training and development.
  
• Peace Corps information and recruiting.
  
• San Francisco Bay Area community relationships.

Services and programs for international and domestic students. In 1993, the university developed and began to implement a plan for recruiting and retaininginternational students. To meet international students' special needs, the university provides a wide variety of services designed specifically for them. These include pre-arrival advising and services; ongoing, comprehensive advising services on immigration-related matters and help with financial, employment, acculturation, and personal issues and concerns; and cross-cultural enrichment programs. Each semester, the university also offers workshops and seminars on topics such as practical training, employment, H-1B visas/U.S. permanent residency, and taxes.

Since the September 11 terrorist attack, the university has been reaching out to all international students, particularly those more directly affected. Faculty helped students both in and out of the classrooms. SFSU's president wrote a personal letter to each international student. OIP made phone calls, sent letters, e-mailed regular updates, and convened meetings in an effort to provide special assistance in advising and counseling and to create an open, safe, and welcoming environment for students from all countries.

The university provides international students with enhanced support services, including ESL classes. In spring 2000, the English Department offered 60 sections of courses to approximately 1,500 English-language learners. The department offers tutoring services for international students through the English Tutoring Center. The university also provides support services through the Learning Assistance Center, the Testing Center, the Career Center, the Counseling Center, and the American Language Institute.

SFSU operates three overseas alumni clubs, in Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong; all were officially chartered in 2000. At present, two informal alumni groups are active in Thailand and South Korea. OIP publishes the International Ambassador newsletter to maintain contact with overseas alumni.

New initiatives. Most of the initiatives that address faculty international development occurred subsequent to the restructuring of OIP. All ultimately relate directly to the internationalization of the curriculum. Initiatives have included:

• Collaborating with faculty to submit grant proposals for international training and development projects.
  
• Collaborating with faculty to secure the Presidential Management Training Initiative grant, which first was offered in 1997 and continues today.
  
• Establishing a partnership with the SFSU College of Extended Learning and Guangdong Province in China. This collaborative scholar management training project has resulted in 10 scholars coming to SFSU each year for five years to receive training in management and the English language.
  
• Collaborating with faculty and academic departments to establish new international linkages and relationships. These efforts have resulted in the establishment since 1994 of eight bilateral exchange programs with universities in seven countries.
  
• Collaborating with faculty and academic departments to revitalize existing exchange relationships, leading to the exchange and visits of faculty for cross-cultural teaching and research.
  
• Providing in-house grants to faculty for the purpose of international research and scholarships, creative activities, and international curricular and program development.
  
• Jointly sponsoring with the Office of Community Service Learning (OCSL) an International Community Service Learning grant.
  
• Cooperating with the All-University Committee on International Programs. This is an Academic Senate committee composed of one representative from each college, the Academic Senate, Academic Affairs, associated students, two representatives from student services, and the director of international programs.
  
• Establishing an international brown bag series on campus at which visiting scholars address international and domestic issues.
  
• Publishing the OIP International Review each academic semester. This 16-page newsletter features international education activities in which SFSU faculty are engaged. It also features international alumni and provides information on funding opportunities in international education.
  
• Initiating an orientation program regarding international education endeavors, services, and professional development opportunities for new faculty. Initiated in fall 1999, this successful program has been integrated into the regular orientation for new faculty, which is coordinated by the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching.

III. Successful Strategies

Three strategies that the university has found particularly useful for advancing its international agenda include:

• Internationalization of the curriculum.
  
• Housing of international students.
  
• Expansion of study-abroad and exchange programs.

Internationalization of the curriculum. The demographics of the SFSU faculty, as well as of the student body, have long made the SFSU environment hospitable to global perspectives. Despite budget constraints, a coordinated effort among several departments in 1991–92 resulted in a set of area studies with minors designed to internationalize the curriculum. Since 1992, numerous academic programs have continued to undertake specific efforts to internationalize the curriculum. To date, more than 300 courses with an international perspective have been offered in more than 40 programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including some as part of the General Education programs.

Hosting of international students. As a result of enhanced efforts in outreach, recruiting, and services, the matriculated international student population increased dramatically, from 928 in fall 1993 to 2,186 in fall 2001. At present, SFSU enrolls the largest number of international students of the 23 CSU system campuses (2,488 international visa students in fall 2001 [matriculated and nonmatriculated]). SFSU is ranked second among master's degree-granting institutions nationwide in international student enrollment.

Expansion of study-abroad and exchange programs. In 1992, 37 SFSU students studied abroad in the CSU international programs. In fall 1999, SFSU sent 96 students, the most of any campus in the CSU program. SFSU sponsors 23 bilateral exchange programs in 13 countries in Europe, Asia, South America, North America, and Australia. In 1992, 31 SFSU students studied in the various bilateral international programs; in fall 2000, 66 did so. In 1999–2000, there were 109 international exchange students on campus. In 2000–01, SFSU sent 230 students abroad for short-term study.

IV. Future Plans

SFSU is making the following plans for future internationalization development efforts:

• Further faculty international development through grants, exchange, teaching and research, hosting internationals, and creating interdisciplinary programs.
  
• Expand study-abroad opportunities and increase the number of study-abroad sites, types of programs, and the number of students participating.
  
• Sustain the enrollment increase of international students and further integrate them into SFSU's internationalization process.
  
• Establish second-language proficiency as one of the competencies expected of all SFSU graduates.
  
• Expand student access to less frequently taught languages, such as Russian, Japanese, and Chinese.
  
• Cultivate partnerships and collaborate with partner institutions in offering programs and courses overseas, both on site and via the Internet.
  
• Revisit the plan to develop a master of arts degree in global education.
  
• Expand international linkages and partnerships to provide more opportunities for SFSU students and faculty for learning, exchange, teaching, and research.
  
• Make OIP a bona fide center and clearinghouse, by continuing to assist the faculty and academic departments in their internationalization efforts.

Last updated: April 27, 2005