Strategic Plan for Internationalization
The SHU Council for Internationalization, composed of faculty and staff appointed by the provost and deans, worked for over a year and a half in researching and developing a strategic plan for internationalization that aligns with the mission and current path of the University. The Council has identified four goals, eight objectives, and twenty-two strategies for further internationalizing Sacred Heart University:
Provide and promote opportunities and comprehensive support for students’ global and intercultural learning experiences at home and abroad.
Increase and diversify the international mobility of current and future students
- Design new or expand existing education abroad opportunities in alignment with academic and co-curricular activities
- Develop student funding and scholarship opportunities that engender greater participation in education abroad
- Develop strategies to attract a wide range of degree-seeking, visiting international, and multicultural students
- Continually review and augment structures, services, and programs to support and retain international and multicultural students
Develop a self-aware, respectful, and inclusive campus culture where global and intercultural learning thrive
- Support students’ development of international and intercultural competencies
- Host events and activities engaging global cultures during which the campus community participates in discourse, reflection, and new experiences
- Facilitate the integration and participation of matriculated and visiting international students in campus culture, activities, and experiences
Broaden academic excellence and distinctiveness through a commitment to global and intercultural learning, scholarship, and professional development.
Provide mobility opportunities for faculty and international scholars
- Increase and diversify faculty-led programs abroad
- Create faculty exchange opportunities and increase faculty participation in teaching and conducting research abroad
- Increase the number of international scholars at SHU and facilitate their integration and participation in university life
Provide opportunities for faculty, staff, and administration to pursue and develop innovative, globally-minded teaching, scholarly research, and creative works
- Assist departments, schools, and colleges in making a commitment to global learning in their unit level strategic plans
- Continue efforts to internationalize the curriculum
- Support staff and administrators’ participation in activities that promote intercultural and international professional development
Include alumni/ae in the internationalization of the University.
Connect and engage alumni in the U.S. and abroad to contribute to internationalization
- Send updates via newsletter, email, social media, and other means
- Include alumni in SHU sponsored travel abroad programs and alumni-specific programs
Create networking opportunities for internships, guest speakers, content experts, and host family connections through the Office of Alumni Relations and University Advancement databases
- Communicate an annual updated roster of students who have had an international experience with SHU to the Office of Alumni Relations and University Advancement in an effort to support targeted alumni engagement
Ensure that institutional physical spaces, outreach plans, and administrative frameworks support internationalization.
Earmark appropriate resources for the physical enhancement U.S.-based campuses
- Create a community hub for study abroad students, international students, and international scholars, including departments that support these populations on a daily basis
- Develop or arrange housing facilities for visiting, non-degree international students, graduate international students and visiting international scholars
- Display permanent and non-permanent art installations representative of diverse cultures and countries
- Review current signage for universal design principles, in support of non-native English speaking stakeholders
Earmark appropriate resources for campuses abroad
- Conduct ongoing needs assessments to benchmark and analyze areas of opportunity and resource needs
- Assist campuses abroad in making a commitment to internationalization and global and intercultural learning in their campus-level strategic plans