Montana State University International Programs' courses in Arab
language and culture today received an Institute of International
Education (IIE) award as one the country's best international
education programs.
MSU's Arabic Language and Middle East/North Africa Studies
Program won an inaugural Andrew Heiskell Award announced in
ceremonies held in New York City today. The award recognizes
groundbreaking university programs that foster international
learning.
MSU was the co-winner of the category "Internationalizing The
Campus: Advancing Curriculum Development and Providing Services
to International Students." Juniata College in Pennsylvania
shared the award, recognized for a language outreach program for
preschoolers in the college's area. Other winners and their
categories include San Diego State University for its study
abroad program in international business and the University of
Missouri - Columbia for its Global Scholars Program for UM
faculty. The Andrew Heiskell Awards are named after a former
chairman and CEO of Time Inc. who was a longtime advocate for
international education.
MSU won the award for designing and managing a distance education
program that brings Arabic language instruction and culture to
MSU and four other universities including: Idaho State
University, Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C., North
Dakota State University and the University of Montana.
MSU's program combines several methods of distance education to
enable students to learn Arabic. A professor of Arabic language
instruction at the University of Washington teaches the televised
courses, with assistance at each campus from native Arabic
speakers who serve as teacher assistants (TA's) at participating
campuses. Second year students may opt to participate in an
exchange at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco. The
following two years, students take conversation courses taught by
Arabic TA's. Al Akhawayn faculty will soon teach advanced courses
online. More than 220 students have gone through the program.
"We at MSU need to be creative in developing new, cost-effective
ways to bring to our students the skills and experiences they
must have to succeed in today's 'borderless careers,'" said
Norman Peterson, director of MSU's International Programs. "More
than ever they need to graduate with knowledge of other languages
and cultures. Our Arabic initiative tries to do this by combining
new technologies, the rich resources international students bring
to MSU, and study abroad."We are extremely gratified that our
efforts have been recognized by the Institute of International
Education through the Heiskell Award."
Yvonne Rudman, supervisor of the MSU Arabic program, said the
distance education-based method of teaching language has proven
effective. Comprehension tests of students in the program
compared to results from resident students studying Arabic at the
University of Washington found students in MSU's program scored
the same, or in some cases slightly higher.
"Our goal is to foster new and innovative international programs
that broaden opportunities and remove barriers for students and
faculty," said IIE president Allan E. Goodman, in today's
announcement. "We also hope to bring international education to
the forefront of education policy and to increase public
awareness about the benefits of study abroad and international
educational exchange.
Peterson adds that after Sept. 11, the value of learning Arabic
has been heightened. The IIE's Goodman concurs.
"IIE is more dedicated than ever to promoting mutual
understanding and working to keep the world's educational doors
open, in the belief that educational exchange helps make the
world safer and more secure," Goodman said.
The MSU Arabic program was formulated with assistance from the
MSU Department of Modern Languages. It was funded by a grant from
the National Security Education Program.
MSU will formally receive the award at ceremonies in April. Each
winning program will receive $1,000 and will be featured in the
Spring 2002 issue of the IIENetworker magazine, and highlighted
by IIE throughout the year.
To learn more about the Andrew Heiskell award, go to: www.iienetwork.org.
This article was written by Carol Schmidt and posted for
1/28/02.
