1. Internationalizing a private liberal arts college in Ghana:
A stakeholder analysis
Millicent Adjei, University of Minnesota
“Internationalization can only occur when faculty and administration together with students and the environment both domestic and international, exhibit genuine commitment, first in the academic disciplines, particularly in the curriculum, and also have a sustained personal “human concern” for students from all nationalities and backgrounds, by making continuous efforts to make students feel at home on their campuses”
Maurice Harari, 1989
Research Objective
About Ashesi University
Implications
To understand how internationalization was evolving at Ashesi through the lens of its stakeholders using Maurice Harari’s (1989) Components of an Internationalized Campus as the main conceptual framework guiding the study.
Time Frame :
May – August 2011 (Data collection in Ghana)
January – May 2012 (Write-up)
First and only liberal arts college in Ghana
Offers 4-year bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Management Information Systems, and Business Administration
More than 90% internationally trained full-time faculty with diverse cross-cultural experience
Need-based scholarships (Recent - $13 million partnership with MasterCard Foundation for scholarships )
Culturally diverse student population from various cross-cultural, gender and economic backgrounds
The Field of International Education
Need to understand how stakeholders in institutions of higher education in developing countries are responding to internationalization .
Ashesi University
Need for a written internationalization policy to guide the evolving internationalization process
Other University in Ghana and Africa
Need for a structured and contextual approach to internationalization
Recommendations
Research Questions
Ashesi University
Develop clear internationalization plan.
Establish a coordinating unit with IE professionals to implement internationalization plan.
Initiate a French Language course in Ashesi’s curriculum.
Develop a campus ethos that fosters cross-cultural learning and interaction between domestic and international students beyond the classroom.
Field of International Education
Need for the inclusion in the internationalization discourse the unique contextual meanings and ways internationalization is evolving and affecting institutions in developing countries through research and more scholarly work
Internationalization however must be viewed in a contextual manner.
“With my training from Ashesi, I can work in PricewaterhouseCoopers Ghana today, pick up my bag tomorrow and be able to work in PwC Nigeria or U.S. With the skills and the mindset that I have received from my education, I can and should be able to compete with the best anywhere in the world without any cultural barriers; that to me is internationalization”
2007 Ashesi Alumnus
What are the faculty, administration, leadership, students and alumni perceptions of internationalization at Ashesi University College?
What is the level of awareness of stakeholders regarding the different internationalization components evolving at Ashesi?
Based on findings from questions one and two, what are some of the recommended steps being suggested by stakeholders to be taken to improve internationalization at Ashesi?
Recommendationss
Methodology and Research Participants
Some of Ashesi’s Success Stories in Africa
Ninety-eight percent graduate employment rate within four months of graduating in reputable international companies operating in Africa
More than ninety percent of Ashesi graduate chose to stay in Africa after graduating
When GE set out to hire five highly qualified young Africans to launch their Ghana operations; they selected six Ashesi graduates as their only local hires.
Challenged the status quo of rote learning with its critical and problem solving approach to learning on the continent
Only University in Ghana and in Africa that highly promotes ethical ,leadership and entrepreneurial training of its graduates through its liberal arts curriculum and the Ashesi Honor Code
“One reason why we send our students for internships abroad is to help us to find a measure of what we've actually achieved in terms of our internationalization efforts especially operating within the international standards we've set for ourselves. If a student from Ashesi goes and works with a high-tech or multinational business firm in the US or Europe or some international location, and performs equally well or even better than their counterparts who received a globally recognized education, then we know that our education is at that standard as well”
Patrick Awuah - Founder and President of Ashesi University
Internationalization Opportunities at Ashesi
Study and Internship Abroad
Faculty and Student Exchanges
Summer Programs
Service and Experiential Learning
Faculty academic Collaboration
Institutional Collaborative Teaching
Key Findings
Clear awareness and understanding of internationalization
Stakeholders perceived internationalization as operating within a set international standards and practices.
Stakeholders identified academic facilities and physical infrastructure as evidence of internationalization .
Clear evidence of internationalization activities such as study and internship abroad, international collaborations and partnerships, presence of international students and faculty.
All of Harari’s component of an internationalized campus were present except:
Internationalization plan/strategy and an internationalization campus ethos
International language course specifically French in the Ashesi curriculum
Acknowledgement
Ford Foundation - International Fellowship Program
Ashesi University College , Ghana
University of Minnesota- CIDE Program
Millicent Adjei | /