To: Nancy A. Marlin, Provost and
Vice President for Academic Affairs
From: Laura J. Hall, Associate
Professor, Department of Special
Education
Date: August 30, 2000
Re: Report of International
Exchange Activities
This report describes
the development of international exchange opportunities between San Diego State
University and universities in Australia.
Prior to my current position at SDSU, I was a Senior Lecturer in the
School of Studies in Disability at Deakin University in the state of Victoria,
Australia. The Pro Vice-Chancellor,
International of Deakin University, Professor Lindsay MacKay visited SDSU in
the Fall, 1999 with the purpose of facilitating the development of a student
exchange program. Following meetings
with Assistant Vice President Sweedler and Provost Marlin, an agreement
contract was signed by both universities. SDSU currently has an active student
exchange agreement with Deakin University.
In Spring, 2000 the first student from Deakin University, Nick Sereda,
spent the semester at SDSU taking courses in the Exercise Sciences
Department. He has returned to Deakin
University with glowing comments about his experience.
In June, 2000, with
financial support from the grant funded by the International Programs Council,
I traveled to Victoria, Australia to meet with faculty at Deakin University and
to explore a second exchange agreement with the Royal Melbourne Institute of
Technology (RMIT). My aim was to talk to
faculty and staff who would be responsible for promoting the exchange program
and selecting potential students. In
addition, I wanted to find out details about the content of courses so that we
could better determine which courses and programs would be appropriate to
include in the exchange. This process
would facilitate the exchange of credit for courses taken by students during
their international experience.
Rosemary Livingstone,
Manager of Education Abroad for Deakin University arranged some of the meetings
with faculty. While at Deakin, separate
meetings with representatives of different departments were held to discuss
specific details about their programs and to determine which departments within
the College of Education were most closely matched with the departments, or
schools, at Deakin. I met with Professor
Hilde Lovegrove, Chair and Jane McGillivray, Senior Lecturer from the
Department of Psychology and determined that the best possibility for a student
exchange would be with students involved in the Counseling and School
Psychology department at SDSU. The
school most closely aligned with the Department of Special Education at SDSU is
the Institute for Disability Studies. I
met with Professor Barrie O’Connor, Institute Director and Senior Lecturer Jude
Charlton to discuss which courses would be most relevant for students across
both universities. There were clear
matches with course content and practicum experiences. I also met with Professor Marie Emmitt, Chair
of the School of Social and Cultural Studies in Education and the
administrative assistant of this school.
Many of the students in this school are preparing to work as elementary
and secondary educators and many of the courses in the Department of Teacher
Education would have a similar focus.
Finally, I met with two Senior Lecturers, working in the area of human
movement and exercise sciences. A visit
from another Professor from SDSU, Brent Rushall, from Exercise and Nutritional
Sciences is planned for the near future to further develop an exchange program
in this field.
While at Deakin University
I also met with the staff in the Education Abroad Office to find out details of
the student application process. I
toured the newly renovated library and met with faculty to discuss current
projects related to the use of technology in education. The visit also served as timely for the
opportunity to provide feedback for the final stage of Michelle Macvean’s
doctoral thesis that I have been a co-supervisor for since it’s inception. Michelle Macvean visited San Diego State
University for one month during Spring, 1999 to work on her doctoral thesis
with me and other faculty in the Department of Special Education. She stayed at Chapultepec residence on the
SDSU campus and attended a state conference during her visit. Although her visit was prior to the formal
exchange program, she did bring her positive comments about her experience back
to Deakin University where she is a doctoral student and part-time lecturer.
She will serve as an important source of information for Deakin students
inquiring about SDSU.
All of the faculty at
Deakin University was enthusiastic about the possibility of the exchange of
students with SDSU. All faculty
identified SDSU courses that would meet the requirements of their programs and
for which students could receive credit. Faculty also stated that faculty in
each department would be interested in an exchange of research ideas and visits
to SDSU to discuss collaborative research.
The only concern that was expressed was regarding the exchange rate for
the Australian dollar at this time, which could be a hardship for students.
A meeting was also held
with Professor, Allan Hudson and Senior Lecturer David Hamilton in the
Department of Psychology and Intellectual Disabilities at the Royal Melbourne
Institute of Technology (RMIT).
Professor Hudson expressed a desire to develop an exchange program with
the College of Education at SDSU and there was agreement that the program
content between this department and that of the Department of Special Education
at SDSU was similar. Professor Hudson is
planning to submit a proposal for this exchange with RMIT’s Office of
International Programs.
I have begun to discuss the possibility of an exchange with some students in the Department of Special Education since my return from Australia. Already several students have expressed an interest. More formal communication with department Chairs from Special Education, Teacher Education and Counseling and School Psychology is planned for the next semester. Following these meetings, general information sessions for students in the College of Education will be arranged. It is anticipated that students from the College of Education will be participating in this exchange program by next Fall at the latest. Rosemary Livingstone, Manager of Education Abroad at Deakin and I will continue to maintain frequent contact by email regarding the status of this exchange program. In addition to student exchanges, additional activity with Australia includes a planned visit by Dr. William E. Byxbee, Dean of the College of Extended Studies to Deakin University in December, 2000.
During my meetings with faculty and students I will be describing the following information about Deakin University. Deakin University received the title of Australian University of the Year in 1992 for its innovation in the area of distance education and technology. In 1997 it won this prestigious award again for its partnerships with community agencies and businesses. The university is a multi-campus university with the main campus located in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. A trolley line passes directly in front of the university and there are several buses that also stop by the entrance. Downtown Melbourne is approximately half an hour away from the main or Burwood campus. Melbourne has several parks and gardens, an active arts center and is renowned for the quality and variety of restaurants. It is a multicultural city and sections of the city have ethnic specific groceries and restaurants for food that is Chinese, Vietnamese, Turkish, Greek, kosher, etc. Sports are very popular in Australia and there are sporting events held throughout the Melbourne area all year. Melbourne has been rated as one of the most livable cities in the world and on a clear day it is very easy to see how this reputation has been earned.
cc: Alan Sweedler, Acting Assistant Vice
President for International Programs
Lionel
R. Meno, Dean, College of Education
Patricia
T. Cegelka, Chair, Department of Special Education