Minutes of the Asian Council Meeting at Georgia State University on 3/31/07

Members Present: Dan Paracka, Charu Goyle, Baogang Guo, Farley Richmond, Tom Preston, Tracie Provost, Xubo Wang, Eric Sun, Salli Vargis, George Vargis, Eric Kendrick, May Gao, Wilson Huang and Doug Reynolds.

Meeting was called to order at 10:00am. Following a round of introductions, the minutes from the last meeting were approved without correction.

SCIE Updates

Charu Goyle provided information to the council about the following SCIE activities.

1. Four public sessions (date to be determined) will be held at various sites around the state regarding SB529 – The Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act.

2. Another bill proposed tracking of international student class attendance. A system survey shows that less than 2% of students are in violation of their visa.

3. To maximize travel resources and time, all councils and committees are scheduled to meet at Macon State on Sept 14^th.

Updates on Study Abroad Programs.

Salli Vargis reported on the India program. Nine students are enrolled in the program. There was discussion about hiring faculty to teach on study abroad programs. In cases where instructors from host countries are used, the council noted that the instructor of record is responsible for the course and that this could be a USG faculty member or the host institution faculty member abroad. In the case of the latter, it would be necessary to obtain a transcript from the host institution. Discussion also centered on transferability of credits of study abroad courses. It was suggested that students should receive course credit from the institution that has the study abroad program and transfer it back to his or her home institution. The Indian Study program brochure was passed out and discussion followed regarding the cost of printing brochures. Salli emphasized the value of the program and pointed out that previous participants have received Fulbright scholarships and have returned back to India to teach.

Baogang Guo reported on the China program. With thirty three enrolled students and 5 professors participating, the program has grown from previous years. Continued growth may require an enrollment cap of 35 students. Discussion followed regarding ways to increase faculty involvement in the study abroad programs. The application deadline for faculty who wants to participate in next year’s program is April 30^th.

Eric Kendrick reported on the Japan program. There are 12 participants this year, which is increase of 9 from the previous year. A total of 15 students is ideal. The program schedule and course offerings are similar to the previous year and will involve 4 professors. The program is a hybrid program with a portion of it being online.

The council also received a report on the Chinese Language Program in Yangzhou which is in its 10^th year. There are 11 students in the program. Discussion followed regarding issues with visas and students who were participating in both the China general studies and language programs overstaying their expiration dates. It was suggested that visas should be for 90 days duration to avoid these problems.

Study Abroad Brochure

The council discussed a joint brochure promoting study abroad programs. Since many programs already have their own brochures, it was suggested the Council should develop a poster showing the various study abroad programs instead of a brochure. There was much discussion on the content, quantity and distribution of the posters. Dan Paracka told the council that it is financially sound and would be able to fund a professionally designed poster. A motion was passed to provide up to $1500 for the posters. He asked program directors to send him pictures and ideas for the poster by April 15^th. Farley Richmond mentioned the possibility of including UGA’s study abroad programs in Cambodia and Thailand. Discussion followed regarding the expansion of programs to other countries and the council’s role in overseeing these programs. It was decided to limit the promotion to those programs currently operating through the Council.

Update on Faculty Development Seminar to China and S. Korea

Baogang Guo and Eric Kendrick reported on the Faculty development seminar. There are 14 participants from 9 institutions. The money has been collected and tickets purchased for the group. Hotels have been confirmed but some speakers are still being determined. Orientation is scheduled for April 13^th. The International Student Exchange Program (ISEP) was mentioned as a good resource for program planning. ISEP member institutions can send students to other member institutions.

USG Certificate in Asian Studies

Eric Kendrick led a discussion on a draft of the Asian Studies Certificate program. Georgia Perimeter will serve as the home institution for the program. The primary purpose of the program is to provide institutions with limited emphasis in Asian studies to develop in this area. Under the proposed framework, students will be exposed to different Asian languages and participate in study abroad programs. The focus is on the core curriculum with sufficient flexibility to allow institutions to modify or add to the program. International consortium members can comment on the draft via email.

The next Asian council meeting will be on September 14^th from 9:30 to 11:30am at Macon State College.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:00 pm.