IES Abroad’s Curriculum Committee ensures that our courses meet the high standards that are expected by IES Abroad Consortium member schools and set forth by the IES Abroad MAP© For Study Abroad.
The IES Abroad Curriculum Committee is comprised of faculty from five Member representatives appointed to three-year staggered terms by the President in consultation with the Chair of the General Conference, and one non-voting member appointed from the IES Abroad School of Record. The faculty represents key academic disciplines available at many of IES Abroad’s Centers, and, when necessary, the Committee members refer to colleagues at their institutions to help review courses outside of their academic areas of expertise. Each term, our Curriculum Committee meets to review new course syllabi, revised courses, curriculum designs for new programs, or to discuss issues related to standards, new trends in the field, and curricular recommendations. Each spring, they also meet jointly with the Academic Council to discuss overarching academic topics.
At the Fall 2012 Curriculum Committee meeting, the Committee reviewed a total of 49 courses from 20 IES Abroad programs. Of the 49 courses, 12 received approval, 10 received approval subject to condition, seven received approval (subject to condition with the request that they be returned to the Committee for further review), three courses received approval pending, one course’s review was deferred, and one course was rejected. If a course receives approval pending or is rejected, it must be returned to the Committee for further review before it can be taught. The Committee did not have time to review 17 of the 49 courses and reviewed those in a virtual meeting.
Last fall, the committee also decided that in addition to our standard course guidelines, all course syllabi should indicate the number of contact hours per course, and our internship guidelines should be referred to in all relevant internship and service learning seminar courses and made available on the IES Abroad website.
The next Curriculum Committee meeting will be held March 13-14, 2013, at our new office in Chicago. Along with reviewing 34 new and revised courses, the committee will discuss strategies for managing a high volume of new courses and ways they can be more efficient.
We are extremely grateful to the past, present, and future members of this crucial governance committee who dedicate their time, insight, and perspectives to making sure that IES Abroad courses are well-structured, rigorous, and culturally relevant. See our website for more information on our governance.
