Elisabeth Hughes Students from the third cohort of the Institute’s Executive Doctoral (EdD) program spent eight days in the Netherlands in June 2014, attending a week long seminar on higher education in Europe presented by current faculty members and graduates of CHEPS (Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies) at the University of Twente. The seminar was organized around the Bologna Process and the creation of the European Higher Education Area. Forty-seven countries have signed up to participate in the Bologna Process in an attempt to standardize the quality of higher education and facilitate transfers between European universities. Seminar topics included: the European Union and higher education and research policy; leadership and management in European and Australian higher education; higher education funding and financial management, and the internationalization of higher education. On the final day, the students participated in “Imaginalia,” a simulation game designed by CHEPS faculty members, in which they used knowledge acquired during the seminar to design an imaginary country’s higher education system from the ground up, and then to lead and manage a fictitious European university. The group was based in the lovely medieval city of Haarlem, a suburb of Amsterdam in the province of North Holland, and the center of the country’s flower industry. Students spent one day at the University of Leiden, the oldest university in the Netherlands, founded in 1575 by William of Orange, and another at one of the newest institutions, Amsterdam University College, founded in 2008, with 750 undergraduates from more than 60 countries. International study is a key component of the EdD program and one of its strongest selling points. More importantly, the experience is formative for students like Danny Thompson, assistant director of student affairs at Emory University School of Medicine, who said he’s now inspired to look at how international education is promoted within the U.S. Mike West, associate vice president of adult and graduate education at Carthage College, added that “the international immersion experience in the Netherlands was incredibly valuable to my theoretical and practical understanding of higher education through an international lens.” Mumbi Okundaye, program coordinator for masters and doctoral programs in UGA’s College of Public Health, was surprised to find that “the challenges in the higher education systems in Europe were very similar to those in the U.S.—open access, increases in demand, quality control, and diversity.” The latter was of interest to Jay Terry, assistant dean of Clayton State University’s College of Information and Mathematical Sciences, who found differences in the concepts of diversity and viewing a definition of minority through the “lens of nationality” unexpected. Above all, international trips for cohorts are a strong bonding experience. “The Haarlem seminar provided a wonderful opportunity to spend quality time with my cohort colleagues while having an in-depth educational experience,” said Deborah Dietzler, associate vice president for alumni relations and annual giving at the University of Louisville. Katie Lloyd, director of admissions to the one-year MBA program at Emory’s Goizueta Business School, agreed: “The time spent together as a cohort was memorable beyond expectations.” When not in the classroom, the cohort enjoyed sightseeing and cultural activities. Among the highlights were visits to museums, a dinner cruise on the canals, and a guided tour of the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of Dutch government. The Peace Palace, built with money donated by Andrew Carnegie, houses the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, and The Hague Academy of International Law. By a stroke of luck, the Netherlands trip coincided with some advanced rounds of FIFA’s World Cup competition, the most watched sporting event in the world, in which Holland finished third and the country was awash in orange, a great finale to a truly enriching experience. Type of News/Audience: 2014 IHE Report
