Assessment

GEO assessment efforts ensure that its programs remain of the highest academic caliber.

The Global Education Office (GEO) assessment plan is designed to assess students' learning outcomes across all programs – Duke-Administered and Duke-Approved – which come under the purview of the office. Individual programs run by Duke also have their own program-specific mission statements and learning outcomes. Below is an abbreviated version of the office assessment plan, which includes general student learning goals and outcomes.

Goals & Learning Outcomes

Students on GEO programs meet clearly-defined goals and learning outcomes.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Students will be able to identify varying cultural viewpoints.
  • Students will be able to demonstrate recognition of cultural differences.
  • Students will learn to communicate effectively and appropriately from the host culture's viewpoint, both verbally and nonverbally.

Learning Outcomes

  • Students show increased ability to empathize with people from different cultures and perspectives.
  • Students show increased ability to tolerate ambiguity.
  • Students will develop critical thinking skills and be able to apply them when encountering unfamiliar environments.

For programs in non-English-speaking countries; varies by type of program.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Students demonstrate an ability to carry out daily tasks in the host country language (all programs in non-English-speaking host countries).
  • Students demonstrate advanced proficiency in the host country language, such as the ability to complete content courses in the host language, the ability to communicate complex ideas (immersion programs in non-English-speaking countries).

Learning Outcomes:

  • Students will gain knowledge that can be applied to major/minor/certificate requirements.
  • Students will gain knowledge that will contribute to students' general education requirements as defined by Duke University's undergraduate curriculum.

A Leader in Quality Study Away Programs

Duke University has long been a leader in offering quality study away programs and supporting our students who choose to participate in quality study away programs.

Nearly half of every Duke undergraduate class has a study away experience by the time they graduate. Duke places the academic, safety, and security interests of students as our priority; and our policies and procedures reflect that commitment.

The Global Education Committee (GEC)

The Global Education Committee (GEC), a standing University committee of the Arts and Sciences Council that includes representation of the faculty, students, and relevant administrators, reports to the Arts & Sciences Council, to the deans of all Duke schools that offer undergraduate majors, and to the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education.

Per its charter, “The Committee works in close collaboration with the Director of the Global Education Office to develop policies for identifying study-away and academic exchange programs that are not listed in the Undergraduate Bulletin but may offer courses eligible for Duke credit, and to maintain a list of approved programs. The Committee shall recommend to the deans appropriate regulations for study-away and exchange programs, monitor the listed programs to determine whether the quality of instruction meets academic standards consistent with those of Duke undergraduate courses, and recommend to the deans the addition and removal of specific programs from the list. The Committee shall pursue strategic initiatives for developing programs in new geographic locations or with new themes. The Committee shall approve or deny petitions by individual students to obtain credit for study away Courses."1

1Arts and Sciences Council, Trinity College, Global Education Standing Committee Charge

External Review

External reviews of Duke-Administered programs ensure the quality of the academic and programmatic experience.

Teams of study away professionals and faculty from institutions other than Duke visit and evaluate these programs. Their reports are reviewed and acted upon by the GEC and GEO.

Well-defined procedures that focus on the academic quality of a program and how it complements the Duke student's academic experience govern the process by which approved programs are reviewed. These steps involve faculty throughout disciplines across campus periodically reviewing program specifics and determining their compatibility with the academic standards Duke maintains.

Petitions and program approvals are predominantly student-initiated, though academic departments may also petition program approval. The petitioning and approval of new programs involves the GEC as well as the Directors of Undergraduate Studies from the relevant departments who approve the courses students take for transfer credit. Multiple students in different semesters must participate in the same petitioned program. Upon their return, program materials (syllabi, exams, papers, etc.) must be evaluated as equivalent to the Duke academic experience before a program is approved for addition to the list of Duke-Approved programs. Duke-Approved programs not utilized by students for five years fall off the approved list.

Duke-Approved programs include various study abroad models, including direct enrollment opportunities at foreign universities, enrollment in foreign universities through program providers who offer additional services for participants, and programs offered by other accredited institutions. Students choose the programs they attend based on which program best meets their individual needs.

GEO does not enter into exclusive agreements with any study abroad providers nor do we accept any financial benefit (e.g. travel, stipends, discounts, or cash bonuses) in exchange for arrangements with them. Site visits of foreign programs are an integral component of the global education profession because advisors must familiarize themselves with the various aspects of the programs their students attend.