Northwest international program honored
Washington, D.C. — Northwest Missouri State University is one of two winners of the 2015 Excellence and Innovation Award for international education from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
The award program, now in its second year, honors AASCU member institutions for achievement in various areas of campus life, including student success, college completion, regional and economic development, leadership development, and diversity.
Along with California State University-Fresno, which was recognized for expanding international recruitment while increasing study-abroad opportunities for U.S. citizens, Northwest received the award for efforts aimed at improving first-trimester academic performance among students from other countries.
The award citation noted that Northwest’s Office of International Affairs “initiated an innovative onboarding process among previously autonomous academic service units,” including Academic Advisement, Freshman Seminar, the Department of English and Modern Languages, Student Employment, and Career Services.
AASCU evaluators found that the initiative succeeded in removing “operational silos” while challenging “unit-level leaders to redesign work to create a cohesive and choreographed international student onboarding process.”
Criteria for Northwest’s winning entry included evidence of top-level administrative support, connection with the institution’s “mission and strategic agenda,” evidence of “significant institutional improvements or programming,” and evidence that the “initiative was grounded in research and incorporated best practices.”
Award winners in other categories included:
• Cleveland (Ohio) State University and Western Kentucky University-Bowling Green for
Student Success and College Completion.
• Northern Arizona University-Flagstaff and Washington State University-Vancouver for Regional and Economic Development.
• California State University-Long Beach and the University of West Georgia-Carrollton for Leadership Development and Diversity.
The awards will be presented Oct. 25 during the opening session of AASCU’s annual meeting in Austin, Texas.
