Post Classifieds
New IF initiative still needs work
By Katie Anderson
On November 14, 2012
The foreign language requirement for Intellectual Foundations is being reconstructed, giving students
more options to study other cultures.
The new requirement, the IF Global Engagement, will allow students to achieve credit for the
requirement through four specific learning methods.
"The Global Engagement option expands and enhances the current foreign language requirement by
acknowledging the various ways in which students learn," said Lisa Hunter, dean of Intellectual
Foundations. "Students have more options to develop intercultural knowledge and competence and
engage in a transformative learning experience at Buffalo State."
The first option, study of a foreign language, mirrors the same criteria of the original foreign language
requirement. Option two is a proficiency exam, which tests the students on their communication skills of
another language. Cultural immersion through study abroad is option three, which allows students to
fulfill the requirement by spending a semester in another country. Lastly, global at home and abroad is an
option that allows students to immerge themselves in different cultures locally through organizations or
service-learning courses.
Voting on the draft of the new IF Global Engagement requirement was on the agenda for the college
senate last Friday. The document did not make it that far, however.
Problems with the document were initially found under option three when Senator David Carson
motioned to remove the phrase "where English is not the primary language."
"There's approximately 60 different countries where English is the dominant language," Carson
said. "That seems to defeat the purpose because the goal is cultural immersion for our students, and it
limits a lot of options."
Carson's motion passed, deleting the restriction that the country in which students study abroad must not
use English as a primary language.
Carson's motion raised other questions about option four, where the same phrase appeared
again, "service-learning course dedicated to serving populations and/or communities where English is not
the primary language."
A motion was made to remove the phrase again, limiting the language restrictions for the
requirement. This time, however, the motion did not pass.
"I think the wording we're looking for in all these places we eliminate 'English is not the primary
language' is that students work with people who meet the standards for cultural immersion," Carson
said. "Isn't that the goal here? It's all about cultural immersion."
Carson then motioned to send the Global Engagement document back to the committee to make revisions,
removing the language restrictions of option four and emphasizing more on cultural immersion. The
motion carried, sending the committee back to work.
Although the senate is trying to reach implementation of the new IF program by fall 2013, Hunter said
that there "is no published implementation date available at this time."
Senate Chair Howard Reid said he would like to see a better proposal for the IF requirement at the next
senate meeting on Dec. 14.
"The senators were very engaged about the Global Engagement," he said. "People care about the
education of our students."
Katie Anderson can be reached by email at anderson.record@live.com.
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