DEVELOPMENTS IN INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE

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DEVELOPMENTS IN INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE
DOKUZ EYLUL UNIVERSITY/ MAINE MARITIME ACADEMY
JOINT DEGREE PROGRAMS Ender ASYALI, John
BARLOW, A. Güldem CERIT, D. Ali
DEVECI Dokuz Eylul University Maritime
Faculty, gcerit_at_deu.edu.tr Maine Maritime
Academy, john.barlow_at_mma.edu
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• Introduction
• Maritime transport is known as one of the most
  international and global industries in the world.
  
• Globalization of the shipping industry since
  1990s has increased the interaction both among
  the crew on board of the ship and human resources
  on shore.

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Introduction

• Generation of intercultural awareness system
  among the multinational crew on board of the
  ships influences the interaction on board,
  safety, efficiency and leadership system.
• To prepare maritime students to be more competent
  in this rapidly globalizing world, more and more
  maritime universities are engaged in various
  exchange programs in an attempt to broaden
  international views of their students and cadets,
  enhance their capability of conducting
  cross-cultural business and be successful in the
  more independent world.

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• Intercultural Competence
• Intercultural competence, which is the capacity
  to change ones knowledge, attitudes, and
  behaviors so as to be open and flexible to other
  cultures, has become a critical issue for
  individuals to survive in the globalized society
  of the 21st century (Alred and Byram, 2002).
• Taylor (1994) defines intercultural competency as
  a transformative process whereby the stranger
  develops adaptive capacity, altering his/her
  perspective to effectively understand and
  accommodate the demands of the host culture.

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Intercultural Competence

• A person who has the ability of intercultural
  competence can develop relational competence with
  people from different cultures, manage to solve
  complicated conflicts by moving around
  alternatives that arise as a result of cultural
  differences and improve the ability of doing
  business with counterparts from different
  cultures (Huang et al, 2003).
• It is highly believed that collaborations among
  universities, mobility and exchange of students
  and joint degree programs increase the
  intercultural competence of students thus
  assisting international effective and efficient
  relations (Deardorff, 2004).

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Dual and Joint Degree Programs

• Cooperation in higher education has been based to
  a great extent on traditional student and faculty
  exchange programs.
• Dual and joint degree programs create new
  opportunities and challenges for collaboration in
  higher education and institutional linkages
  between maritime higher education institutions.

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Dual and Joint Degree Programs

• A joint degree program is an academic program
  offered in collaboration between at least two
  autonomous degree-granting institutions which
  leads to an award of a bachelors, masters,
  doctoral, or professional degree (Steve and Leela
  2003).
• According to the definition of Institute of
  International Education (2009), A joint degree
  program is that students study at (at least) two
  higher education institutions and receive upon
  completion of the study program a single degree
  certificate issued and signed by all the
  participating institutions jointly.
• On the other hand A dual or double degree program
  is that students study at (at least) two higher
  education institutions and receive upon
  completion of the study program a separate degree
  certificate from each of the participating
  institutions.

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Dual and Joint Degree Programs

• Joint degree programs provide students with
  broader experience, pride in two institutions,
  and access to the resources of two institutions
  (Steve and Leela 2003).
• Asgary and Robert conclude that international
  dual degree models are significantly superior in
  terms of academic, intellectual and experiential
  learning therefore, graduates of these programs
  will be better prepared to lead international
  ventures and serve as global citizens. Dual
  degree programs require an institution-wide
  commitment to succeed in the short and long term.
  Academic institutions need to be flexible,
  creative, resourceful and forward thinking in
  order to successfully adopt and implement dual
  degree offerings (Asgary and Robert 2010).

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Dual and Joint Degree Programs

• Universities on both sides of the Atlantic are
  creating an increasing number of international
  joint-degree and dual-degree programs (Labi,
  2009) and the research conclude that, a large
  majority of U.S. institutions and European
  institutions plan to develop more joint and dual
  degrees in the future. The key motivations for
  launching joint and dual degree programs appear
  to revolve largely around advancing the
  internationalization of the campus and raising
  international visibility and prestige of the
  institution (Institute of International
  Education, 2009).
• In Europe, the decade-long Bologna Process,
  whereby more than 40 countries have been
  harmonizing their degree cycles in anticipation
  of the creation of the European Higher Education
  Area by 2010, has underpinned the growing focus
  on internationalization (Labi, 2009)

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Aim of the Paper

• In 2008 Dokuz Eylül University Maritime Faculty
  of Turkey and Maine Maritime Academy of USA have
  started working on the establishment of a joint
  degree program for Turkish students. The program
  builds on an18-year collaboration between the two
  institutions and is open to Turkish students who
  demonstrate adequate English proficiency. The
  students will spend five years in the program
  including one year of English preparatory class
  when required and will study on both campuses.
  The students have the option to major in one of
  three fields.
• Both Turkish Higher Education Council and New
  England Association of Schools and Colleges have
  approved the program and the collaboration
  agreement.
• This paper aims to explain the framework of this
  collaboration and the details of the joint degree
  programs.

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Need for Joint Degree Programs

• The JDP program will integrate an international
  experience and perspective to students in both
  the shipping and logistics industry to be
  competitive professionals when they graduate.
• The need for the development of joint degree
  programs (JDP) between Dokuz Eylül University
  (DEU) and Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) was
  emerged according to the requirements in
  international shipping and business.
• The United States and Turkey are strategic
  partners and they have common interests in
  international trade and shipping both
  historically and culturally. The major
  justification for the JDPs is that DEU and MMA
  students will both benefit from cultural
  diversification and the opportunity to exchange
  ideas and traditions.

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Need for Joint Degree Programs

• Maine Maritime Academy and Dokuz Eylül University
  are both members of the International Association
  of Maritime Universities (IAMU) and have been
  collaborating over the past nineteen years.
• A framework for the existing collaboration came
  out of a Collaboration Agreement signed in 1992
  between the two institutions. The collaboration
  between MMA and DEU has included five professors
  from DEU visiting MMA over the past almost twenty
  years.

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Aim and Scope of the Joint Degree Programs

• The aim of the joint degree programs between
  Dokuz Eylül University and Maine Maritime Academy
  is to provide undergraduate degrees in the
  maritime discipline that will be jointly awarded
  by both universities in the following majors
  currently offered by DEU and MMA
• Maritime Business Administration (DEU) /
  International Business and Logistics (MMA)
• Nautical Science (DEU) / Marine Transportation
  Operations (MMA)
• Marine Engineering (DEU) / Marine Engineering
  Operations (MMA)

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Aim and Scope of the Joint Degree Programs

• Both institutions have approached this protocol
  with common consent between the members of the
  societies to which they belong.
• The collaboration protocol between DEU and MMA
  regarding the joint degree programs will function
  within the scope of Turkish Higher Education
  Councils Regulation about the Foundation of
  Joint Education Programs of Higher Education
  Institutions with Higher Education Institutions
  that are Included in the Scope Abroad and the
  standards set by New England Association of
  Schools and Colleges, IABCE (International
  Assembly for Business Collegiate Education), IMO
  (International Maritime Organization), USCG
  (United States Coast Guard) and UMA
  (Undersecretariat for Maritime Affairs of
  Turkey).

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Aim and Scope of the Joint Degree Programs

• The MMA/DEU Joint Degree Program will be open to
  Turkish students who wish to complete part of
  their degree work at MMA. Because of US Coast
  Guard licensing requirements US students cannot
  get approval for Turkish license courses.
• Turkish students have two avenues to enter the
  program. If they can demonstrate an adequate
  proficiency in English they may enter the first
  semester of the program which will be taught in
  Izmir at DEU. If they cannot demonstrate
  adequate English proficiency they may attend
  English preparatory classes at DEU appropriate to
  their levels of proficiency for a maximum of two
  years.

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Aim and Scope of the Joint Degree Programs

• After demonstrating adequate language proficiency
  the degree program commences with one or two
  semesters, depending upon the major at DEU,
  followed by 3 or more terms at MMA and a
  similar amount of time at DEU to complete the 4
  years necessary for a BS degree. At the end of
  the program those students meeting all graduation
  requirements will be a given a single joint
  degree awarded jointly by MMA and DEU.

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Curriculum Development

• At the June of 2009 faculties from DEU and MMA
  set up three committees with faculty
  representatives from both institutions to develop
  the three proposed curricula that utilized
  existing courses, and set specific outcomes for
  each JDP major. After the initial meetings in MMA
  the representatives from both institutions have
  met via email and teleconference to develop the
  proposed curricula.
• During the curriculum development process it was
  recognized that the curriculum at Dokuz Eylül
  Maritime Faculty in Marine Transportation and
  Marine Engineering is very similar to Maine
  Maritime Academys curriculum as they are both
  modeled on the need to meet International
  Maritime Organization (IMO) Standards for
  Training Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW).
  It was also noticed that the courses in Maritime
  Business Program in DEU and International
  Business and Logistics Program in MMA are also
  very similar. However, as part of this
  collaboration between the two universities both
  DEU and MMA slightly revised their programs to
  harmonize with each other.

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Curriculum Development

• The normal education period of JDP programs that
  give undergraduate degree is four years. The
  programs that normally last four years have a
  maximum education period of seven academic years.
  The decision to determine which semester of JDP
  education is going to be executed in which
  university is given mutually by both universities
  in accordance with program curriculum.
• The medium of education of JDPs is English. In
  order for the students to start taking
  undergraduate courses from 1st year, they must
  prove their English proficiency by taking the
  TOEFL examination for English proficiency.

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Program Coordination and Assessment

• The academic procedures, rules, and policies for
  each respective institution will apply for
  students attending at that institution and be
  administered by the Registrars Office and
  International Offices of both institutions.Program
  coordinators assigned from both DEU and MMA for
  each program serve as advisors to students in the
  JDP majors.
• In addition to this, at least one DEU faculty
  will be present at MMA during each academic
  period to assist in coordination. The
  effectiveness of the joint degree programs
  between DEU and MMA will be assessed by both
  institutions using the standard assessment and
  review mechanisms presently in place at each
  institution to review all programs.

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Program Coordination and Assessment

• Each course at MMA reports each term to an
  Outcomes Assessment Committee via a program
  template on program objectives, program outcomes,
  course or program goals assessment results and
  proposed actions based on the goals that were
  assessed that term. The Outcomes Assessment
  Committee and Academic Dean review all of these
  reports to assure that assessment is adequate and
  that all outcomes are periodically being
  assessed.

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Program Coordination and Assessment

• In the case of DEU Maritime Faculty specific
  outcomes are given in the catalog for the
  Bachelor of Science degree as well as outcomes
  for each major. Each course at DEU Maritime
  Faculty reports each term to an Outcomes
  Assessment Committee via a template on program
  objectives, program outcomes, course or program
  goals assessment results and proposed actions
  based on the goals that were assessed that term.
  The Outcomes Assessment Committee and Head of the
  Department review all of these reports to assure
  that assessment is adequate and that all outcomes
  are periodically being assessed.

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Program Coordination and Assessment

• Apart from the internal review within the DEU
  there are two external review processes. In
  accordance with the provisions of section A-I/8
  of the STCW Code, and Turkish national
  legislation all training, assessment of
  competence, activities in Marine Transport
  Operations and Marine Engineering Programs are
  continuously monitored through a quality
  standards system to ensure achievement of defined
  objectives.
• An external independent evaluation of the
  knowledge, understanding, skills and competence
  acquisition and assessment activities are
  conducted by independent evaluation committee
  jointly structured by Turkish Higher Education
  Council and Undersecretariat for Maritime Affairs
  (UMA) of Turkey within every two years. DEU
  Maritime Faculty Program outcomes are also
  reviewed by RINA externally according to ISO 9002.

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Program Coordination and Assessment

• In addition to the institutional assessment
  processes listed above a JDP Oversight Committee
  composed of the Designated Program Coordinators
  for each institution and the Dean of the Maritime
  Faculty at DEU and Academic Dean at MMA will meet
  at least twice a year to review the program.
• All outcomes and assessment data will be
  available to the JDP Oversight Committee and
  suggested changes will be forwarded to the
  appropriate institution and department for
  corrective action.

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• Conclusions

• The joint degree programs between MMA and DEU is
  expected to be mutually beneficial for both
  institutions in several ways
• The major benefit will be to increase cultural
  diversity and interactions between US and Turkish
  students

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Conclusions

• Assist in providing for continued enrollment
  stability in light of declining local
  demographics
• Provide an international perspective to the
  students in both the shipping and logistics
  industry.
• This program will enhance both MMAs and DEUs
  mutual interests in shipping and international
  business and logistics by providing an
  international prospective for students from both
  institutions.

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Winning Team 2010 - DEU Volleyball Championship
Pictures Courtesy of MMA and DEU