Introduction
Both Monmouth College and Coe College have exchange programs that accommodate a small number of students each year who want to study internationally. Monmouth has exchange programs with Ecole Superieure de Gestion et Commerce International in Paris, American College of Thessoloniki in Greece, and Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan. Coe has developed exchange programs with Chiang Mai University in Thailand, Mid Sweden University, Nagoya-Gakuin University in Japan, Sookmyung Women’s University in Korea, the University of Landau in Germany, University of Seville in Spain, and the Northern Ireland Universities. Both colleges have exchange programs with Waseda University in Japan. Conversely, each college hosts students from the exchange institutions.

Monmouth College’s exchange programs are just getting established. It is anticipated that Monmouth will send a total of five students abroad during the 2001-02 academic year through exchanges with ESGCI and Kansai Gaidai. Coe expects to have approximately ten students participate in their exchange programs abroad. Although Monmouth will have a significant number of international students on campus next year, none will be from the institutions with which Monmouth has an exchange agreement. On the other hand, Coe is expecting at least fifteen international students from their exchange institutions. Both Monmouth and Coe are working toward increasing the scope of their respective exchange programs.

Statement of Need
Monmouth and Coe acknowledge that a weak aspect of the exchange programs offered through both campuses has been the orientation and re-entry program. When students participate in programs sponsored by ACM, they attend structured orientation programs that involve students from the various institutions. Although an effort is made on both the Monmouth and Coe campuses to help students transition into and out of college-sponsored international exchange experiences, the results have been neither consistent nor comprehensive. In defense of both colleges, an effective orientation/reorientation is difficult with only a small number of students. Many of the more effective activities (i.e., games, discussions, debriefings, etc.) are better suited to groups of five to ten students.

The two colleges are located approximately one hundred thirty-five miles apart. Monmouth and Coe are proposing to develop a basic format for a joint one-day orientation/reorientation program that addresses the needs of each campus’ U.S. students preparing to study abroad through a college-sponsored exchange program, the U.S. students in their first semester back after studying abroad, and the international students who are currently studying on our campuses. By combining efforts, Monmouth and Coe will be able to pool resources and ideas while increasing the number of students participating in an orientation/reorientation program.

• 1.1 Global Partners Project Conference (6/14-17/2001) attendees from Monmouth College and from Coe College will work with their academic deans to designate at least one conference attendee and up to two other faculty/staff members from each institution to serve on a team that will comprise half of the Exchange Program Acclimation Committee.

• 1.2 The Committee will develop clearly articulated objectives for a one-day orientation/reorientation program.

• 1.3 The Committee will meet in person at least one time prior to each one-day program in order to plan orientation/reorientation activities for exchange students.

• 1.4 The Committee members will maintain regular contact via phone and e-mail throughout the planning process.

• 1.5 The Committee will develop a written agenda addressing the articulated objectives for the orientation/reorientation program and identify the individuals who will be responsible for organizing and leading the various activities.

• 1.6 The Committee will develop an appropriate Feedback Form that students will complete at the end of the one-day orientation/reorientation program in order to assess how effectively objectives for the program were met.

• 1.7 The Committee will discuss various strategies for helping the program students adjust to their exchange schools and communities, and work with appropriate personnel to ensure a smoother transition.

• 1.8 Using information from the Feedback Form along with anecdotal information from facilitators/presenters, the Committee will evaluate the effectiveness of the program and make any necessary changes for the next program.

• 1.9 Activities 1.2 through 1.8 will be repeated in the spring for the orientation/reorientation program for exchange students going abroad fall semester of 2002.

• 1.10 The Committee will meet after the second orientation/reorientation program to assess the overall effectiveness of the collaboration between Monmouth and Coe Colleges.

• 1.11 The Committee will formulate a final report to the Global Partners Project outlining the project objectives and how effectively they were met through the activities supported with a Partners Project Grant.

• 2.1 Susan Dagit of Monmouth College and Pamela Carstens of Coe College will set dates for two one-day orientation/reorientation programs during the academic year 2001-2002. (These dates have tentatively been set for November 17, 2001 and April 13,2002.)

• 2.2 A one-day program for exchange students will be hosted during the fall semester on the campus of Monmouth College and on the Coe College campus during the spring semester.

• 2.3 International students and other personnel from both campuses will participate as resource persons in the programs.

• 2.4 Students who participated in an exchange program the previous semester will attend the program as resource persons and as part of their reorientation process.

An explanation of the orientation/reorientation program will be posted to each College’s international study web site as part of the description of college-sponsored exchange programs. More information will be added after orientation/reorientation programs are completed in the fall and spring. (http://department.monm.edu/offcampus/default.htm and http://www.coe.edu/VitalStats/OffStudy.html)

A final report to the Global Partners Project Task Force will be submitted prior to August 1, 2002. It is expected that Partners Project reports will be added to the Global Partners Project website and made available to all participating colleges and to other institutions wanting to investigate effective practices in international study programming. Members of the Exchange Program Acclimation Committee will agree, schedules permitting, to make presentations to representatives of peer institutions and to participate in panel discussions on the topic of building exchange programs through the strengthening of orientation and re-entry activities.

Conclusion
The scope of college-sponsored exchange programs through Monmouth and Coe is quite modest in comparison to those of other institutions in the ACM, GLCA, and ACS. However, both schools are intent on conscientiously growing their respective programs. Monmouth and Coe are very eager to work together to improve each college’s preparation and re-entry practices for students who participate in international exchange programs. With funding from a Partners Project grant we will be able to establish a new collaboration between the Colleges. We will pool faculty and student resources and begin to formalize a process of international study experience orientation/reorientation that can be built upon as exchange program participation grows on each campus. We hope that the dialog into which we entered during the Global Partners Project Conference is the beginning of a long-term collaboration between the institutions.

For the program for this reorientation, see http://department.monm.edu/offcampus/reorientation_program.htm.
For more information about this project, please contact Tom Sienkewicz at toms@monm.edu.