Internationalizing the Campus: About the Report

Each year NAFSA develops Internationalizing the Campus: Profiles of Success at Colleges and Universities, a report on international education in the United States. Profiling institutions selected to receive the Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization, the report cites exemplary practices, model approaches, and major trends, describing the current state of international education on U.S. campuses. In a sense, the report can be viewed as the stories behind the numbers in international education. Our narrative portrays profiles of programs, people, and ideas to report on international education today.

View selected institutions

Read about, purchase, and download sample copies of the reports

• 2007 Report
• 2006 Report
• 2005 Report
• 2004 Report
• 2003 Report

The 2003 and 2004 reports were made possible through generous support from Educational Testing Service (ETS) and the Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State (ECA/A/S/A); ECA/A/S/A also provided partial support for the 2005 and 2006 reports.

Intended to present an agenda for action, the annual report contributes to the dialogue about the development of a strong U.S. international education policy, one of NAFSA's goals. The case studies and campus models highlight not only sound educational practice but also the value to society that derives from effective international education. Implicitly—because of the connections between education and society—the report makes the case for strong international education policy. The report also explores meaningful connections that exist between public policy at all levels and institutional accomplishments in international education.

Within the context of the Simon Award and the report, we define “international education” and “internationalizing the campus” in a broad, inclusive, non-restrictive sense. Scholarship without boundaries encompasses a wide variety of dimensions:

• Curricular initiatives, such as area studies, global studies, business education, etc.
• Innovation in educational philosophy and pedagogy
• Education, teaching, research, and work abroad by U.S. students and faculty
• Study by international students and scholars in the U.S.
• Faculty and scholar exchanges
• International opportunities through career planning/placement services
• Co-curricular activities
• International linkages through inter-institutional connections
• Foreign language training and English language training
• Corporate/university partnerships
• Campus/community interaction
• International development projects

As innovation and creativity advance on U.S. campuses, no doubt additional elements will be added to this list.

The awards are presented at the NAFSA annual conference each May. The report is released in the following fall.

Profiles of Institutions

The report underscores the importance of international education overall and its many contributions to society.

To accomplish that goal, the report profiles recipients of the Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization. Up to five institutions are selected each year to receive the award. At each school, internationalization pervades the campus culture as evidenced in practices, structures, philosophies, and policies. As much as possible, the report documents cases of a variety of institutions—major universities, community colleges, small private colleges—and in that context, talks about impacts and results, innovations, and leadership.

U.S. colleges and universities are invited to assemble teams from across campus to work together to nominate their institution for the Simon Award; only one nomination is accepted from each institution. A selection jury of experts is assembled each year from campuses around the country. An attempt is made to include members from various areas of campus life as well as a variety of campus types.

In the months following selection, NAFSA sends a researcher/journalist to the selected institutions to gather information for the report, learning first-hand about the direction international education is heading in U.S. higher education.

Spotlights of Institutions

Along with the campus-wide profiles of the Simon Award recipients, the report includes spotlights of up to three additional institutions demonstrating outstanding and innovative work in a specific area or program related to international education. Perhaps internationalization is not campus-wide at these institutions, and yet their work in a particular arena of international education is exemplary. These stories can be as inspiring as the Simon Award profiles.

Project Goals

Major goals of the Simon Award and the associated report are to:

• draw national attention to the value of international education and contribute in a significant way to the development of a national policy on international education;
• make a declarative statement about the vital role international education plays in grooming future leaders of business and government to lead in an international world and to work effectively in a global economy;
• demonstrate that international education advances global understanding, and therefore promotes U.S. foreign policy objectives; and
• present knowledge and resources that will improve the practice of international education.

Audiences for the report include NAFSA members and the international education community at large, national and international opinion leaders, policy makers, the media, and business and industry. Designed as a tool for campus-based international educators to share with their institution's top leadership – and perhaps their trustees – as a means to document and underscore the value of international education, it will also be useful in talking with their wider communities and regions. Legislatures and government agencies may find it helpful in discussing and understanding international education and exchange. And it will serve as a resource of ideas for new programs and activities in the future.