Cross-Cultural Engagement

Course Proposal Types

CCE Integral Courses (all students do the CCE piece)

Use Course Proposal Form

A department may propose any regular semester or interim course as a CCE Integral Course. It is probable that many departments will wish to do so with currently offered courses, especially those with a clinical, a practicum, or an internship, in which the experiential component is cross-cultural in nature. New courses can also be proposed; after CCE Committee approval, EPC (and, if approval is sought for an additional core category, the Core Curriculum Committee). Faculty Senate approval must also be sought for new courses.

It is presumed that for most of these courses, an additional semester hour of credit will not be necessary for either the student or for the faculty member. Consider current courses with required ABSL experiences; no extra credit is given because the experience (and, orientation, reflection, and evaluation) is integral to the course.

Instructors of off-campus (and even on-campus) Interim courses should consider requesting CCE Designated Course status. The orientation/reflection component can be a natural part of the course content as well as extended cross-cultural engagement made possible through the course setting. Courses that do not naturally have sufficient face-to-face engagement may add direct experience components to accomplish these ends.

For interims, course proposals seeking the CCE designation can be simultaneously presented to both the CCE Coordinating Committee and the Interim Term Committee, but it is preferable that they receive Interim Term Committee approval before seeking CCE approval. Courses receiving the designation will be so listed in the Interim catalog.

CCE Optional Courses(CCE piece is done only by students needing to meet the CCE requirement)

Use Course Proposal Form

In any given course a faculty member may include an optional experience that would give the course a CCE designation for students who choose to pursue that option. This would be similar to the way a student can take a regular course for honors designation, by contracting with the faculty member to do additional work. Unlike the honors by contract, the faculty member, before offering the option to students, must propose the optional CCE experience to the CCE Coordinating Committee and receive approval for it from the Committee. This course will be listed in the catalog as a CCE optional course.

This option recognizes that there are departments that would like to add an optional CCE piece to an existing course, but believe that the amount of extra work involved could warrant an additional semester hour of credit. For purposes of registration and record-keeping, students who choose to do the optional CCE piece will be enrolled, by the Registrar’s Office, in a course section of IDIS 290 which is attached to the CCE optional course.

It is assumed that this optional experience would relate to the knowledge base and skills taught in the course (thereby, providing a foundation for the “orientation”). However, it is assumed that the requirement for reflection and evaluation would be part of the additional component of this experiential option (in addition to the 20 hours of face-to-face engagement). It is up to the professor to decide whether to make the CCE optional piece worth one semester hour or 0 semester hours (designation only).

Although CCE Optional Courses could evolve from existing courses (e.g. a course with a service learning component) where a cross-cultural experience is optional, other “assignments” could be developed as well. For instance, the content and objectives of a given course could be enhanced with an optional assignment for students to complete an Institute for the Healing of Racism (multi-week version). This could be proposed as a cross-cultural engagement experience.

IDIS-290 - Student-Initiated CCE Contract Courses for 0 or 1 s.h. of Credit

Use IDIS-290 Course Contract

This option recognizes that students become engaged in cross-cultural experiences or programs while at Calvin. Furthermore, if planning and guidance (in terms of prior orientation, identifying a protocol for reflection, and specifying the type and extent of engagement) by a faculty member is included, monitoring and evaluation of that experience can lead to a granting of CCE credit or designation.

Departments whose students regularly participate in off-campus cross-cultural experiences during the summer or during a semester away from college could develop a 1-semester hour or 0-semester hour seminar for students that provides orientation, reflection, and evaluation related to that experience. The goal is that a student or a group of students would meet together with the professor to be oriented to the prospective culture and to the 5 CCE objectives, and to compare and reflect on their experiences. These courses could be open to all students who have had related experiences. Students and faculty members would contract for this course prior to the experience, and engage in reading and reflection during and after the experiential portion. They are to complete the CCE contract (IDIS-290) together and receive CCE Committee approval prior to the CCE experience. CCE credit/designation should not be given just for the experience, but for careful, informed reflection on that experience with the guidance of faculty. Examples might include these: a PE/Recreation seminar for students who work in a cross-cultural recreational program; missions seminar for students who work in a missions setting; and a foreign language seminar for students who work in another country over the summer.

Departments whose students regularly participate in affiliated off-campus cross-cultural programs (e.g. for language study) during the summer or during a semester away from college could develop a 0-semester hour or 1-semester hour seminar for students that provides orientation, reflection, and evaluation related to that experience. These students are already getting credit for the program they are in, and thus would not necessarily need CCE credit (hence the option of 0-s.h. and 1-s.h.), but the work they are doing fits exactly within the goals of CCE at Calvin. The goal is that a student or a group of students would meet together with the professor to be oriented to the prospective culture and to the 5 CCE objectives, and to compare and reflect on their experiences. These courses could be open to all students who will have related experiences. Students and faculty members would contract for this course prior to the experience, and engage in a short seminar prior to departure. They are to complete the CCE contract (IDIS 290) together and receive CCE Committee approval prior to the CCE experience. Upon return to Calvin, the students would submit to the professor a paper reflecting on their entire experience, focusing specifically on the 5 CCE objectives. CCE designation should not be given just for the experience, but for careful, informed reflection on that experience with the guidance of faculty. Examples might include these: Central College (Iowa) programs, Goethe Institute, IDEA ministries, etc.

IDIS 290 provides the necessary avenue for making pre-arrangements for these off-campus cross-cultural experiences or programs. The IDIS 290 option provides 1 semester hour or 0 semester hours of credit to students.