CLIME (the Consortium for Language and International Majors’ Experiences)

CLIME is a cooperative program dedicated to ensuring that all majors in Hispanic Studies, Anthropology, International Studies and Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures have the opportunity to find enrichment through International Experience.  This could mean Education Abroad programs, international internships, international research or domestic programs with an international focus and orientation.

As a member of CLIME, UK students benefit from access to additional advising, scholarships, campus and community events, and leadership opportunities to help you achieve your goals of international learning.

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Program overview

Introduction and Problem Identification: This proposal developed out of a series of meetings among Bluegrass Community & Technical College (BCTC) and University of Kentucky (UK) faculty, staff and administration over several months in Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 to respond to some worrying trends in majors related to global learning and education (Languages, International Studies and Anthropology) at our institutions. These meetings identified several trends addressed in this proposal: a declining number of students selecting some international and language majors, a small number of students who take advantage of study abroad opportunities, and the fact that underrepresented minority students, first generation students, students with high financial need, and transfer students are even less likely to have such experiences. To address these concerns BCTC and UK developed CLIME, a consortium across 4 majors (Anthropology, Hispanic Studies, International Studies, and Modern & Classical Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (MCLLC)) and two institutions, to enhance and expand international experiential educational opportunities. CLIME will address these issues with the development of a comprehensive experiential education guarantee for students in the four participating majors, supported with extensive faculty involvement, curriculum redesign and development, co-curricular programming, and assessment. With these efforts we intend to: deepen students’ experiences, and attract, retain, and graduate more majors, thereby enhancing the capacity for all students’ international education at BCTC and UK.

Our intention to focus on international experiential education is rooted in the knowledge that undergraduate students can accrue tremendous educational and life benefits from such experiences, but far too few of them take up the opportunities our colleges offer them. While there are a variety of reasons why individuals don’t recognize and participate in international learning opportunities, we also know that our institutions can do much more to stimulate interest, establish pathways for students to better understand the benefits of these kinds of opportunities, and support students through what can seem a daunting process. Since we are educational institutions in a state noted for its limited ethnic and cultural diversity, we want to enhance undergraduate experience of these majors so that we (1) expand and deepen students’ international and linguistic engagement, (2) increase enrollment in our four majors, and (3) retain and graduate majors at a higher rate than we currently do. We see participation in internationally focused experiential learning opportunities as central to our recruitment and retention efforts for our programs. Through seven implementation strategies addressing these three objectives, our colleges will guide and support students into these majors, create new curricula and develop co-curricular programming at both campuses, and expand learning beyond the classroom to educate students about the value and impact of global engagement. Through both small-scale intentional changes, and the more substantial creation of a cohort of Faculty Facilitators who will develop and implement new initiatives, we expect to transform experiences in Anthropology, Hispanic Studies, International Studies and MCLLC for all majors at UK, and underrepresented student populations and transfer students in particular.

The grant CLIME is funded through the Department of Education UISFL program.

UISFL Proposal Narrative

Timeline of Project(3 Year Plan: Fall 2020 to FA 2023)