Faculty Internationalization Priorities

Abstract

The internationalization of higher education has been the subject of a substantial body of research. However, few studies have examined how faculty members, significant implementers of internationalization, think about internationalization priorities. This article presents the results of a questionnaire which was sent to faculty members at three institutions of higher education, two in the United States and one in Canada. Threehundred and seventy-five faculty members responded to an open ended question asking how they would prioritize international initiatives at their institution. These comments were coded and categorized based on patterns that emerged from the data. Additionally, the top five topics were examined more in depth to reveal faculty rationale for each. Two findings emerged from this study. First, respondents overwhelmingly support internationalization. Second, they expect the institution to shoulder the burden for the implementation of institutional directives. These findings inform institutional internationalization administrators.