CEA’s Official School of Record

In 2006, CEA Global Education and the University of New Haven (UNH) of West Haven, Connecticut negotiated and signed a comprehensive academic agreement establishing UNH as the official School of Record for CEA. Consequently, UNH formally issues credits and transcripts for all CEA Global Campus programs. This innovative relationship affords CEA Global Education the academic oversight and policy guidance it requires for it Global Campus initiatives, and affords UNH additional opportunities to pursue its strategic endeavors in experiential education, campus internationalization, study abroad and overseas faculty development.

The Agreement

The School of Record agreement follows the highest standards of good practice in education abroad and fulfills the requirements of the Policy on Contractual Arrangements Involving Courses and Programs laid down by UNH’s institutional accreditor, The Commissions on Higher Education of the New England Association for Schools and Colleges (CIHE-NEACS). A full review of the terms of the CEA-UNH agreement was conducted by the CIEH-NEASC Board in late 2006. Subsequent to that review, CIHE granted the request of UNH to extend the terms of its accreditation to include courses offered abroad in partnership with CEA Global Education. The two-year interim report required of UNH by CIHE, under NEASC’s Policy on Substantive Change, described both the implementation of the School of Record agreement and the status of the collaborative relationship. This report concluded that: “the UNH-CEA model may well emerge as a higher standard for the study abroad industry."

The Academic Protocols

The most notable element of this innovative partnership is the Academic Review Protocols that CEA Global Education and UNH adopted as the operating basis for academic quality maintenance, assessment, and evaluation. These protocols provide baselines for reviewing curricula, faculty, academic administration and on-site operations. As an integral part of the School of Record Agreement, these protocols:

• Define the terms of each party’s respective obligations and governance
• Set minimum standards for Global Campus course development (contact time, assessment, readings, depth & breadth of course topics, adequacy of the syllabus
• Create review processes and timetables for both course approvals and academic staff approvals
• Set minimum approval standards and processes for appointing Global Campus faculty
• Define minimum standards for instructional facilities
• Create a detailed template for course syllabi construction.

Together, these protocols place the creation, delivery and assessment of all CEA Global Education academic processes under the full control and oversight of the faculty and Provost of the University of New Haven.

Self-Study & On-Site Assessment

The Academic Review Protocols also require institutionalized on-site assessment of all Global Campus academic and operational procedures by UNH academic faculty and administrators. CEA Global Education and UNH agreed to incorporate into their routine assessments at each Global Campus the Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad, developed and adopted by the Forum on Education Abroad. These nine standards determine the form and content of CEA’s detailed self study reports submitted to UNH in advance of UNH site visits. Four-member UNH faculty teams typically conduct two- to three-day site visits and evaluations. UNH faculty assessment teams have repeatedly validated CEA commitment to recognized standards of best practices in study abroad through class observations, facility and housing inspections; interviews with faculty, students and administrators; and, review of policies, procedures and processes related to:

• The learning environment
• Academic integrity
• Student learning and development
• Health and safety
• Staff and program resources
• Student conduct and advising
• CEA Global Education' larger mission

The Role of the School of Record

In 2006, the President of the University of New Haven President, Steven H. Kaplan, and CEA Chairman and CEO, Brian J. Boubek, signed a comprehensive agreement through which UNH became the School of Record for CEA’s Global Campus programs. As a consequence, all students completing CEA study abroad courses earn UNH credits which are reported to their home institution on a UNH transcript. In addition, CEA courses are listed on the UNH website as part of the UNH’s approved curriculum. Under the SOR agreement, UNH assumes responsibility for setting and monitoring all academic standards within Global Campus operations, ranging from the approval of courses to the appointment of faculty and academic staff. As such, UNH imposes upon CEA the same—or higher—standards of practice as UNH’s own accrediting body, the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). An interim 2008 NEASC review of the UNH-CEA agreement indicated that UNH “demonstrates clear and ongoing authority and administrative oversight” with regards to the implementation of the University’s agreement with CEA.

On all administrative matters, the UNH Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs is designated by the UNH President as the principal operating authority for managing the School of Record relationship with CEA. For ongoing operational matters, the Vice-President delegates authority to UNH’s Associate Provost for International and Experiential Learning.

Academic Oversight – The University College Faculty Committee at UNH

The University College Faculty Committee (UCFC) serves as UNH’s official academic oversight committee for the CEA School of Record initiative and ensures that standards for academic quality are maintained. The committee is composed of seven full-time faculty members representing the four academic colleges at UNH and is coordinated by the Associate Provost for International and Experiential Learning. Under the 2007 governance changes that the SOR agreement necessitated at UNH, the UCFC reviews and approves CEA faculty qualifications and course syllabi on a regular basis, meeting once each trimester to fulfill its responsibilities. Moreover, the UCFC advises on the implementation of CEA’s academic programs. It is worth noting that CEA, supported by the UCFC, models its standards for faculty appointment, student conduct, and related academic policies after those of UNH. Further, many CEA faculty and student related policies are adapted from similar policies at UNH. In addition to their charge under the UNH-CEA Academic Review Protocols (see below), the UCFC:

• Advises CEA on academic policy review and development
• Provide and monitor CEA student and faculty access to UNH library services, databases, and online learning tools
• Approves, revises, or rejects CEA course syllabi submitted for inclusion in the CEA curriculum
• Assigns course code prefixes in cooperation with the UNH registrar and IT personnel
• Advises on standards of good practice and continuous improvements pertinent to CEA study abroad programs

The UNH-CEA Academic Review Protocols

Processes for assessing and evaluating CEA’s Global Campus programs under CEA’s School of Record agreement with the University of New Haven are described in the Academic Protocols to that agreement. Adopted as the operating basis for ensuring academic oversight through external assessment and evaluation, these protocols provide detailed baselines for reviewing curricula, faculty, academic administration, and on-site operations at CEA Global Campus locations. As an integral part of the School of Record Agreement, these protocols:

• Define the terms of each party’s respective obligations and academic governance
• Set minimum standards for course syllabi (contact time, instructional format, assessment, readings, depth and breadth of course topics, etc.)
• Create review processes and timetables for both course approvals and academic staff approvals
• Set minimum approval standards and processes for appointing Global Campus faculty
• Define minimum standards for instructional facilities
• Specify the inventory of self-assessment information CEA provides UNH in regular self-study reports
• Stipulate a calendar for on-site evaluations of Global Campus sites and their programs

For UNH transcripted programs, these protocols place the creation, implementation and evaluation of CEA’s study abroad programs under the control and oversight of the faculty and Provost of the University of New Haven.

Self-Study Reports and UNH Site Visits

The Academic Review Protocols also require regular on-site evaluations of all Global Campus academic and operational procedures by UNH faculty and senior administrators. Under the UNH-CEA site visit procedures stipulated in the Review Protocols, these on-site reviews by UNH faculty members are undertaken in a quasi-accreditation review format. Led by the UNH Provost or Associate Provost, three- to four-member teams are typically comprised of rotating UCFC faculty members. Since 2011, education professionals external to both CEA and UNH now join UNH site review teams.

To inform and structure of these visits, CEA and UNH agreed to use the Forum on Education Abroad Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad to determine the content of CEA’s self-study reports. Since 2011, CEA organizes its self-study reports according to the main-headings and sub-headings of the Forum Standards. These reports and corresponding annex documents are written and compiled by on-site CEA staff and are submitted to the UNH Associate Provost for review by the UCFC and the UNH evaluation team in advance of the site visit. These reports describe and document the local Global Campus operations.

Once on site, the UNH team conducts two- to three-day visits that include questions about the self-study report; class observations; meetings and interviews with faculty, students and administrators; a review of policies and procedures; visits to partner institutions; and facility and housing inspections. The UNH team writes a report of its findings, also articulated around the Forum nine Standards, and makes observations and recommendations for improvement. In turn, CEA responds to the UCFC evaluation team in written follow-up reports describing how CEA will implement improvements.

UNH faculty assessment teams have repeatedly attested to CEA’s good practice in education abroad.

UNH Site Visits and Reporting Record of CEA Global Campus Programs
Cycle	Global Campus	CEA Self Study Report	UNH Site Visit
2008	Rome	May 17, 2008	June 16-18, 2008
2008	Florence	May 17, 2008	June 18-20, 2008
2009	Paris	May 20, 2009	June 15-18, 2009
2010	Madrid	Feb 8, 2010	March 15-17, 2010
2010	Seville	Feb 12, 2010	March 17-19, 2010
2011	Barcelona	Sep 15, 2011	Nov 7-8, 2011

Providence College

Providence College serves as the school of record for the CEA/Providence College Center for Theology & Religious Studies in Rome, Italy. The CEA/Providence College Center for Theology and Religious Studies was established in 2010 at the CEA Global Campus in Rome. This unique collaboration combines CEA’s outstanding student admissions, academic management and support with Providence College’s distinguished academic leadership and religious tradition. The Center opens the door to semester-length study abroad opportunities to study theology and religion in the heart of Rome, a cultural and religious crossroads, and center of the Roman Catholic Church.

Providence College is a four-year, coeducational, Roman Catholic college of the liberal arts and sciences located in Providence, Rhode Island, and accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). Therefore, credits earned in these theology/religious studies courses are easily transferable to US-accredited institutions. Learn more about Providence College.

Recognized Standards of Good Practice at CEA

Other recognized standards of good practice also guide internal and external assessment processes at CEA Global Education. These include the Forum’s Standards of Good Practice for Short-Term Education Abroad Programs, the Forum’s Code of Ethics for Education Abroad, and NAFSA’s Statement of Ethical Principles on the role of ethics in international education. In support of experiential education and active learning pedagogy, we have become a Sustaining Member of the National Society for Experiential Education and train our faculty in the Eight Principles of Good Practice for all experiential learning activities. As a member of the Association of International Education Administrators and with academic staff memberships in the European Association for International Education, we remain committed to integrating best practices in international education into all aspects of creating, delivering and assessing our global portfolio of study abroad programs.

Continuous Improvement

The fundamental impulse behind CEA Global Education’s ongoing partnership with UNH as its School of Record is to institutionalize a system of principled evaluation and peer review that results in both quality assurance and quality improvement. The unique nature of this School of Record agreement, as well as the distinct yet integrated roles both contractual parties play, contributes to its success. It is a model of good practice, and U.S. universities and students are the primary beneficiaries: they are assured of the academic integrity of instruction and programming.

To request more information, contact your Regional Consultant or call 1-877-449-2775.