Category: News

MIIS news

Website for Structural Change

In an effort to increase communication, collaboration and transparency, we have created a website to hold all the resources for the structural change and planning process here at MIIS.  The website includes the videos made by the students, the memos to the community, the strategic planning process (including the student group findings in 2006), Monterey Way 2.0, a schedule for upcoming meetings/events, and an FAQ section.

There is also an area for “items to be considered”, which will continue to grow as working groups identify key areas to focus on in the planning process and these areas will be tracked for progress.

This website is a work in progress and can only continue to grow with your help.  Please coordinate any work groups  with Lynn McDonald (lynn.mcdonald@miis.edu or ext. 4633) so she can continue to best represent this process online and keep the communication lines open.

This is an opportunity for real exciting change – let’s keep communication open and work together on this large task for the upcoming year!

http://sites.google.com/site/montereyinstituteorg/

International Policy Studies Curriculum Revised

On September 22, Dean Ed Laurance announced the first major curriculum revision for international policy programs since 2001. There will be three international policy degrees:

MA in International Policy Studies (MAIPS)
MA in International Environmental Policy (MAIEP)
MPA in International Management (MPA/IM)

The MA in International Trade Policy has been integrated into the MAIPS as one of three tracks: International Trade, International Development and International Security.

Other key features of the new curriculum are: optional focus areas within each track, individualized study plans, a portfolio process that demonstrates the acquisition of core competencies, and an exit evaluation.

Based on a year long review, this streamlining of policy programs is not directly related to the reorganization at the school level announced a week ago, but is consistent with the aims of the reorganization. Laurance notes, “The addition of the MBA program to the MAIEP, MPA and the three tracks of the MAIPS will only further the direction of these changes in the [IPS] curriculum, creating even more opportunities for the student to shape his/her program into one that creates the optimum opportunity for job placement upon graduation.”

Read the full text of the curriculum revision announcement.

J-term@MIIS

Winter Term, which many call J-Term for short, will run from January 5-30, 2009. We have extended its length this year to four weeks to offer more courses needing additional time, as well as to provide extended time for off-campus activities.  J-Term is considered part of our Spring Term, so students may receive financial aid and/or use their comprehensive tuition fee to cover the tuition cost of these opportunities.

J-Term is designed to offer both students and members of our faculty unique opportunities for intensive, often immersive, study and learning that reflects and reinforces our commitment to immersive, higher order, and/or and open architecture learning.  Thus, students may study at the Institute or away from it, independently or as participants in a course; they may also find opportunities for short term internships, group activities, and field trips abroad or locally.  The goal is to provide students with innovative and diverse educational opportunities beyond what can be offered during our regular fall and spring terms.

For more information about what courses and activities are being offered during J-Term this academic year, please contact the deans.

Revised MIIS website

The Monterey Institute has a bit of a new look.  Anne Marie Steiger and Lynn McDonald have been working over the summer on making our website easier to navigate and a better experience for our prospective students.  This should be visually more pleasing but there have also been some changes made to help our web users find what they are looking for faster.

Main Changes:

New homepage design:

  • A flash file of revolving pictures with the five curricular focus areas of the Monterey Way 2.0 highlighted
  • Academics – where you can find everything to do with academics – faculty, library, calendar, course descriptions, Moodle, TLC, DMC, ect
  • Offices and Services – A place to find links to all the offices and services on campus, links go to homepages or just pages with contact information (please contact Anne Marie if you’d like your office to have its own page or be added to this list)
  • Language Programs & Language Teacher Education – these were once one button but now the degree programs have been separated from the language programs so that their site is easier to navigate and our language programs highlighted
  • Explore – this section is a place where we can highlight exciting things on our website.  These will change so start to build up your website and send Lynn McDonald an email if you’d like to be highlighted in the explore section.  We hope to showcase departments that are truly doing exciting things online.
  • Quick Links – some common links that people just need quickly like emergency contacts, directions, ESL, events
  • What’s New – A place to put news but also a place to highlight new programs or interesting events.  This should change regularly so please contact Lynn McDonald with any “What’s New” items.
  • Be The Solution – Our great new tagline!
  • Online Directory, site map and banner web can now be found in the footer.

Admissions:

  • New Organization – Six easy to navigate categories
  • Language Requirements – All the information on languages in the graduate programs can now be found here, rather than each school having its own language information.
  • Student Life – a section for the student voice to be highlighted.  This section will hopefully soon include more digital media

If you see any mistakes in the website, PLEASE let your departmental web editor know.  There are bound to be some mistakes so we’d love to take care of them quickly.  Also, double check any URLs that you send out in mass emails or letters – they may have changed with this re-organization.

Lynn and Anne Marie will soon be offering a web training for anyone who writes for the web (including workstudy students).  Please stay tuned for more information.

Yu, Ramaswamy, Announce Administrative Reorganization

You should all have received today’s memo from President Clara Yu and President-designate Sunder Ramaswamy, outlining organizational changes designed to facilitate the Institute’s pursuit of academic excellence.

If you would like to have more information, several options have been made available for members of the community to address questions to Clara and Sunder.

  1. Attend the faculty and staff town meeting on September 18 (12:15-1:45 in Irvine).
  2. Submit a question to the question box located near the library circulation desk.
  3. E-mail a question to Clara’s official mailbox.
  4. Comment on this bog post.

Your engagement, as we move forward, is of the greatest importance!

Walking a Mile in Clara’s Golf Shoes

In a recent blog post, Golf Digest editor Bob Carney agreed with Clara Yu on the issue of a language requirement for LPGA members (now withdrawn after much public denunciation). He said, “Being an old Peace Corps volunteer myself and a supporter of golf in the Olympics…I liked this letter from Clara Yu, president of the Monterey Institute of International Studies, where they teach lots of languages.” He then includes the full text of Clara’s letter, which both reflects on the LPGA’s position and offers a constructive solution: custom language learning for golfers delivered by the Monterey Institute.

Regardless of whether the LPGA takes us up on our offer, the whole world now knows how we think about languages: … “in this world, whether walking 18 holes, or walking up to a lectern at the United Nations, isn’t speaking another language a worthwhile skill to possess?”

Middlebury News and Events also covered this story.

Welcome to MIIS@work

As we work to build a cohesive community of professionals collaborating to achieve common goals, effective communication to and among faculty and staff is an indispensible ingredient for success.

This summer, Beth McDermott and Amy McGill convened a focus group of MIIS employees to learn more about how people perceive communications on campus, and how communications might be improved.

MIIS@work* grew out of that conversation.

Because we know that most MIIS employees are too busy to check a blog for news on a regular basis, we plan to email all faculty and staff a linked list of the latest stories once a week.

The blog also includes a list of links to online resources useful to MIIS employees, including the blogs published by student services and the library.

Because we learned from the focus group that there is a strong need for more information about Middlebury, and its evolving relationship with MIIS, we have included links to several Middlebury blogs, including those of the president and provost.

Communication, though, is more than just information transmission.  We need to hear your voices.  Anyone is welcome to become a contributor. Your contributions don’t all have to be traditional “news items.”  Do you have ideas about how we can strengthen the Institute and make it a more vibrant and innovative place to work?  Is there a special person or achievement you would like us all to celebrate? Your colleagues want to hear your stories!

If you want to learn how to post directly to the blog, just let us know.  If you would rather email your contributions to Amy , she’ll make sure they get posted.  You can comment on any existing post by clicking the “comments” link below the title of the post.

* Thanks to Devin Lueddeke for naming our blog!