2025 Next-Generation Strategy Development Challenge

Scenario

Brightheart College (BC) is a small liberal arts college outside a large urban center. The BC Global Engagement Office (GEO) team has staff and faculty representing all facets of international education (all 5 NAFSA knowledge communities). [Participants will act as the GEO team for the challenge.]

GEO’s commitment to facilitate global learning and comprehensive internationalization across the BC community is generally well-received by campus leadership, as there is an appreciation for the positive impact that global engagement has on students, faculty, staff, and the campus at large.

GEO is resourced adequately for its current level of operations, with ongoing conversations to consider new sources of funding, staffing responsibilities, and strategic program development. Growth strategies tend to focus on marginal increases, leveraging relationships with campus partners, learning from the examples of various institutional administrators at other universities, and so on.

BC’s Board of Trustees has completed a review of university priorities, and identified internationalization as a strength with noted areas for development. The Provost has charged GEO with designing a new five-year strategy (2025-30) to include:

• Diversifying global engagement options
• Technology to improve communication and services
• Increasing mobility rates
• Improving student satisfaction
• Increasing staff focus on the broader strategy
• Increasing partnership engagement
• Assessing the impact of programs and initiatives

Team Task: 10-minute Group Presentation to the Board

Teams will present strategic ideas in a 10-minute presentation to the Board, highlighting current GEO programs and services as well as proposing 2-3 recommendations for new initiatives to advance the stated goals and contribute to wider institutional strategies for comprehensive internationalization and global learning. Consider:

• Perspectives that span the multiple domains of international education—education abroad, leadership, recruitment and enrollment, international student and scholar services, research, and teaching and learning
• Detailed protocol (timelines, indicators, metrics, etc) to meet the stated goals and determine success
• Any programmatic or institutional partnerships (e.g., with other campus units, off-campus, international, other universities, etc.)
• Clear investment and budget requests for financial and human resources (including potential additional sources of funding for existing or new initiatives)

Teams should consider what information will best serve to make the case and gain support from the Board.

Read the full scenario.