Developing global leadership competencies through virtual exchange

In this increasingly globally networked world, it is extremely important for students to develop the global competencies they will need in their workplaces. Higher education institutions have often looked to study abroad programs to help their students develop these competencies, but less than 2% of students are able to participate in traditional study abroad experiences. People of color, first generation college students and students from lower socio-economic categories are extremely underrepresented in these numbers. Virtual international exchange creates an opportunity for more students to have international learning experiences and develop the global competencies they need. With the support of the US Embassy in Santo Domingo, SUNY Empire State College in Saratoga Springs, NY and Universidad APEC in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic undertook a project to promote virtual exchange activities for students at the two institutions. The primary goal was to develop the global competencies of students in the Dominican Republic and the United States through interaction using virtual exchange activities. These included asynchronous discussion forums, synchronous virtual meetings, presentations by experts from both countries, shared learning materials, and a team project with students from both countries working together. In the project’s first phase, 307 students and 32 faculty and staff benefited; 238 students and 12 faculty in the second. As part of the project, the students participated in three structured instances to help analyze the results and impact of the virtual exchange activities: a pre- and post- exchange thermometer gauging how students felt about people from the other country before and after the exchange activities; a post-exchange quantitative survey; and a qualitative analysis of the student final reflection essays. In all three instances, the number of responses was less than what would be required for statistical validity, but the results give us indicators of the impact of the virtual exchange activities.