The Wisconsin in Scotland Program and The Jewel and Esk College

As I wrote in earlier posts, my work here in Scotland is three fold. I am teaching classes here in Scotland for the Wisconsin in Scotland Program, teaching online classes back to WITC students, and investigating possible connections for WITC to become an official participant in the Wisconsin in Scotland program in the very near future.  The following is an up date on that work.

The Wisconsin in Scotland Program - www.uwrf.edu/WisconsinInScotland

The program, now in its 26th year, just had its 25 year reunion.

Although the program is open to most UW-system students (both two year and four year campuses)the current colleges that are official members of the group currently include:

• UW-River Falls
• UW-Stout
• UW-Whitewater
• Normandale Community College
• UW-Oshkosh
• UW-Platteville

The program is set up for fall, spring, and summer programming. The fee for either Fall Semester 2010 or Spring Semester 2011 remains at $7,495.  The WIS fee for either semester program includes tuition for a full load of credits (12), shared rooms, meals (15 per week) while school is in session, ground transportation between the airport and Dalkeith House, bus pass, CISI insurance and official field trips.

The WIS program fee for Summer 2011 is estimated to be $4,995.  The WIS fee for summer session includes tuition, shared room, meals (continental breakfast every day and lunch four days per week) while school is in session, ground transportation between the airport and Dalkeith House, bus pass, CISI insurance and official field trips. These prices are roughtly what the student would pay for a regular semester of course, room, and board.

The program fee is for Wisconsin residents only; out-of-state students are responsible for their additional tuition.  Items not covered in base fees are: airfare, passport fees, damage and work deposits, required textbooks, campus program fee, supplementary textbooks and supplies, special class fees and/or other personal expenses. - (the above is from the UW-River Falls Program Website and prices are subject to change).

As an instructor in the program, my experience has been very good to date. The administration of the program, based on the River Falls campus, has provided me with all of the information Denise and I have needed to be well prepared for the experience. From communicating text-book selections to my students to providing me with the proper paperwork to get through customs on a temporary work visa, to suggesting what to bring in my suitcase, the staff have been right there with all the needful items and answers. They've been doing this for a while and have previously seen the unforeseen, which helps a great deal.

Another very encouraging aspect of the program is its flexibility, which I think will be an important factor for our WITC students' possibilities for travel abroad.  The program's 2011 has hosted many groups including 65 students who were here for the regular Spring semester, 14 students in the Summer term, and there are 26 here for the Fall.  Additionally, and interestingly to me, many groups came for special topics that were set up by faculty who used the house as a base for 1 to 3 weeks at a time to study:

- Photography
- Econ and History
- Retail (Alex and Renelle!)
- Multi-Cultural Education
- Continuing Education Courses
- Art
- Theatre

The 8 Art students from River Falls were here when we got here, and there are 8 theatre students from the UW-Superior campus here right now for two weeks.  In talking with the instructor who set up the theatre study, it seems that he 'came up' with a plan, presented it, and the staff here and at River Falls helped him to make it happen.

Groups can be bigger too. They had a group of 70 come from Southern Mississippi University who used the house as a base for five days this summer. Another group set up Internships for their students and used the house as a base to transition those students into their positions.

All of these activities and programs, of which I have only provided minor details, have happened just this year. It appears this program can really crank "it" out; we simply need to figure out what "it" is.

For now, I am looking forward to doing my best to help the program help the students in this Fall term to get the most out of their experience here. In addition to helping them to become better writers and speakers, I hope to help them to grow as individuals who hold a more confident, and worldly attitude when they are done. The life-changing aspect of travel abroad is most intriguing. I am anxious to encourage these young people to understand what Mark Twain meant when he wrote:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."


My Online Classes

The classes I am teaching online this semester are Written Communications and Applied Communications.

In the morning, as you who know me are aware, I like to get up early and have a coffee. I will turn the computer on, check my email and read the paper. The light jacket and hat stay on for a while in the morning here, as there is a damp chill in the palace - better than too hot by a long shot!

As I gain my senses, I will go to my online classes and check to see who has turned in assignments, and read any postings or questions on the Discussion Board.

Clued into where the class is, I respond to questions, try to clear up any missing information or misunderstandings with directions, and be sure the upcoming assignments are ready.

Finally, I get down to business and start reading and grading papers.

What?  - Isn't this how you look when you're grading papers online?



Jewel and Esk College as a Possible Connection - http://www.jec.ac.uk/

Their current marketing motto/catch phrase: "A great place to go.   Far." (I like it.)

My main focus in making connections here in Scotland has, thus far, been with the Jewel and Esk College. There are two campuses, one in Edinburgh (take the 49 to Cameron Toll to catch the 44 over to the campus - roughly, a 30 minute bus ride), the other is here in Dalkieth (a 15 minute walk or a 6 min ride on the 49).  I was able to take a tour of the Edinburgh campus with Tamlyn Junner, one of their International Education coordinators. This campus was pretty active becuase it is also the administrative head quarters.

However, my appointments with instructors at the Midlothian (the local name for this general area just outside the Edinburgh city limits) campus will not be until after their semester starts.  The instructors are either not back from summer yet, or are too busy getting ready for the coming semester to meet right now.  I have meetings set up for the 22nd and the 30th of Sept. Together the campuses serve 7-9,000 students each year.

On my visit to the Edinburgh campus -



This is Bolsem Hall, the main building. It was designed to look like a ship, as the building's original function was as a Maritime training school.



"The Club" the newest addition to the college.



On-site Student Housing - Room for about 100 students


In the first building are the traditional classrooms, administration offices, library, and the "Creative Industries" wing. In this program students learn television, theatre, movie, and music industry recording and production skills on the most modern equipment available. The college, student groups, and the public use the facility and the student's skills, guided by their instructors, to create finished productions.

The second building "The Club" contains the student cafeteria, The Salon, The Spa, and the Professional Cookery that runs the eh15, a fancy restaurant open to the public for lunch and dinner.  These are all functioning businesses in modern facilities that the students run as actual businesses, open to the public, to learn: Business Management, Hospitality, Hair and Beauty, Exercise and Fitness, and Tourism programs.  The importance of hands-on learning is definitely practiced here.

The third building, the student housing, has double and single occupancy rooms available for rent.  However, like most students at WITC, the majority of those enrolled here commute each day from home.

The Midlothian Campus in Dalkeith, which has the same look as "The Club" with it's brown corregated steel exterior, houses more of the trades including programs that fall under the following headings:

• Engineering and Renewables
• Electrical Engineering
• Automotive Engineering
• Measurement and Control Engineering
• Plumbing & Gas
• Carpentry & Joinery
• Care & Community Work
• ESOL & Business English

..and more.

The general feel of the college setting at both campuses have reminded me a lot of being back at WITC. It was evident that there is a group of people here dedicated to providing a quality education in a given trade or industry to students in order to properly prepare them for the work force.

Scotland has an unemployment problem, like most places now, and there appears to be a fair amount of government programming available to those who are looking for work.  Much of any student's cost for education can be covered, it seems, by doing the proper paper work. Additionally, there are agencies scattered through-out the city that are open to walk-in's who are out of work.

One more significant point to make, on this now too lengthy, posting is that there is a proposal in play to connect the Jewel and Esk College with Stephenson College.  Stephenson College is a larger, historically city-centered, technical college.  The combination of the two colleges would bring its enrollment numbers to 20,000 students. 

A significant factor in this pending merger is that Stephenson College is currently using the model system for international education. You see, schools must apply to the government for certification to host international programming. The new, official certification process has used Stephenson college's current practices as the model to follow.  Joining with Stephenson will help Jewel and Esk improve their international education program. Should the two colleges combine, it will happen within the 2011-2012 year, and the combined colleges will create one, new name.  Stay tuned.

There is more I would include here, but I will wait for another posting. As you can tell, I am optimistic about international education and the possibilities that lie in store for our deserving students.  I will be welcoming our fall students in this afternoon - we'll see what happens next.

Thanks for your continued interest.