Global Gateway Program

The program begins with a required introductory workshop, providing a framework for developing global awareness and understanding intercultural relations. Participants will obtain conceptual tools to analyze cultural difference and engage in exercises that engage them in the practice of applying these tools.  The introductory workshop also reviews the program requirements and walks students through the e-portfolio system. The learning outcomes of this workshop are to:

• Establish an awareness of culture within a personal and comparative context.
• Demonstrate ability to apply multi-perspective analysis and epistemological awareness.

Academic and co-curricular activities in the Global Gateway Program rely upon and promote existing courses, programs and activities, with the goal of achieving these learning outcomes: 

• Synthesizes and integrates diverse methods of analysis to enhance understanding of global subjects .
• Examine global issues, processes, trends and systems.

Academic

Students must submit five academic artifacts that demonstrate learning outcome achievement. Academic artifacts include written, visual/media/art, and/or presentations created for university courses. Students must include course name, number and instructor for all academic artifacts, and are strongly encouraged to submit course syllabi. Students may draw from any relevant coursework to meet program requirements and are encouraged to submit artifacts from multiple disciplines. The program will provide guidance on how to apply a cultural lens in a range of academic courses, and how to identify courses that might be helpful in producing artifacts that meet program requirements.  

Many courses can lead to global inquiry, and a global perspective can be applied to any discipline.  The Global Gateway Program does not provide a list of required or recommended courses.  Rather, students are encouraged to look for courses that offer some of the following characteristics to help in producing artifacts to meet program requirements and achieve program learning outcomes.

1. Courses that have trans-national or intercultural dimensions, and contribute to the awareness of other peoples' worldviews and practices.
2. Courses devoted to various aspects of the process of globalization, and to the global interconnectedness of diverse peoples.
3. Courses that cover the pluralism of cultures and societies across the world, and thus raise awareness that one's own cultural assumptions are not universal, and that, globally speaking, everyone is both a local and a stranger.
4. Courses that cover conflict, prejudice, and ethnocentricity in relations between different groups, societies, ethnicities and cultures.
5. Courses that cover cases of peaceful encounters between distinct groups by means of mutual adaptations and by finding common ground.
6. Courses that cover cross-cultural transfers and cultural hybridity, such as those that take place by means of technology, mass media, or business.
7. Courses that deal with intercultural communication skills.

Co-Curricular

Students must attend five co-curricular events that have a strong global or intercultural focus, and write a short reflection paper to be included in their e-portfolio. At least two of these five events must be of academic or scholarly nature. The program will outline clear guidelines for eligible events and provide recommended programs, such as Atlas Week events, International Education Week events, lectures, and the SLU-Saint Louis International Film Festival partnership screenings. Students are also encouraged to participate in co-curricular University organizations, clubs or activities that have an international or intercultural focus, such as the International Ambassador Program, Global Brigades or Service Immersion Trips. Students can also participate in off-campus community programs. 

All Global Gateway Program students must participate in a program-approved service project equivalent to 40 contact hours. Students must provide verification from a supervisor at their service site and write a reflection on their service experience. Service learning courses can be used to meet this requirement.  Learning outcomes for the service are to:

• Practice global citizenship through service to better understand social justice.
• Develop and practice intercultural competence.

The program concludes with the submission by the student of their e-portfolio along with a capstone project reflecting the student's individual experience in the program. Students will complete a capstone project which could include any of the following:  Artifact, video, blog, multimedia journal, short film, action project, essay, collection of creative work, presentation.   The project provides a framework for reflection on program participation and asks students to synthesize learning related to the program learning outcomes. 

Student capstones will be assessed utilizing the full program rubric. In order to meet minimum program standards, the student's capstone must achieve an "Objective Minimally Met" or "Objective Met" for each of the six learning outcomes.