The border crossings program beginning at Ashland next fall will provide students with the opportunity to participate in a new global studies minor. It is a natural complement to many majors and offers the possibility of double dipping in requirement categories.

The global studies minor is a modification of the foreign studies minor listed in the 2011-2012 academic catalog.

“The title change isn’t just a matter of words – it reflects a new attitude on campus that the Global Perspective Strategies (GPS) program seeks to foster,” Dr. Lisa Bansen-Harp, assistant professor of foreign languages, said. “There is a huge difference between thinking of other languages and cultures as ‘foreign’ and seeing them as part of a global context that you belong to.”

Global studies requires a course in intercultural communication, a 300-level course in a foreign language, 6 hours of border crossing courses and several weeks of study abroad.

Border crossing courses will be available to students in fall 2012. They are currently being created in departments across campus to provide students with global perspectives on many different issues.

“I think there will be some interesting new options that will attract students and make completion of the minor more enticing,” Dr. William Cummins, associate professor of foreign languages, said.

In 2002, Global Education Director Rebecca Parillo and Professor of Foreign Languages Dr. Barbara Schmidt-Rinehart proposed the foreign studies minor with the hopes that more students would increase their global competency.

“I dreamed about a student who would graduate from Ashland University with a special designation,” Schmidt-Rinehart said. “A student who could draw from all of our foreign language tracks would be an excellent candidate for any job.”

Participating in the global studies minor prepares students for the increasingly competitive global market. Regardless of the career students are pursuing, a global studies minor can help to secure a job upon graduation. Business relationships are formed through common experiences and shared languages. Prospective employers will view candidates who speak a second language as a connection to new clients or customers.

Bansen-Harp noted that Ohio’s largest foreign trading partner is the French-speaking part of Canada, and its second largest trading partner is Mexico. This evidence suggests that a global studies minor is not just for students who want to work abroad. Visiting job-listing sights will demonstrate the demand for Ohio employees who are proficient in a second language and who have pertinent knowledge of other cultures.

“One of our institutional graduation requirements that distinguishes us from other institutions is our new GPS program,” Dr. Jennifer Rathbun, associate professor of foreign languages, said. “All Ashland students get to choose an exciting path to becoming global citizens – they can study abroad, take a foreign language or cross borders in our core.”

The GPS university graduation requirement will be unveiled to the incoming freshman, class of 2012. However, the global studies minor is already available for current students who have room to take extra classes before graduation.

The AU Career Center said that communication skills are number one on employers’ lists when they are looking for new hires. Coincidently, employers report that communication skills are the area they find most lacking in new employees. Ashland currently offers full programs in French and Spanish. Elementary level Portuguese and Chinese will soon be added to the curriculum.

Consider immersing yourself in one of the languages Ashland offers. There is a potential to set yourself above the rest.