Overview of USINTEC

USINTEC is a consortium of 15 top-ranking state universities in the U.S. and Indonesia and a Southeast Asian regional center for open and distance learning. Broadly stated, the USINTEC goal is to improve Indonesian education, teacher preparation, and teacher quality.

USINTEC was formally established as a bi-national higher education consortium in 2006 after nearly a year of collaborative planning among member institutions. Its agenda is based on national priorities in Indonesia and the United States and on institutional needs identified by faculty, staff, and top-level administrators. The consortium is guided by a Memorandum of Understanding signed by chief academic/executive officers, education deans, and USINTEC Institutional Directors at member institutions. USINTEC is an outgrowth of relationships developed over two decades between The Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology and teacher education institutions across Indonesia.

Scope of Work

The USINTEC scope of work includes collaboration in the following areas:

• Indonesian undergraduate programs to certify teachers and
• Dual and/or joint U.S./Indonesia graduate degree programs in early childhood, elementary, secondary, and technical/vocational teacher education
• U.S. graduate degree programs for Indonesian junior faculty
• ICT infrastructure development and utilization
• Virtual library
• Collaborative research on teacher pedagogies, teacher quality, and student learning
• U.S. sandwich programs for Indonesian students and short-term professional development programs for Indonesian faculty in all fields of education
• University English language center enhancement
• Dissemination of collaborative efforts

Overview of ATQ

ATQ is a public-private development partnership established by USINTEC to secure and leverage funding for quality comprehensive international teacher education collaboration. The relationship between USINTEC and ATQ can be characterized as follows:

• USINTEC is the professional arm situated in higher education and the lead member of ATQ
• ATQ is the mechanism for building broad based public and private sector commitment to quality teachers and education in Indonesia

As the lead and managing member of ATQ, USINTEC is seeking public and private financial commitments in the U.S. and Indonesia from foundations, corporations, philanthropists, regional and international development organizations, and government agencies to support the USINTEC scope of work. In March of 2008, USINTEC member institutions pledged the first $1 million in cash and in-kind contributions to be made over five years.

USINTEC is presently seeking scholarship monies for Indonesian students who will enroll in dual master's degree programs. The dual degree students will take coursework in both countries and receive two master's degrees, one from Ohio State University, Indiana University, or the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the other from an Indonesian USINTEC member university.

USINTEC and ATQ Endorsements

USINTEC and ATQ are endorsed by the Indonesia Ministry of National Education (MONE) units responsible for national level policy planning in:

• Higher Education (DGHE)
• Quality Improvement of Teachers and Educational Personnel (DGQITEP)
• Primary and Secondary School Management (DGPSM)

USINTEC and ATQ are also endorsed by the United States-Indonesia Society (USINDO), a major non-governmental organization in Washington D.C. that promotes U.S.-Indonesia government relations.

Expected Outcomes

USINTEC will result in increased institutional capacity in Indonesia to address key development issues, design new programs to certify teachers, and bring about systemic change in teacher education. The consortium will establish an international community of teacher preparation universities and sustain their relationships with each other through joint graduate programs, collaborative research, development and utilization of ICT, and a virtual library. U.S. scholars will benefit by testing pedagogical practices and research conclusions developed in the U.S. against the different socio-cultural, educational, and political contexts of Indonesia. Indonesian scholars will benefit from greater access to resources and scholars outside Indonesia. USINTEC will promote the global engagement of U.S. and Indonesian faculty and graduate students and enlarge their perspectives of the unique and collective challenges they face in preparing quality teachers. Ultimately, USINTEC and ATQ will support Indonesia's efforts to build democracy and compete globally by producing a more highly qualified teacher workforce.

Rankings

The three U.S. USINTEC universities, Ohio State University (Ohio State), Indiana University (IU), and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), are ranked in the top tier of research universities in the U.S. by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Several Ohio State, IU, and UICU graduate programs in education are ranked in the Top 10 in the United States in the U.S. News and World Report 2011 Edition of America’s Best Graduate Schools. The publication ranks 278 public and private universities nationwide which grant doctoral degrees in education. Those programs ranked in the Top 10 include: elementary teacher education, secondary teacher education, curriculum and instruction, technical/vocational education, education administration and supervision, higher education administration, student counseling and personnel services, special education, and educational psychology.
http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-education-schools