VE/COIL Clinic: Scaling & Sustaining VE/COIL Through Faculty Development & Institutional Infrastructure

Overview

Virtual exchange/collaborative online international learning (VE/COIL) initiatives often begin with individual faculty partnerships, but sustained institutional growth requires more than increasing the number of collaborations. Institutions need systems that can recruit and prepare faculty, support partnership development, coordinate responsibilities across units, preserve knowledge as personnel change, recognize and incentivize participation, and use evidence to strengthen quality over time.

This three-week online AAC&U VE/COIL Clinic helps participants examine the institutional ecosystem required to move from isolated activity toward durable capacity. Through applied tools, examples, guided planning, and peer exchange, participants explore faculty development and train-the-trainer models; staffing, leadership, and ownership; partnership and technology support; incentives and recognition; assessment and quality assurance; and the workflows that connect these functions across the institution. Participants identify where their current infrastructure is strong, where gaps or dependencies remain, and what practical changes can support sustainable growth without relying on a small number of individual champions.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the clinic, participants will be able to

• assess institutional capacity across faculty development, staffing, partnership support, technology, incentives, assessment, and governance to identify strengths, gaps, and dependencies;

• design or strengthen faculty development approaches that prepare, support, and connect educators engaged in VE/COIL; and
• develop practical structures, roles, and workflows that support the coordination, continuity, and sustainable growth of VE/COIL.

Who Should Participate

This clinic is designed for international education professionals, teaching and learning staff, instructional designers, faculty leaders, administrators, and others responsible for coordinating or expanding VE/COIL across programs or institutions.

It is particularly relevant for participants moving beyond individual collaborations or faculty champions and seeking practical approaches to faculty development, coordination, and institutional capacity-building.