a case study in education abroad
Scaling the Heights of des Alpes: Managing from Afar
Facing the challenges of managing from afar, program popularity contests, and the rehabilitation of a jaded champion
Elizabeth was just getting ready to call it a day and head for home when the phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID screen, she frowned—Pierre Maubrey, the study abroad contact at Université des Alpes. Late for him to call; would be almost midnight in Switzerland. She knew she could duck the call—it was almost six and the official office closing time was 5:00pm. Pierre would leave a message and she could listen to it in the morning to find out what was on his mind.
Elizabeth McFarlin is Director of International Programs at Plainview University, a large private university in an industrial, Midwestern state. Although ranked as a Research University in the Carnegie Classification, Plainview is committed to high quality undergraduate education and known for its top-notch study abroad programs which draw students from many other U.S. institutions. Plainview’s program at Université des Alpes in Briebourg, Switzerland is one of its oldest and most prestigious programs. Started in 1965 as a French language and literature program for students seeking an alternative to studying in France, the program had in the eighties branched out to include area studies, government, politics, economics, and business, with a focus on the European Union. Briebourg is a small city in the heart of cheese country, close enough to Geneva for frequent field trips to EU institutions.
Better get it, she thought. If he’s calling at this hour it could be a serious student problem. She caught it just before the answering machine picked up. “Hello Pierre; is there a problem?” “Ah, Alo Elizabeth. No; no emergency. I was working late and was hoping to reach you before you left for home. It is just something that has been on my mind and was bothering me tonight. It is about Tony. I am afraid he is, how do you say?, extinguished.” Although her heart was sinking, Elizabeth couldn’t resist a laugh. “No, Pierre; not extinguished, burned out. But I know what you mean, I’ve been worrying about Tony myself lately.”
A leader loses direction
Tony Castigli, a tenured Professor of French, had been the Resident Director at des Alpes for 12 years and had contributed much to the development of the program. To the distress of some of his colleagues in the French department, he had seen the wisdom of expanding the offerings to include social sciences when the program grew in the eighties and nineties. Des Alpes had become the jewel in Plainview’s crown, drawing up to 30 students every fall and usually about 45 in the spring. He had superb relations with the host institution, an unswerving commitment to excellence and academic rigor, and, until recently, was well-liked by participants. Elizabeth liked and respected Tony and they got along well. But recently, there had been problems. Student evaluations of Tony characterized him as aloof, unfriendly, uncaring, and disconnected.
“I can give you one example,” said Pierre. “Tonight when I was reading Elaine Moody’s paper, I remembered an incident back at the beginning of the session. Elaine came to me almost crying to say she had asked Tony for help but with no good results. It seems her host mother had criticized her for using too many towels, and instead of listening to her and advising her on Swiss ways, Tony had given her a lecture about how spoiled Americans are. It may seem a small thing, but this is not like the Tony who came here years ago. This is what made me start thinking about the problem—and there have been other cases as well.”
Elizabeth thanked Pierre for the call and promised to think about the situation.
Old standards—in a new landscape
As she merged her hybrid car—a 2006 Toyota Prius—into the heavier-than-usual freeway traffic, Elizabeth reviewed the other recent conversations she’d had about Tony. Not long ago, two sending school representatives had called and expressed concern about Tony’s recent handling of student cases. Everybody agreed that students are needier and seem to require greater supervision than they used to, yet resent it at the same time. But the sending school representatives viewed this as a fact of life that must be dealt with, not as an excuse, and observed that des Alpes wasn’t functioning as effectively as it used to.
In addition, the student evaluations for the program hadn’t given Tony very high marks in recent semesters. Students were still praising the program and saying it was one of the very best life experiences they’d had. Many noted that the courses were very challenging and sometimes didn’t leave enough free time for the extra-curricular activities that they wanted to engage in. Curiously, though, these comments were seldom really negative. They seemed to be offered more in the spirit of alerting future participants that they’d better be prepared to work hard. When it came to Tony, though, the comments were not only negative, they were harsh.
When she got home, Elizabeth opened her laptop, selected a Verdi to listen to, and poured herself a glass of Santa Margarita. Time to relax. More out of habit than anything else, she checked her e-mail. Nothing that couldn’t wait. Still the Tony Castigli problem weighed on her mind. What to do? Training? She thought about programs offered by the major associations. These were really designed for much younger people. Would Tony even agree to go to one of those workshops? She wondered if there was any chatter about Tony online. Opening her search engine she typed in “Plainview Alpes.” Bingo, there was a post a couple of days old from Susan Pierce, a current participant on the program. Susie wasn’t the brightest or most academically-oriented student who had ever gone on a Plainview program, but she was someone that other students listened to. Elizabeth clicked open the post.
“Today rates 
. The Castigator was on my case again. It seems now he doesn’t like how I spend my leisure time. So he’s like “you shouldn’t stay out so late; you shouldn’t drink so much; you shouldn’t wear those short shorts; you should pattern your behavior after what the local students do,” and I’m like “Yeah, you probably think all these Swiss women are as pure as the do re mi lady that sang in the hills with all those little kids—Mary Poppins or whatever her name was.” Really, the man is soooo clueless. I don’t know why they just don’t fire him and get somebody decent like the woman that runs the St. Mark’s program. Well enough of this negativity. A bientoe everybody, Suzette des Alps.”
Elizabeth guessed that searching the blogs maybe hadn’t been such a good idea after all. The reference to the St. Mark’s program was particularly disturbing. Three years earlier, St. Mark’s College, not the most academically challenging place in the country, had hit the study abroad scene with a big splash, establishing programs in at least half a dozen places where Plainview had been operating for years. The St. Mark’s game plan seemed to be to cater to students who were out for a good time—their programs weren’t at all integrated and she’d heard that the courses were pretty easy. The St. Mark’s program at des Alpes was $500.00 cheaper than the Plainview program and the Director was a much younger person who seemed to get along very well with students. Most of Elizabeth’s colleagues at good schools were reluctant to approve St. Mark’s for all the right reasons, but study abroad advisors did frequently make comparisons that were not favorable to the Plainview program or to Tony. Students frequently requested the St. Mark’s option and it was getting harder to say no.
Idle grumbling—or a call for help?
Elizabeth’s mind wandered back to the visit she had made to the des Alpes program last spring. After a short meeting with Pierre and the Rector, and the obligatory lunch with students, she and Tony had hiked up to the café in the upper village for a Cinzano. At 55, Tony was ten years her senior, but he could handle the altitude better than she could and she’d had to take several breaks on the way up to catch her breath. At the Lac du Bois overlook, she and Tony had compared notes about how the program was going. “The kids today just don’t seem to have the right attitude,” Tony had complained. “I remember the students we used to enroll when we first started this program—they really got into both the language and the literature. And they seemed to adjust better to the culture too.” “Yes,” she had answered, “Socrates had the same complaint about youth in his day.” Tony had not been amused. “I see this as a real problem, and I’m not sure the faculty and administration back at Plainview are really addressing it. My program is one of the best Plainview has to offer, and I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that it couldn’t succeed without my leadership and the relationships that I’ve cultivated with des Alpes over the years.”
Partially, Elizabeth did agree that the current generation of college students approached things differently. But she was more inclined to accept them for who they are and view the differences as part of the challenge for Resident Directors. She just wasn’t sure Tony was still up to it. For him, changing with the times and lowering standards seemed to mean the same thing. The problem was that, recently, he seemed not to have any interest in students as individuals. And the way he referred to the program as “my program” was annoying. Sure, Tony had contributed enormously to the success of the program, especially in the beginning, but nobody is irreplaceable.
As the last beautiful chords of Gloria were fading, Elizabeth finished her wine and decided to put Tony and the world of work out of her mind for the rest of the evening.
Weighing the options
The next day, Elizabeth took some time to review everything that she had heard and read. She had several options, but none of them seemed to be right on the mark. Of course, she could fire Tony. But what would he do then? The French department wouldn’t want him back, although technically he was entitled to return. She knew the Provost would not be pleased to have this problem dumped on his desk. Elizabeth had recently taken a business seminar on best personnel practices and had many occasions to reflect on the differences between the business world and academia.
First of all, in most settings, Tony never would have been hired for the job without some training. He would have also had frequent feedback on his performance, and in the “real world,” he never would have been allowed to continue in a post at which he was no longer performing well. But the academic setting is another kettle of fish altogether. Even beginning Assistant Professors rarely get any training for the teaching and other work they are about to undertake, and firing somebody, especially somebody with tenure, was next to impossible, unless they had committed serious crimes.
She could try talking some sense into Tony, but really, she’d already tried that. Hire a younger assistant for Tony? Somebody who could relate better to the students? The budget didn’t seem to warrant two people—not unless they could increase enrollments. Then there was the possibility of a training workshop—an option she’d more or less dismissed the previous day.
Elizabeth lamented the lack of more business-like planning procedures. Each program should really have a formal business plan, and a succession plan. In her seminar, she had learned something about how this kind of planning is done in many companies and, although she knew it would be resisted by many of her Plainview colleagues, Elizabeth promised herself that she would begin the process. But first, she needed to resolve the immediate problem. She knew she had to reach a conclusion about this program in the next few days in order to get something going for the next academic year.
- What should Elizabeth do to get the des Alpes program back on track?
- Should she fire Tony?
- What other alternatives do you see?
- How would you change the des Alpes program to respond to the St. Mark’s challenge?
COMMENTARY: Missing the Forest for the Trees
Michael D. Maginn, Ed.D.
Singularity Group, Inc.
Hamilton, MA
Let’s go inside Elizabeth’s mental processes for a moment and view the world as she sees it. From her condominium overlooking the gentle rolling hills of the Midwest, Elizabeth thinks Tony Castigli has had his day. Tony, le grand professeur, has lost his perspective. His students think he is harsh, his evaluations are down, he is mocked on the internet—“the Castigator”—, two sending school representatives complained about how he handled some cases; Pierre, the “contact” at des Alpes, is reporting that Tony’s lamp has gone out. Even more troubling, St. Mark’s, the market- savvy competitor, has gained ground and is positioned to intrude on des Alpes’ longstanding status as the premier study abroad program. Elizabeth has a very public and strategically vexing problem in Tony. Because of him, des Alpes’ standing is in jeopardy.
Let’s add to that something darker and unspoken, something politically incorrect that even Elizabeth might not acknowledge, but which she can and will use to confirm and even justify her diagnosis. Tony is a dinosaur. While age may be a forbidden classification, Tony’s perspectives are downright curmudgeonly. As a professional, Tony is cranky, backward-looking, self-satisfied, and resting on his laurels. His age makes him different, detached from the students, and both socially and temporally remote. Des Alpes needs an energetic, entrepreneurial leader to carry the program’s strengths forward in a way that will appeal to today’s study abroad students.
So, having squarely nailed the problem as Tony, Elizabeth might see herself faced with only three alternatives—each more troubling than the last:
Choice One: The Makeover. Elizabeth can persuade Tony to get himself back on track, lay out a plan to get back in the good graces of all concerned. The makeover could include weekly check-in calls with Plainview, the development of a new aspect of the program—like excursions, history tours, or the study of winter sports—that would get Tony closer to the students. Tony would know that the program administrators would be paying close attention to student evaluations. Elizabeth would try to get Tony to perform; it is the least she could do. In effect, she is going to put Tony on a very short leash and watch him closely.
Choice Two: Send Help. With some creative accounting in next year’s budget, Elizabeth might be able to afford an assistant or two to give Tony a hand. A couple of freshly minted Ph.D.s who could mind the store, run the details, be another face to the students, and work with a master teacher might be the right combination. Tony can be a mentor. In a worst-case version of that scenario, Tony might be a figurehead for the duration of his career at des Alpes, ultimately helping the new staff get on board for a year or two before he either retires or resigns to pursue a more agreeable situation. The challenge facing this alternative? Financing the additional staff. In order to succeed, the program would have to grow enough to support the added cost.
Choice Three: Termination. From a strategic perspective, the program at des Alpes is vulnerable. It needs a new approach, a new curriculum, new faculty, and a general gust of innovation. Tony might well resist any and all changes to “his” program. What’s more, Tony’s reputation—both among peer institutions and des Alpes students—is on the decline. To save both Tony’s face—and that of the program—Plainview might be best served by encouraging Tony’s resignation, paving the way for an honorable parting and the respectable career denouement due a long-revered faculty member. With luck, he might even be able to settle in Plainview’s French department back in the Midwest.
For Elizabeth, the obvious choices are all unappealing. Choice One is an up-hill battle. While it might be worth a try to see if Tony can—or is willing—to change, Elizabeth’s position is too demanding to add full-time surveillance to her plate. Ultimately, Elizabeth’s situation may preclude her from following through with the intensity necessary to transform Tony.
Due to its budgetary demands, Choice Two is just as unlikely to succeed. Elizabeth’s recent business seminar reminded her that she has to make hard decisions for the good of the organization—decisions that respect the demands of her position and the need to be mindful of budgetary realities.
Given those considerations, only Option Three appears feasible, despite Tony’s historical influence on the des Alpes program. Ultimately, Tony needs complete rehabilitation in order to understand and appreciate the changing landscape. What’s more, Tony’s age means his tenure is limited —even in the best case. Any efforts at training will provide short-term results before Tony retires, or resigns in frustration. To “fix” Tony would only postpone the inevitable. To appease her conscience, Elizabeth could help Tony negotiate with the French department as much as she could and call some study abroad people from other schools to see if they had any openings for a “pioneer” like Tony.
Unfortunately for Elizabeth, her perspective is myopic. Tony is only a symptom of a problem much closer to Plainview than des Alpes. For too long, Elizabeth has been asleep at the wheel. Rather than addressing Tony’s misgivings early on, she has permitted a star performer to veer off course. Elizabeth’s leadership—demonstrated in this instance by her brief stroll with Tony during her last visit to des Alpes—has been too remote. Her failure to engage with Tony speaks more to her shortcomings as a leader than Tony’s disconnection from the current crop of students.
From our experience in consulting with organizations, it is all too common to see managers believing performance problems stem from something inside an employee. They can be “too independent,” “too willful,” “not a team player,” or “not serious.” In Tony, we see the fingerprints of the classic “Peaked Performer” archetype. The point is that the manager sees an individual not performing because of that individual’s inherent qualities. From Elizabeth’s perspective, Tony is burned out and unable to relate to the new generation of students. Because she feels unable to “fix” him, she sees termination as the only feasible solution. Unfortunately, this view ignores the role the manager plays in developing and shaping the employee’s performance.
What really happened here? Elizabeth committed the mistake many managers make when they work with high performers—a title clearly associated with Tony during his early years at des Alpes. Since a high performer is motivated, independent, self-starting, and essentially self-contained, the manager’s tendency is to count his or her blessings and leave them alone. The feeling is that the high performer is reliable and that once he figures out the magic formula to running the program, success will be repeated year after year. Elizabeth, who has other things to attend to, has put Tony on autopilot.
So, we have Tony on a literal mountain top, isolated from the home base camp, left to his own devices by a remote manager, both physically and psychologically. He doesn’t need, she believes, advice, feedback, or any formal connection to the home institution. For many years, it apparently worked out fine. But isolation can cause the employee to start filling in gaps in their own competence with what they imagine will work. They will make decisions in isolation based on what they think is right; some decisions will be fine, others will not. Alone and in charge, Tony freelances approaches to problems; frustrated by changes in student behavior and motivation levels he hasn’t seen before, he loses his touch and maybe his level of interest. Soon, he reaches a point where things aren’t going as well as they had been. Does he reach out to his manager? Not likely. After all, who is she to him but an administrative contact at Plainview? Their relationship isn’t based on creating a mutual partnership for building and sustaining des Alpes. Because of Tony’s early strength, there’s really no immediate reason to have reached out to him previously.
When managers are asked in research studies what they need most from their own managers, among the top responses are usually coaching and feedback. This finding is almost universal from supervisors to top-level executives. People want to know where they stand, what’s next, and how they can get there. They want their managers to reinforce the goals of the organization, and why they are important. They want the organization—through the manager—to establish boundaries of correct behavior, and, even with mature adults, they want those boundaries enforced. And managers need to collaborate with employees on plans and outcomes; they need to make Tony feel as if he were part of something bigger than des Alpes. Elizabeth didn’t see herself doing that.
The saddest part of this case is that Elizabeth had a clear opening to reach out to Tony. After their climb to the upper village for a Cinzano, Tony revealed what he was really feeling. “Students we used to enroll got into the language and literature. And they seemed to adjust better to the culture,
too.” If only Elizabeth had said something like, “And what can you—a master teacher—do to turn them on, Tony? Yes, the kids have changed, how can we accept them for what they are? And how can I help you do that?” Instead, she agreed that even Socrates had the same problem and listened while he continued to whine about those kids that didn’t respect the program.
Maybe one day Elizabeth will recognize her own developmental shortcomings—and her own need to mature as a leader. Right now, her short-term goal is to rebuild des Alpes. Her impulse—to terminate Tony—will not address her responsibilities to the program or her obligations to the staff she oversees. If she follows through, Elizabeth will still be forced to do the heavy lifting she should have done with Tony when he veered off course. She’ll still have to work closely with a new director to develop his or her skills, and to implement ideas that will make the program grow in value. She’ll have to set new, clearly-defined goals. She may even be compelled to consider adding support staff to help a new director implement new plans.
Ultimately, if Elizabeth takes the “easy road” and terminates Tony, she will still have to do the very things she hopes to avoid—the very types of things Tony loved to do back when the program started. And despite Tony’s current attitude, those might be just the kinds of things Tony would be willing to do again—if Elizabeth is willing to accept her responsibility for some of his failings, and reach out to Tony with the level of energy necessary to help him succeed, and to help the program prosper.
Michael D. Maginn is the President of Singularity Group, Inc., a Massachusetts-based management consulting firm founded in 1983. Dr. Maginn helps senior teams implement strategic plans. Complexity and the speed of change have made strategic implementation an important factor in the long-term success of organizations. To respond to that need, Singularity Group has developed expertise in creating successful performers as individuals and on teams. Singularity Group services and programs include Executive Communications, Coaching and Team Planning, Skill Building, Development and Training, Climate Measurement, Diagnostic Surveys, and 360s.
COMMENTARY: Managing the Burnout
Cori Filson
Director of International Programs
Skidmore College
Elizabeth McFarlin is in the unenviable position of managing a veteran resident director who is burned out. Complicating the situation are Tony Castigli’s tenure with the French department at Plainview University, his 12-year tenure with the program in Switzerland, the need for previous training or performance evaluations, and the lack of a concrete plan for the program. Any one of these factors could be problematic when managing an overseas staff member. Together, they create a very challenging scenario for Elizabeth.
Tony’s behavior and attitude are beginning to affect the program. The partner university in Switzerland, the program participants, and the sending schools are all voicing their displeasure with Tony’s treatment of the students. Tony’s behavior could affect the long-term health of the program in terms of the relationship with the host university and student enrollments. Students’ comparisons to the St. Mark’s program indicate potential problems are emerging.
Elizabeth also needs to consider the potential long-term impact Tony’s behavior and the programmatic consequences could have for Plainview, her office, and her credibility as the director. As this program is one of the school’s oldest and most prestigious, and is considered the jewel in Plainview’s crown, it could reflect poorly on her office and her leadership should the program begin to fail—regardless of the reasons.
What to do? Elizabeth must first determine all of her possible options, the potential repercussions of each scenario, and the identity of all stakeholders with whom she should consult before making any final decisions. At all stages, Elizabeth must be sure to follow up with stakeholders to inform them of the ongoing progress. She must also document all communication and conversations with Tony. This documentation will be critical should the school determine Tony must be fired.
Finally, Elizabeth should begin to develop and nurture relationships with the students, the faculty abroad, Plainview’s overseas partner, and sending schools to ensure continued loyalty to the program—regardless of who is directing the program.
Elizabeth has several potential solutions that she can pursue:
Talking with Tony. While this seems to be the easiest solution, indeed it can be quite difficult. The program in des Alpes is structured along very traditional lines—a direct enrollment program with a long-standing, tenured faculty member as the resident director who has little training in administration. In the past this model worked well. But as student, parent, and administrative demands increase, directors like Tony often find it difficult to manage the ever-shifting expectations of their positions.
While Elizabeth has spoken with Tony casually, she needs to have a more formal, yet diplomatic, face-to-face conversation with him regarding the changing nature of student and home-campus expectations. Being mindful of Tony’s past contributions to the program and his ongoing relationships with faculty at des Alpes, Plainview, and the sending schools, Elizabeth needs to share negative feedback from the various constituents. The goal is not to chastise Tony. Rather, Elizabeth should gently but firmly paint a realistic picture for him regarding the current concerns and their potential long-term impact on the health of the program.
This is also an important opportunity for Elizabeth to really listen. Perhaps there is an underlying personal problem that is affecting Tony’s ability to perform successfully. Perhaps he is looking for an opening to talk about a shift in his role with the program. The solutions—both predictable and unexpected—could multiply if Elizabeth creates a “safe” space for Tony to talk about these concerns and if she encourages him to see this as an opportunity to partner with her on finding solutions. If Tony feels a true sense of ownership over the program, he might respond to the idea that his hard work over the years will be destroyed if changes are not forthcoming—and to the notion that he still has a voice in achieving positive solutions.
The primary stakeholders in this scenario are Elizabeth and Tony. However, Elizabeth should consider speaking briefly with her direct supervisor and/or the chair of the French department to ensure they are aware of the concerns and her course of action.
Training for Tony. For some of us, training is exciting and invigorating. We see it as an opportunity to broaden our knowledge base to allow us to approach our responsibilities with fresh ideas. Others see training as threatening. To suggest that an individual could benefit from training may send a message that he or she is failing. It is unfortunate that Tony was not offered training when he was succeeding in his job. Now that there are specific concerns, he may be less likely to see the benefits training can offer.
Nevertheless, it is important that Elizabeth find appropriate training opportunities for Tony. Whether in the form of attendance at a conference, participation in a pre-conference workshop aimed at overseas directors, or participation in organizations in Switzerland that bring together resident directors to share problems and solutions—Tony needs to be encouraged to seek other perspectives. Elizabeth can present this as an opportunity for Tony to develop a network of support and to learn more about the ever-changing expectations of the various constituents he deals with daily.
Again, the primary stakeholders in this scenario are Elizabeth and Tony. However, Elizabeth should consider speaking briefly with her direct supervisor and/or the chair of the French department to ensure they are aware of the concerns and her course of action. There will also be budgetary implications that Elizabeth needs to consider—whether they involve the expense of Tony’s enrollment in training or structural changes to the program’s organization—and she may need to involve her supervisor and/or the school’s office of financial services to address those possibilities.
Hiring a Program Assistant. While this may not seem feasible, Elizabeth needs to examine the workload on-site, taking into account the increased expectations mentioned previously. Perhaps the program could run effectively with one director in the past, but now requires a director and an assistant. Workload and staffing issues could be contributing to Tony’s burnout.
Elizabeth can look at other programs in Switzerland, taking into account their overall enrollments, the type of academic program they deliver, and the expectations of their student bodies. With this information, and in consultation with Tony, she can analyze whether or not there is a need for additional staff. If necessary, she and Tony can develop a job description and determine specific budgetary implications.
Part of this discussion should address the need to cut other budget areas to offset new expenses. Elizabeth may also need to consult with her supervisor regarding institutional implications. In the end, if the current budget does not allow for the addition of an assistant but the workload is unreasonable with only a director, Elizabeth and Tony can develop a proposal outlining the needs, benefits, and cost of a new person, and present it to the appropriate people on campus. Even if the proposal is denied, this might help Tony feel supported in his role and could result in improved performance on his part.
Again, this is a time for Elizabeth to listen carefully to Tony. The idea of an assistant can allow Tony to rethink his role with the program—he may be ready to give up much of the student services piece or consider reducing his position to 60% time. As Elizabeth listens for possible solutions, she must keep in mind who would help her make any changes. If Tony wants to reduce his time, does she need to discuss this with human resources or her supervisor? If he sees his role shifting to more of an instructor, does she need to consult with the French faculty? Each potential solution will demand that she bring in different stakeholders.
Firing Tony. Firing Tony is a last resort solution that carries important legal and programmatic implications. Elizabeth must understand the potential consequences of all actions before proposing to fire Tony. She should not make this decision alone and must consult with a variety of school officials who will ultimately need to decide for the school as a whole.
Hopefully, Elizabeth has been discussing the escalating problem with her supervisor. At this time, she must discuss the possibility of firing Tony with not only her supervisor, but also the school’s legal counsel and the French department. She must also consult with a Swiss legal firm that specializes in labor law. Elizabeth cannot speak with Tony or anyone else involved in the program until she has clarified the school’s responsibilities to Tony and the school has developed a plan of action. The plan must include not only what to do with Tony but also how to maintain continuity in the program should Tony be asked to leave.
Elizabeth must be able to answer the following questions: Given his tenure and the parameters of Swiss law, can Tony be fired? Could firing him result in a lawsuit against the school? Do the lack of continuous feedback and a clear plan make it impossible to justify letting Tony go? Is there a buyout figure that will be necessary? What consequences will Tony’s departure have for the program? What are the implications for Plainview faculty, the host institution, and the sending schools? How will the school maintain a quality program during the transition? Who will assume leadership of the program? Is there a solution that will allow Tony to ease out of the position—phased retirement, reduction to 50% time, a shift to full-time instructor? Can the program afford—in terms of finances and quality—to allow Tony to ease out of the position? Who will ultimately speak with Tony about any changes to his status? When should the conversation occur to avoid damage to the program that is currently in progress?
Elizabeth’s ultimate concern should be the long-term health and viability of the program. Firing Tony will be complicated and time-consuming and in the end it could be damaging to the program. For that reason, Elizabeth must try to work with Tony to improve his behavior, which means that Elizabeth must take a more active role in managing Tony and the program. If and when it is clear that Tony is unable or unwilling to improve, Elizabeth must have a clear, well-developed plan for removing Tony from the program. It is critical that she understand the implications of all decisions and that she have full institutional support.
Regardless of the outcome, Elizabeth must develop a concrete plan for this program to ensure that goals and expectations are clear to all involved. Among other things, this plan must include a marketing strategy that addresses increasing competition from St. Mark’s.
In order to develop a marketing plan, Elizabeth can hold open discussions with students and faculty to gather feedback. She can also survey sending schools regarding the program. Using this information, she can develop a plan that focuses on the program’s strengths while working to fix its weaknesses and bring in students, faculty, and sending schools as partners. Such a plan should focus on the program’s academic strengths, its longstanding status in Switzerland, and the benefits of direct enrollment and immersion. The plan must also utilize students and faculty as resources on the Plainview campus and at peer schools. This type of clear overall plan for the program should help avoid further problems in the long-term.
In the 12 years she has been in the field of international education, Cori Filson has served as a resident director and instructor in Salamanca, Spain, and has developed and managed a variety of programs in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Cori received her B.A. in Spanish and German from St. Lawrence University and her M.A. in Hispanic Literature from The University of Texas at Austin. Cori is currently the Director of International Programs at Skidmore College.
COMMENTARY: Selling des Alpes—Without Selling Out
Patrick O’Meara
Dean for International Programs
Indiana University
This case gets to the heart of a number of key issues that affect contemporary study abroad programs and their administration today. First, the case study presents the question of quality versus popularity as criteria among students for program selection. Just as in student elections, popularity cannot be overlooked. However, with the right marketing effort, quality can be a key to a program’s popularity—despite the higher standards it may demand.
A second challenge addressed here is the prevailing attitude of contemporary students. They resent any sort of intrusion into their lives while at the same time, tend to be needier and require greater supervision than their predecessors. While higher-achieving students tend to demonstrate fewer of these qualities, they represent a trend—and trends must be addressed, regardless of the disdain administrators and faculty may have for them.
Finally, while the case study does not address the need for a systematic program review process, it paints a clear picture of the importance of such a process. In programs abroad, where distance is necessarily a fact of life, systematic review is critical to ensure program quality, consistency, and success.
Quality vs. Popularity. While students may be susceptible to the opinions of their peers when selecting programs, institutions need to retain their commitment to a “top quality undergraduate education” by reinforcing the importance of quality education abroad programs. This can be done in a number of ways, including having faculty more fully engaged in assessing the quality of programs prior to approving them for credit towards degrees. With strong peer review of the curricula, faculty, and credit requirements, institutions are compelled to ensure that their students are engaging in programs at least equal to the sending school’s academic requirements. This type of engagement can minimize the successes of programs like the ones offered by St. Mark’s, as long as Plainview is successful in marketing the quality of its programs among peer institutions. This type of outreach, particularly to study abroad advisors and their faculty counterparts on other campuses, requires diligence and focus in addition to strong leadership, both abroad and on the home campus.
More difficult, perhaps, is the impact of marketing—both authorized and word-of-mouth—on the students seeking education abroad opportunities. While a message of academic rigor and cultural reward may play well to the administration of a student’s home institution, that message is unlikely to resonate with the majority of students applying for such programs. Thus, despite the level of control a home institution has over the transferability of program credit toward a student’s degree, few academic institutions have the resources to thoroughly analyze every aspect of the growing number of programs available. As a result, students will quickly identify the programs most aligned with their objectives. And while some percentage of students will seek the strengths of a des Alpes program, still more will be drawn to the “experience” offered by St. Mark’s.
A solid marketing strategy can, however, overcome much of the concern Elizabeth might feel about the long-term prospects for the des Alpes program. Through a clearly-defined strategy that addresses the many facets of a strong program—including curricular strengths and access to cultural opportunities—Elizabeth and Plainview can overcome the impact of a burned-out administrator like Tony Castigli. Ultimately, des Alpes is a university program in a tremendous setting. It is not, nor should it be, regarded as the Tony Castigli Show. No single individual should bear the responsibility
of the entire program—nor should one individual be capable of single-handedly alienating its students and undoing its reputation.
Clearly, though, Tony’s instincts about des Alpes’ academics are on track. The reputation of Plainview demands that it not water down its programs just to compete with those of St. Mark’s, which appear to excel on a social level while failing elsewhere. But Tony’s approach to the problems he sees do little more than irritate the situation. Thus, while Tony might be ideally suited to developing and delivering appropriate curricula, he’s just not very good as the University’s direct liaison with students. Tony should be responsible for the program’s quality. Someone else, however, should serve as the face of Plainview.
This individual may already be in place—perhaps an assistant dean of student affairs—but if not, it need not be a high-level or high-cost position. Students can still be held to high standards while enjoying themselves. The proper individual could be a sounding board for student frustrations, while acting as something of a concierge/social coordinator to ensure each student’s entire experience is as rewarding as it can be. Strong academics and a strong cultural experience means des Alpes—and Plainview’s program reputation in general—will continue to outshine competitors such as St. Mark’s.
Student Attitudes. It is not clear from the case study what the selection criteria and processes are for choosing the program participants. While it is evident to those working on college campuses today that millennial students need a greater level of oversight and engagement from program faculty and administrators, the types of students seeking programs cover a wide range. Good programs can continue to be selective by choosing serious students with strong academic records and clearly articulated learning goals and objectives. Students who are focused on expanding their language skills and advancing their cultural knowledge are also known for exhibiting a degree of maturity when facing different types of administrators, including someone like Tony Castigli who has worked with students for well over a decade.
Nevertheless, it would help tremendously if Tony and directors like him had access to professional workshops on a regular basis where he could learn about changes in student service trends throughout higher education. Such workshops provide insight into how the present generation responds to authority and those who attempt to be cultural brokers on the students’ behalf. While there will always be an occasional academically weak and whiny student like Susan Pierce, her one-sided blog opinion should not hold too much sway over the decision makers at Plainview when they decide what to do about their resident director. They should have been collecting information about the resident director over time so they could make objective comparisons about his level of effectiveness with students as well as faculty and staff at the host institution.
Program Evaluation. While it is not clear what leads Pierre (Tony Castigli’s colleague) to say he is “extinguished,” it is reasonable to imagine that after 12 years he no longer brings a fresh view to his task. This can be largely attributed to the failure of Plainview to devise ways to keep him professionally engaged and innovative.
It also sounds like Elizabeth has not developed a viable staff evaluation protocol. Clearly, a walk in the hills is neither a staff evaluation nor a program review. A thorough staff evaluation could have addressed some of the problems earlier. A formal program review would have included one-on-one interviews with current students and on-site staff, host institution administrators and faculty, and an analysis of evaluations of the program over a number of years. While it would have been better for such evaluation protocols to have been implemented sooner rather than later, it is essential that such mechanisms be put into place immediately. In that way, Elizabeth can collect more objective data regarding Tony’s performance prior to making a decision.
Since it will take a few months to pull together an evaluation protocol (unless she wishes to adopt one of the existing evaluation processes that have been created by other providers and institutions), the most immediate response would be to get Tony into an environment where he can begin to understand his shortcomings, along with a recognition of his longstanding contributions. If he is involved in a workshop with his peers, he may be able to see how education abroad has changed over time and how he will have to adapt to the current environment if he wishes to have continued success.
Elizabeth may also wish to consider adding an extra staff member who is younger and more in touch with current student concerns and issues, thus liberating Tony to concentrate on his strengths which clearly no longer seem to be in the area of student services.
As for the possibility of Tony’s termination, this is clearly an action of last resort. Tony, as a program veteran, brings a great deal of value to its prospects for continued success. Indeed, his concerns are well-placed. He seeks only to maintain the high standards that have long distinguished the program. What he currently lacks is tact and patience. Plainview’s mistake is in allowing him to continue as the program’s only direct liaison with students. Ultimately, a combination of tactics will have the best potential for success. First, Tony must be apprised of his tendency to be a bit too candid with students. He clearly feels some sense of ownership in the program, and needs to be reminded that he is an important part of the program, but he is not the program in its entirety. This gentle reminder will enable him to evaluate his willingness to become more flexible—or his need to find a situation/employer with objectives more closely linked to his own.
To help persuade him that the former decision is the most appropriate, Plainview should then make training available—even strongly recommend it. If he is still committed to the program, he can then decide whether to grow with it or to strike out on his own. If committed to the program, he should be equally committed to the training necessary to make him a better resident director.
Unless Tony proves inflexible, his value to the program should not be overlooked—and dramatic action is not likely to be necessary. If anything, Tony’s situation has exposed as many shortcomings in Plainview’s management structure as it has in Tony’s approach to leadership. Elizabeth—who has known of Tony’s growing irritability—has taken no action. Distance, in this case, has led to inaction. Now, Elizabeth is forced to deal with a situation that has become unmanageable due to lack of management. Earlier intervention would likely have facilitated ongoing adjustments to Tony’s role, to his training, and to other aspects of the program that may have preserved its reputation while making it more welcoming to students seeking a well-rounded education abroad experience.
Patrick O’Meara, Ph.D., was appointed Dean for International Programs at Indiana University in 1993 after serving for two decades as IU’s Director of African Studies. He is also Professor of Political Science and Professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He has published extensively on the African continent. He has been called upon frequently for interviews on southern Africa and South Africa by United States national television programs. He has also testified before the House Foreign Relations Committee on African Affairs and the House Committee on Postsecondary Education. Dr. O’Meara was Project Director for “Living Africa: A Village Experience,” a film on life in a Senegalese village which was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and which was a finalist in the New York Film festival. He has also published numerous articles in journals and newspapers.