CoNfErENCE ProgrAm a faculty-led consortium Model… a Not-so-New-Yet-emerging paradigm in education abroad Catherine Spaeth (St. Catherine University), Tave Reser (Seminars International, Inc.), Wally Lagerwey (Elmhurst College) Consortial approaches to education abroad have long been an important staple in the field of education abroad for diversifying offerings and pooling resources. Consortia are again emerging as a means to encourage creativity and integrity and pool knowledge through collaboration. This session explores the value of consortia to spur innovation, involve faculty, and connect to university missions. Global education in learning communities: comparative assessment of Transformative learning among u.s. and international students Lee G. Sternberger (James Madison University), Dawn T. Pysarchik (Michigan State University), Steven Grande (Spencer Center for Civic and Global Engagement, Mary Baldwin College), Felix Wang (James Madison University), Craig Shealy (International Beliefs and Values Institute; James Madison University) This interactive session will illustrate the transformative potential of global education learning communities across a range of institutions by comparing the experiences of U.S. and international students through qualitative and quantitative assessment data. The implications of the findings for demonstrating the benefits of this international education paradigm will be discussed. how international is Your institution? assessing a university’s international dimension Cristina Grasset (Spain Education Programs (SEP)), R. Michael Paige (University of Minnesota), Gerald W. Fry (University of Minnesota) Universities rarely have a process to assess their own level of internationalization. Presenters will discuss a research-based method to produce an internationalization index, developed in the U.S. and employed to rank the international dimension of 77 large research universities, which has been adapted and applied to assess the status of internationalization at several Spanish institutions of higher education. revisiting “Moving Beyond it was Great”: provocative issues inspired by the 2013 forum conference David Wong (Michigan State University), Lilli Engle (American University Center of Provence), Mick Vande Berg (MVB Associates), Bruce La Brack (University of the Pacific) This provocative discussion readdresses the 2013 Forum Conference theme “Moving Beyond It Was Great.” After a critique (Wong) and responses (Engle, Vande Berg, La Brack), the session will be devoted to audience participation. 13