Others might try new adaptations of apprenticeship or internship models to be designed and managed cooperatively with employers. Such programs should ensure that students acquire the academic skills necessary for success now and in the future. In order to accomplish this objective, it may be necessary to define general academic competencies appropriate to a particular degree, and to expect students to master these in addition to meeting the occupational skills standards currently under development nationwide. Fundable projects would view postsecondary education in a worldwide arena, which has become increasingly more connected. Proposals are welcomed for projects which seek novel strategies for dealing with the international dimension of issues related to all aspects of postsecondary education, including foreign language acquisition, the social sciences, health sciences, and information technology.
Students learn a second language for a variety of personal and professional reasons.
The greatest gains in foreign language acquisition come when students begin at an early age, and applicants may wish to explore greater collaboration in language training between school districts and postsecondary institutions. Similarly, applicants may wish to investigate collaborations between postsecondary institutions and heritage language schools, or collaboration with the foreign language centers sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education's Center for International Education. Finally, we note the enormous potential of technology to advance curricular reform in these areas and many more. But applicants should note that many valuable materials, already developed and tested on campuses across the country, receive only isolated use because they have not been effectively disseminated to others. Applicants are therefore encouraged to conceive from the beginning of their projects better ways to share materials and expand pilot testing to other institutions.