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Allison Witt
Profile Picture for Allison Witt

Director, Office of International Programs, Office of International Programs (she/her)

Contact

260D Education Building
1310 S. Sixth Street
Champaign (UIUC Campus Mail), IL 61820

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Topics

studies abroad credit education teacher policy implementation student vocational education Vocational Education loan neoliberalism

Biography

Allison Witt is the Director of International Programs in the College of Education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she teaches Global Studies in Education and is the Program Leader for the International Education Administration and Leadership program. Allison is a former Assistant Director of Academic Affairs at the Illinois Board of Higher Education where she contributed to state higher education policy in Illinois. She is the author of Shifting Tides in Global Higher Education (2011) published by Peter Lang. Allison earned a PhD in Education Policy Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has worked in international education for over 20 years, now with particular interest in internationalizing teacher education.

Key Professional Appointments

  • Director of International Programs, College of Education, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
  • Teaching Associate Professor, Education Policy, Organization and Leadership, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
  • Teaching Associate Professor, European Union Center, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
  • Teaching Associate Professor, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
  • Affiliate, Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Research & Service

Witt's research includes state and national education policy related to higher education and teacher preparation. Current research tracks the impact of interventions in teacher preparation designed to prepare globally competent teachers.

Publications

Witt, A. (Accepted/In press). Postpandemic futures of Global Citizenship Education for preservice teachers: Challenges and possibilities. Prospects.  link >

Tang, X., Collier, D. A., & Witt, A. (2018). Qualitative Study on Chinese Students' Perception of U.S. University Life. Journal of International Students, 8(1), 151-174.  link >

Blankenberger, B., Lichtenberger, E., Witt, M. A., & Franklin, D. (2017). Diverse Students, High School Factors, and Completion Agenda Goals: An Analysis of the Illinois Class of 2003. Education and Urban Society, 49(5), 518-545.  link >

Blankenberger, B., Lichtenberger, E., & Witt, M. A. (2017). Dual Credit, College Type, and Enhanced Degree Attainment. Educational Researcher, 46(5), 259-263.  link >

Collier, D. A., Brewer, T. J., Myers, P. S., & Witt, A. (2017). It Takes More Than a Village, It Takes a Nation. In N. D. Hartlep, L. L. T. Eckrich, & B. O. Hensley (Eds.), The Neoliberal Agenda and the Student Debt Crisis in U.S. Higher Education (pp. 213-232). Taylor and Francis Inc..  link >

Witt, M. A. (2017). Transnational Education Policy and a Globally Competitive Workforce: A Comparative Analysis of Vocational Education and Training Policy in the European Union and the United States. In R. L. Raby, & E. J. Valeau (Eds.), Handbook of Comparative Studies on Community Colleges and Global Counterparts (pp. 1-17). (Springer International Handbooks of Education). Springer.  link >

Bentz, J., Pearson, J. N., & Witt, A. (2016). Study abroad Australia: Practice and research. In Handbook of Research on Efficacy and Implementation of Study Abroad Programs for P-12 Teachers (pp. 87-110). IGI Global.  link >

Witt, A., Pino-Yancovic, M., & Neal, B. (2016). Study abroad for preservice teachers: Critical learning and teaching in a diverse context. In Handbook of Research on Efficacy and Implementation of Study Abroad Programs for P-12 Teachers (pp. 133-148). IGI Global.  link >

Lichtenberger, E., Witt, M. A., Blankenberger, B., & Franklin, D. (2014). Dual Credit/Dual Enrollment and Data Driven Policy Implementation. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 38(11), 959-979.  link >

Witt, M. A. (2011). Shifting Tides in Global Higher Education: Agency, Autonomy, and Governance in the Global Network. (Global Studies in Education). Peter Lang Publishing.

Witt, A., Hewitt, K., & Kolodziej, E. A. (2008). Proposal for the creation of a national network of global studies high schools. (CGS Occasional Paper; No. 6). Center for Global Studies.

Teaching

Courses taught include Globalization and Higher Education, Researching Education in a Global Context, and other courses in the Global Studies in Education graduate program. In addition, Witt has developed and teaches the Education Abroad course that supports students on study abroad.

Courses

EDUC 199: Undergraduate Open Seminar (EDUC 199) See class schedule for topics.

EDUC 299: Education Study Abroad (EDUC 299) Provides credit toward the undergraduate degree for study at approved, accredited foreign institutions or approved overseas programs. Final determination of credit is made upon the student's completion of the work. College of Education students studying abroad on a Campus or College of Education program should enroll in 299 as a placeholder course for a semester length study abroad and in 499 for short term study abroad programs.

EDUC 499: Education Abroad (EDUC 499) This course will serve as a foundation for your education abroad experience. The class will center on the experience of travel as it relates to education - your own education, the education systems and policies you encounter, as well as your prospective role as a future educator. This course will introduce comparative education inquiry and provide space to consider the cultural, political, and ethical implications of engaging in education travel and research in cross-cultural, global contexts.

EPOL 522: Globalization of Higher Education (EPOL 522) Focuses on the rapid changes happening in the Higher Education around the world. Using case studies, we will examine a variety of issues that have come about as the Higher Education system responds to rapid changes in the global economy. These include issues of access and equity; accountability; finance; privatization and for-profit institutions; curricular responses to the changing realities of knowledge and knowledge production; and issues of internationalization within these changing contexts. We will also look at future trends in higher education within the US and internationally.

EPOL 528: Researching Global Education (EPOL 528) Introduces education research methodology and consider the cultural, political and ethical implications of engaging in education research in cross-cultural, global contexts. Students will learn to select an appropriate topic for research, effectively navigate and use an academic research library, conduct a literature review, and craft a literature review portion of a larger research project.

EPOL 586: General Field Research Seminar (EPOL 586) This course will guide doctoral students as they develop a broad and critical understanding of their general field of doctoral study. Students will conduct a synthesized and critical review of the general field literature, which will become part of their dissertation. This course may meet the doctoral requirement of the General Field Qualifying Examination.

EPOL 587: Special Field Research Seminar (EPOL 587) This course will guide doctoral students as they develop a broad and critical understanding of their special field of doctoral study. Students will conduct a synthesized and critical review of the special field literature, which will become part of their dissertation.This course may meet the doctoral requirement of the Special Field Qualifying Examination.

EPOL 588: Methodology Research Seminar (EPOL 588) This course will guide EDD doctoral students as they develop a broad and critical understanding of the methodological approaches in their doctoral field. Students will critique methodologies used in educational research and develop a thorough methodological proposal for their research, which will become part of their dissertation.This course may meet the doctoral requirement of the Research Methodology Qualifying Examination.

EPOL 598: Internship in Education Policy, Organization and Leadership (EPOL 598) Supervised direct experience in the administration of higher education. With the aid of the faculty, students select the internship relevant to their career goals.

EPS 538: Globalization of Higher Ed (EPS 538) This course will focus on the rapid changes happening in the Higher Education around the world. Using case studies, we will examine a variety of issues that have come about as the Higher Education system responds to rapid changes in the global economy. These include issues of access and equity; accountability; finance; privatization and for-profit institutions; curricular responses to the changing realities of knowledge and knowledge production; and issues of internationalization within these changing contexts. We will also look at future trends in higher education within the US and internationally.

EPS 580: Researching Global Education (EPS 580) The course will introduce education research methodology and consider the cultural, political and ethical implications of engaging in education research in cross-cultural, global contexts. Students will learn to select an appropriate topic for research, effectively navigate and use an academic research library, conduct a literature review, and craft a literature review portion of a larger research project. Same as EPOL 528. 4 graduate hours. No professional credit.

HRD 492: Supervised Internship in HRE (HRD 492) While employed in approved cooperating organizations, students observe the relationship between HRE and organizational performance. 2 or 4 undergraduate hours. 2 or 4 graduate hours.