Access Alliance for Education

partners with Go Culture International on

Groundbreaking Global Citizenship Certification Program

and Rankings for Higher Education Institutions

Innovative program will benchmark, educate, certify, and rank institutions of higher education based on student, faculty, staff and administration scores in Global Citizenship. Program will focus primarily on diversity, equity, inclusion, and intercultural competence.

APEX, N.C. June 10, 2020 -- In partnership with Go Culture International (GCI), Access Alliance for Education (AA4E), is establishing an annual certification and rankings program focused on Global Citizenship within higher education.

Go Culture International’s Global Citizenship Certification will annually assess and certify individual students, faculty, staff and administrators within higher education institutions in Global Citizenship. Go Culture International's assessment, curriculum, and certification aligns with the definition of Global Citizenship laid forth by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Go Culture International exists to provide the best method to assess, educate, certify, and rank individuals and organizations in Global Citizenship. Focusing primarily on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and intercultural competency and sensitivity, GCI provides an online solution for Global Citizenship. With a reliability score of 93% (Cronbach’s Alpha .93), GCI offers industry leading accuracy for organization-wide Global Citizenship aptitude. What began as a research initiative in 1998 by leading Intercultural scholar Dr. Carley H. Dodd, the GCI solution has been in development for over 20 years (eight years in development. followed by thirteen years of testing).

Dr. Dodd and co-developer Dr. Justin C. Velten, culminated 45 years of intercultural competency research to observe human cognitive, socio-emotional and behavioral factors related to Global Citizenship. Based on test results, person-specific coaching was honed to enhance Global Citizenship aptitude through a remote-friendly delivery method that can bring assessment, education, certification, and ranking to campuses worldwide.

Throughout 20+ years of research and development, each examination revealed a statistically significant improvement in participant Global Citizenship. Thorough understanding, examination and practice of one’s socio-emotional, cognitive and behavioral skills focused within intercultural competency, support and group leadership, are at the core of the assessment and education utilized to improve an individual’s Global Citizenship. Individuals who achieve the Global Citizenship Certification will be certified for that school year. Individuals receive an unlimited number of assessments and 12-month access to the curriculum to aid them in their Global Citizenship Certification process.

Based on individual assessments of their students, faculty, staff and administration within the institution, each higher education institution will receive an overall Global Citizenship assessment score and ranking. If Global Citizenship Certification is obtained by over fifty percent (50%) of the institution’s overall student enrollment and by over fifty percent (50%) of the institution's full-time faculty, staff and administrators, the institution will also receive a Global Citizenship Certification for that school year. Each year, Access Alliance for Education and Go Culture International will jointly publish a ranking of higher education institutions based on the institution's overall Global Citizenship assessment scores and certifications, enabling potential students and parents to see where a particular institution ranks in Global Citizenship .

The assessment and curriculum are online so individuals can assess and learn anywhere at any time and on any device as long as they have online access. Each assessment takes about 20-25 minutes to complete and computes an overall score as well as individual scores in key benchmark criteria. Upon completion of each assessment, individuals have access to curriculum, journaling, video and other resources within the program to assist them in improving their Global Citizenship.

Per UNESCO guidelines, the key benchmarks include socio-emotional knowledge/skills such as managing uncertainty, flexibility, resilience, and empowerment; cognitive knowledge/skills such as relating, adapting, and openness; and behavioral knowledge/skills such as communication initiation, social inclusion, and task confidence.

The Global Citizenship Certification provides a streamlined approach to positively affect Global Citizenship campus-wide, while monitoring progress via a mobile-friendly certification process. Through quantitative and qualitative data collection and reporting, campuses can now rely on this industry-leading data to strengthen Global Citizenship on a customizable web-based platform.

“We are honored that our more than 20 years of research and development on this program can go to such a noble cause. Our nation, along with others around the world, is struggling with age-old issues, and it is our hope to play a role in a more healthy and productive future,” said Dr. Justin C. Velten, CEO Go Culture International. “This collaboration with Access Alliance for Education will provide hand-held-device-friendly, scalable and high-impact solutions in Global Citizenship for both small campuses and major university systems.”

“ We are excited to be a part of this solution of identifying, training and assessing Global Citizenship for each person enrolled in the program. Having the insight to take years of research and turn it into an online solution has proven very timely when looking at the environment we find ourselves in today.” adds Dan Linville, Partner and Executive Vice President of Access Alliance for Education. “The Certification Program will allow each student to attach this achievement of Global Citizenship to their resume. And, schools can use this Institutional Certification to differentiate themselves from other institutions.”

“Given that all institutions aspire to graduate global citizens into our diverse and global workforce, this partnership is another example of exactly why Dan and I founded Access Alliance for Education,” adds John Hillsman, Partner and CEO, “at Access Alliance for Education we strive to work with instructors, departments and institutions to help accelerate the learning process by partnering with unique, value-focused, solution providers.”

The Global Citizenship Certification program is available on an annual site license subscription basis to campuses. Pricing is based on the institution’s full time student enrollment and the number of full time faculty, staff and administration.

For more information or to request a sample access code to the Go Culture International Global Citizenship Certification program visit: https://bit.ly/2UoPPIb

About Access Alliance for Education:

Access Alliance for Education (AA4E) is an independent, value-focused coursework accelerator. AA4E works with instructors, departments, and institutions to help accelerate the learning process by partnering with unique content, resource and solution providers.

You can learn more about Access Alliance for Education at: https://www.accessalliance.education

Follow Access Alliance for Education on social media: Twitter: @AAforEducation

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AccessAllianceEducation/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/access-alliance-for-education/

About GoCulture International:

Go Culture International (GCI) is a research initiative turned public offering. When co-founders Dr. Carley Dodd and Dr. Justin C. Velten realized the implications of their work, they worked tirelessly to bring Global Citizenship initiatives to the forefront. Now focused on providing the leading online assessment, education and certification within Global Citizenship for individuals and academic, corporate, diplomatic and humanitarian organizations, GCI has served over 4,000 clients in 40 countries.

You can learn more about Go Culture International at: https://goculture.org/

Contact Information:

John Hillsman

Access Alliance for Education

https://www.accessalliance.education/

+1- 630-901-0941