Less than two months after the official launch of Generation Study Abroad [1], the Institute of International Education has announced significant progress in advancing the major goals of the initiative. Worcester State University recently became a “commitment partner,” joining more than 300 other organizations that are collaborating with IIE. This total represents a doubling of the number of partners who had signed on by the March 3 launch date.
The 150 new partners who have committed to specific, actionable goals to increase the number of U.S. students studying abroad include colleges and universities of all sizes and types across the country, as well as study abroad organizations, foreign governments and associations. IIE has also begun to provide additional resources and services to campuses that have joined as commitment partners, to help them reach ambitious goals.
A total of 308 partners have joined Generation Study Abroad. They include: 241 U.S. colleges and universities from 46 states; 9 non-U.S. institutions; 13 education associations; 34 study abroad organizations; 11 U.S. and foreign government entities, including the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Some next steps the IIE will take include:
- IIE Passport Awards for Study Abroad will provide supplemental grants for students from inner-city high schools to study abroad when they are in college (details and winners will be announced in June). IIE will also publish a Parent’s Guide to Study Abroad, in partnership with AIFS.
- Conducting Research. IIE’s research team is developing a research agenda for topics that will be most useful to helping campuses increase study abroad participation. EF College Study Tours will make up to 10 grants of $5,000 available (for a total commitment of $50,000) in the fall of 2014 to explore the impact of short-term faculty-led study abroad programs on students, faculty, and institutions. Terra Dotta will support research on the impact of technology and finance on study abroad, and SIT Study Abroad will publish a report on the impact of study abroad on students’ lives and careers.
- Planning for 2015 Generation Study Abroad Summit. IIE will convene its first annual Generation Study Abroad Summit, which will bring commitment partners together in fall 2015.
- Teachers, Alumni and Students. Later this year, IIE will launch a teacher engagement campaign and work with teachers and K-12 organizations, such as the American Council of Foreign Language Teachers, OneWorld Now!, and the College Board to help create a pipeline of students who plan to study abroad when they are in college; targets of the five-year initiative include mobilizing 1,000 high school teachers and engaging 10,000 alumni and students.