IERCEF and the NC SAGE Consortium Work to Meet President Obama's 2020 Degree Attainment Goals

June 17, 2010 - PRLog -- Salisbury, NC - There has been an impressive 150 percent increase in the number U.S. students studying abroad since the previous decade, an appropriate response to a world growing more global, interconnected and complex.  New and innovative partnerships and program offerings from within the postsecondary school community has, according to the Institute for International Education (IIE), one of the largest, strongest study abroad supporters and most experienced U.S. higher education exchange agencies, made a difference along with increases in funding sources.

Not only is there a growing trend among students and educators that recognizes study abroad’s role in better understanding and preparing for participation in a global society, but the GLOSSARI project conducted at Kennesaw State University headed by Drs. Richard C. Sutton and David L. Rubin, funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education International Research and Studies Program Grant, demonstrated study abroad’s positive impact on academic outcomes, especially for the underserved and for students of color.

“Now there are hard, objective, numbers associated with study abroad’s academic value, which has been conjectural in the past,” says Steven W. Jones, president and CEO of International Education Resource Center Education Foundation (IERCEF) (www.iercef.org), a study abroad firm that promotes and develops innovative interdisciplinary, education abroad programs, and is the developer of the North Carolina Study Abroad/Global Engagement Consortium (NC SAGE) of HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). In addition, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and the White House Initiative on HBCUs Executive Director Dr. John S. Wilson, while in Durham at North Carolina Central University’s "Setting the Agenda for Historically Black Colleges and Universities" symposium pointed to the mission of the NC SAGE Consortium as an example of leadership in “innovative collaboration … offering students an opportunity to take advantage of internship opportunities outside the U.S and helps prepare students to work for businesses, non-profits and NGOs.”

It is generally known that study abroad participation lacks racial diversity. “We wanted to aggressively, deliver the benefits identified by the GLOSSARI project’s findings to students and faculty of HBCUs starting in North Carolina, a state with the largest number of four-year HBCUs in America, via our NC SAGE model. It means we would reach 11 institutions of 41,500 students which confers degrees to nearly 7,000 students annually.” says Mr. Jones. HBCU’s access and retention issues, combined with the President’s “2020” degree attainment goals, makes study abroad a more valuable educational experience for underserved students. As Dr. Sutton, now the new Executive Director of International Programs at Western Kentucky University, notes, “Study abroad should be also viewed as an intervention tool.”

“Growth is about diffusion of knowledge; HBCUs are poised to grow in new ways given the diffusion of global learning experiences like study abroad. We feel at IERCEF there are four key areas associated with student success: degree attainment, employability, sustainable growth and greater international student mobility. Students of color should participate fully in international education opportunities given the world they live in, and must play a greater role in leading,” says Mr. Jones.

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About IERC Education Foundation:promotes study abroad through advocacy for the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act. IERCEF also develops study abroad programs via direct design or strategic partnerships with a specific focus on students of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic and Native American Serving Institutions, community colleges and public high schools for the purposes of: increasing the portion and the demographic mix of U.S. students who study abroad; increasing the talent pool of students with international competencies and knowledge of global issues; and enhancing the degree attainment, employability and global competitiveness of underserved graduates.