Partnership Spearheads Initiative to Finally Diversify Study Abroad

Oct. 11, 2010 - PRLog -- New York  —The American Institute For Foreign Study (AIFS) and the International Education Resource Center Education Foundation (IERCEF) has partnered to spearhead the institutional diversification of study abroad programs for our nation’s Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI) with an initial focus on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

“The percentages are alarming and reflects a long-standing pattern in U.S. student study abroad participation” says William L. Gertz, president and CEO of AIFS. “We know the demographics that drive much of this yet ours is a global society and having international experiences are increasingly becoming a requisite in the professional world” he adds. Founded in 1964, AIFS and its family of companies organize education and cultural exchange programs throughout the world for more than 30,000 students and young people each year. As for U.S. college students, more than 5,000 earn credits studying abroad annually, year round via their programs in 19 countries. AIFS has always a deep commitment to outreach, as punctuated by their recently convened workshop entitled: Diversity in International Education, held at the National Press Club, Washington, D.C., an event which drew 120 leaders from colleges, universities and national organizations in the field of international education from around the country.  Mr. Gertz admitted: “Despite all our best efforts to expand diversity, our progress over the past decade has been limited. While more students are studying abroad, participation by African and Latino Americans and multi-racial students combined has increased less than 2 percent in the last 15 years. Minorities represent less than ten percent of all students who participate in overseas programs. I think it is time for a new direction and to set the goal of doubling minority participation by 2020 and committing to it. It will take a permanent coalition of organizations, investment from government and the private; a change in campus-based study abroad outreach. We have discussed this for 20 years, its time for action on a larger scale for if we do nothing, minority participation will remain stagnant and this increasingly larger population will be less prepared to participate in global opportunities. It is time for a new approach.”  

“That new approach depends on an institutional strategy.” remarks Steven W. Jones president and CEO of IERC Education Foundation. “If you accept that study abroad and student mobility is not a luxury, but a necessary experience to enhance human capital and if that enhancement to human capital drives increases in productivity and income, then we need to look at the slopes in our area chart as a trajectories to success. Clearly, Whites are positioned to excel globally, even Mrs. Obama noted in her address to the graduating class of The George Washington University that they had a “leg-up” because 50 percent of them have earn some credits abroad.” IERC Education Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 2009 to increase study abroad participation among diverse and underserved students who attend our nation’s MSIs, e.g. HBCUs, Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) and Tribal Colleges; Community Colleges and public high schools. Their immediate goal is to double African American study abroad participation from four to eight percent in 2015 or by about 11,000 more students. “If we are to make a difference we must take a coordinated institutional approach that is why we developed the SAGE Consortium model; it is institutional diversity that we seek which will normalize the demographic distribution in the long-run.”

IERCEF launched this year, with the cooperation of North Carolina HBCUs with Livingstone College as the lead institution, the Study Abroad/Global Engagement (SAGE) Consortium. The NC SAGE consortium is the first one representing 11 institutions and nearly 42,000 students. In June it was cited by Education Secretary Arne Duncan as “an example of innovative collaboration… allowing students to take advantage of internship opportunities outside the U.S. and helps prepare students to work for businesses,
non-profits, and NGOs.” These comments were made during North Carolina Central University’s HBCU Symposium and corroborated by Gov. Bev Purdue. IERCEF’s goal is to establish SAGE Consortia in 19 other states with HBCUs that represent 300,000 students of large or small schools who will have support and access to study abroad programs unlike anything in the past. What about funding? “There are untapped grants that these underserved students have not applied for in the past. We will be initializing a Get Out the Vote-type of campaign for various scholarship programs while highlighting the concrete intellectual and career-pathway benefits of having international experience upon graduating. Before those funds become insufficient we will explore other sources, but first our students must step-up to the plate now. We and the SAGE Consortium will play the role of advocates and counselors.” says Mr. Jones.

The timing could not have been more perfect given the recent $84.8 million in Title III funding the Department of Education allocated 96 HBCUs for innovation. Also, HBCUs with the leadership of Secretary Duncan and Dr. John S. Wilson of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, have been committed to developing a “New Narrative” a type of blueprint for updating and strengthening these institution’s curricula and outcomes. The University of Minnesota’s Study Abroad for Global Engagement and Kennesaw University’s Siegel Institute GLOSSARI research associates study abroad with not only boosting global civic engagement, but also academic outcomes leading associated with increased degree-attainment which leads to greater employability. Given the increased national investment in HBCUs, starting a sustained institutional outreach effort as, Messrs. Gertz and Jones referenced, appears to be finally possible and for all the right reasons. All Minority-Serving Institutions like HBCUs play a key role in reaching the President’s 2020 goal of American recapturing the global lead in postsecondary degrees. They must graduate competitive students at the highest levels and not relegate themselves to being shut-out of global opportunities, accepting tiered outcomes and graduates earning lower incomes. In a nation concerned with its global performance and “Face” overseas, and the imbalance in students with education abroad experience, it seems like the time has come to include globalization as a component of the Education Reform Movement.

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Founded in 2009, 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, Community Colleges and Public High Schools for the purposes of increasing: the proportion and demographic mix of U.S. students (and their institutions)who study abroad; increasing the talent pool of students with international competencies and knowledge of global issues, therefore IERCEF also advocates for Critical Need Language acquisition. IERC Education Foundation is committed to enhancing the degree attainment, employability and global competitiveness of America’s underserved graduates.