A New Case for Study Abroad

Nov. 17, 2010 - PRLog -- New York, New York –  “When we look at how we are going to improve opportunities for seeking global solutions, we’re not going to find them all by ourselves. The more people we can bring into the tent to find solutions to global problems, the better off we’re going to be,” according to Alina Romanowski, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Academic Programs for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Beyond preparing students for a global flatter marketplace, global solutions to the world’s most vexing problems will require bringing more global-ready, intellectual power to bear. The Study Abroad/Global Engagement (SAGE) Consortium is a network that effectively lowers the cost of study abroad program outreach and participation while promoting collaboration and coordination among schools with limited resources, such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

The U.S. students that have obtained global insight remains overwhelmingly limited to one group. According to the latest Institute of International Education (IIE) figures for 2008/09, only about ten percent (10.2%) of the students that study abroad are Latino and African American, despite comprising more than 25 percent of college enrollment. Conversely, white students account for more than 80 percent (80.5%) of study abroad participants, yet make up about 63 percent of college students. Diversity in international education means aggressively advocating and promoting the international learning experience to the non-traditional student via America’s more than 650 Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) and community colleges, and encouraging study abroad opportunities at the secondary school level via innovative college-preparatory and after-school programs.

According to Grantmakers for Education’s report, "Benchmarking 2010: Trends in Education Philanthropy," the top priorities were closing achievement gaps, teacher development, college and career-readiness. Study abroad is a compelling platform for improving these outcomes, and meeting the President’s 2020 degree attainment goal, as demonstrated by the results of the Georgia Learning Outcomes of Students Studying Abroad Research Initiative (GLOSSARI) report. Study abroad's value as an intervention tool has been validated and now must be scaled-up to reach far more underserved students. For example, we at IERC Education Foundation created the SAGE Consortium model to double African American participation in study abroad programs from four to eight percent (of total college enrollment) by 2015. Our hope is that this creates a pipeline of diverse talent prepared to address global challenges at the private or public-sector level.

The Gilman Scholarship Program has done a remarkable job reaching out to minority students. Yet it is a well-known fact that African and Latino students from MSIs do not take advantage of the opportunity. These campuses often lack a school-wide campaign, study abroad offices or dedicated staff. The SAGE Consortium’s job is to promote the opportunities, identify trends in the global marketplace, communicate study abroad’s value, and designate a Lead Institution like Livingstone College in North Carolina that will be the dedicated study abroad office for all of the state’s HBCUs. Eventually, there will be 20 SAGE Consortia members serving all 105 HBCUs. We aim to do this for the Hispanic-Serving Institutions and Tribal Colleges as well. We believe it is the only way to create a larger “tent” of global-ready talent that will find solutions to today’s global problems.

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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.