First Nation to Enter Fulbright Cost-Sharing Agreement with the United States

The Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act required that participating countries in the various Fulbright scholarship programs commit to a cost-sharing agreement with the United States Department of State. Germany was the first nation to enter into a Fulbright cost-sharing agreement and has paid for half of the costs associated with this German-American program since 1962.[1]


[1] Trent, 3; Ulrich Littmann, “A Host Country’s View: The Federal Republic of Germany” Annals of the American Academy of Political Science, 491 The Fulbright Experience and Academic Exchanges, (May, 1987), 81.

Some States See Decline in Total U.S. Study Abroad Numbers

I’m pleased to introduce our second guest blogger today. Chip Peterson from the Learning Abroad Center at the University of Minnesota has identified an interesting trend in the Open Doors 2008 data. Chip’s post follows:

While glancing through the most recent Open Doors data I noticed a curious phenomenon. One of the tables in the report is entitled, STUDY ABROAD BY U.S. STATE, 2005/06 & 2006/07. According to that table, overall study abroad numbers increased for forty states (plus DC) and declined for ten states. Four of the latter ten are located in the Upper Midwest: Iowa (-0.2%), Minnesota (-1.5%), North Dakota (-16.7%), and Wisconsin (-0.9%)! Within the Upper Midwest only South Dakota experienced an increase (+40.8%).


The remaining six states with declines were much more scattered geographically: Delaware, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Vermont.


The overall national increase, for comparison, was +8.2%.


What do you think is going on here?

HEA of Ireland Encourages More Irish Students to Study Abroad

The Thursday, November 20th edition of The Irish Times published an interesting article on the Higher Education Authority of Ireland and their plans to encourage more Irish students to study abroad. According to the article, only 1,800 Irish students study abroad each year. You can access The Irish Times article here: http://tinyurl.com/62rhjk

You can read more about student study abroad trends of Irish students and related statistics in the Eurostudent Survey II: Irish Report on the Social and Living Conditions of Higher Education Students 2003/2004 (HEA, 2005) here: http://tinyurl.com/6f2xdn

Anthropological Fieldwork Abroad with Children

As a Master of Science in Family Science (yes there is such a degree) who is working in the field of international education I found an article entitled “Fieldwork with Three Children” on insidehighered.com to be very interesting. Those of you working with faculty with children or with students who have children on planning their overseas academic endeavors might also find this to be an interesting article as well.

You can access the article here: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/11/25/anthro

Diplomatic History

I just read a very interesting article in the Chronicle of Higher Education entitled “Why We Need Diplomatic History” by Douglas Little from Clark University. I won’t summarize the article here but am providing a link (http://tinyurl.com/6jywxy) as I think many readers of this blog will find it of interest.

Can a U.S. Student Study Abroad in the United States?

As International Education Week 2008 comes to a close I wanted to pose a question that I’ve been grappling with for some time now. Can a U.S. student study abroad in the United States and, if so, can or should we count them in the Open Doors Report on U.S. Students Studying Abroad?

My answer to both these questions is “Yes” but only in certain cases. I’m thinking about the TCKs (Third Culture Kids) who hold U.S. citizenship or the dual citizens (U.S. and any other nationality) who have lived most or their entire lives outside of the United States[1] but come to the United States to pursue a higher education. I argue that many U.S. students attending our colleges and universities who meet such a profile are actually studying abroad. We don’t collect data on these types of students (and in many cases offer little or no support for these students) because we base our data collection efforts solely on U.S. citizenship and act of earning academic credit anywhere outside of the United States. The problem, of course, with collecting data on the types of students that I’m suggesting is determining a criterion or measure for qualification into this unique group of students. This measure would be based primarily on the amount of time spent living outside of the United States. If this was the only or the primary measure used in determining the eligibility of a student to be counted as a U.S. student studying abroad in the United States, what amount of time would make one eligible?

[1] Children of ex-patriots and military children could also be included in this cohort.

International Students Contribute $15.54 Billion to U.S. Economy

In conjunction with the release of IIE’s Open Doors 2008, NAFSA has released their annual 2007-2008 Economic Impact Statements. You can download the economic impact summary for the entire United States or by individual states.

I wonder what the economic impact of the 241,791 U.S. students who studied abroad in 2006-2007 was on the United States?

You can access NAFSA’s Economic Impact Statements here: http://www.nafsa.org/public_policy.sec/international_education_1/eis_2008

Over 1,000 Students with Disabilities Studied Abroad in 2006/07

Today, my colleague Michele Scheib from Mobility International USA (MIUSA) will be a featured guest blogger. Michele is discussing the new Open Doors data on U.S. students with disabilities who studied abroad in 2006-2007. Michele’s post follows:

Over 1,000 students with disabilities from 116 U.S. post-secondary institutions studied abroad for credit in 2006/07, according to baseline figures from the Institute of International Education (IIE)’s annual Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange (http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/). This represents 2.6% of the total number of study abroad students. Half of the students with disclosed disabilities reported a learning disability, while one quarter reported mental disabilities. Students with physical, sensory or other disabilities comprised the remaining 25 percent. Students with disabilitiestypically represent 9% of the student population on U.S. campuses, according to U.S.Department of Education, National Postsecondary Student Aid Studies.

IIE collected the disability data for the first time this year, and hopes the low response rate will improve next year. Purdue University, San Diego State University and Linfield College reported the largest numbers of disabled students. Information on how to collect disability data can be found on the Open Doors website (http://tinyurl.com/3ak5fa).

The National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange (NCDE) is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State and administered by Mobility International USA. The NCDE provides free information and referral services to increase the participation of people with disabilities in international exchange programs. www.miusa.org/ncde

StudyAbroad.com Site Traffic Data Also Provides Valuable Information

Yesterday’s release of IIE’s annual Open Doors report provides international educators, campus leaders, educational researchers and others with valuable data on the state of international education in the United States. Another resource in the field (and often overlooked) is StudyAbroad.com and the data it collects on traffic to and on its website.

In a press release today on the Wall Street Journal Market Watch website, StudyAbroad.com released their site traffic report. In some ways, the StudyAbroad.com site traffic data may be more revealing of the trends in U.S. study abroad than Open Doors due to lack of institutional reporting and other issues associated with data collection efforts in the field.

You can read the StudyAbroad.com press release here: http://tinyurl.com/6yacnn

Open Doors 2008

Today, the Institute of International Education (IIE) released Open Doors 2008 to the general public. This week all blog entries will focus on this new report and data.

The total number of U.S. students studying abroad rose 8 % to 241,791 in 2006-07 and the total number of international students studying in the United States increased by 7% to a record number of 623,805.

I encourage readers to look beyond the basic data presented for the nation, their institutions and alma mater(s).

You can access Open Doors 2008 here: http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/

International Education Week, Nov. 17-21, 2008

International Education Week (IEW) is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education and was first held in 2000 at the end of the Clinton administration. According to the IEW website, this occasion is now celebrated in over 100 countries across the globe. IEW marks an important period of time in U.S. higher education as it is always the time when the Institute of International Education releases its annual Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. Stay tuned next Monday, November 17th as Open Doors 2008 is released to the public.

You can access the IEW website here: http://iew.state.gov/

The Emergency Coalition to Defend Educational Travel (ECDET)

The Emergency Coalition to Defend Educational Travel (ECDET) was formed in 2004 in opposition of President Bush’s decision to restrict academic travel to Cuba. ECDET is based out of Washington, DC and is chaired by Wayne Smith of Johns Hopkins University. On November 4th, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an opinion on the ECDET v. U.S. Department of the Treasury case. You can read more about this on the popular The Volokh Conspiracy blog here: http://volokh.com/posts/1226091375.shtml

Obama Win and the Implication on International Student Applications to the United States

I just read a very interesting article on the Guardian (United Kingdom) website on the impact that Barack Obama’s election could have on the international student recruitment efforts in the United States and among our leading competitors. Barack Obama’s win was celebrated around the world (particularly right here in Obama’s neighborhood of Hyde Park, Chicago) and was unlike anything I have ever witnessed before. The Guardian article provides an interesting perspective that “4/11 could be just as significant as 9/11 in terms of its impact on international student recruitment.” Time will tell how Obama’s election will affect international student mobility across the globe.

You can access the Guardian article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/nov/05/internationalstudents-students

From NASULGC to APLU

The National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) plans to change its name to the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) on April 1, 2009. NASULGC was founded in 1887 and is the nation’s oldest higher education association.

You can read more about name change here: http://tinyurl.com/5bquya

The Federal Republic of Education

The Die Bundesregierung (The Press and Information Office of the Federal Government) website reported late in October, 2008 that the German federal and state governments plan to increase educational spending to 10% of the country’s gross domestic product by 2015. Chancellor Angela Merkel aims for Germany to become the Federal Republic of Education.

You can read more here: http://tinyurl.com/65lf4x

'I'll Remember This Trip' - Fifty Years of Study Abroad at UW-Madison by Raducha, 2008

Readers who are interested in the history of international education should find a new publication entitled 'I'll Remember This Trip' - Fifty Years of Study Abroad at UW-Madison by Joan Raducha (2008) to be of interest. This 78 page document is very well written and is available via scribd.com.

Here is the full link: http://www.scribd.com/doc/7410333/Ill-Remember-This-Trip-Fifty-years-of-study-abroad-at-UWMadison

Global Perspective Inventory Update

The following update on the Global Perspective Inventory is posted with permission from my
colleague Larry Braskamp:

In this update I am providing you some more information about the Global
Perspective Inventory, a survey that measures global learning and
development. We are presenting the results of our research and the use
of the GPI this year at over 25 colleges and universities at several
sessions at national conferences listed below. If you and your
colleagues attend a session please introduce yourself so we can get to
know how you would like to better use the results of the GPI in your
planning to enhance global learning and development.

Council of Independent Colleges --- CIC.nche.edu— Chief Academic
Officers Institute, November 1- 4, Seattle. Session: Fostering global
learning and development at a college. Paul Naour, Central College.

American Association of Colleges and Universities ---AACU.org—Annual
conference, January 22-24, Seattle. Session: Asking big questions about
being a global citizen. Alzeda Tipton, Elmhurst College; Robert Haak,
Augustana College; Paul Naour, Central College; Larry Braskamp


Institute for Student Values ---Collegevalues.org — Annual conference,
February 5-7, Florida State University. Session: Enhancing student
identity. Art Chickering, Goddard College; Larry Braskamp


Forum on Education Abroad ---Forumea.org— Annual Meeting, February
18-20, Portland. Session: Different types of students need different
types of environments. Jessica DuPlaga, College of Wooster; Neal
Sobania, Pacific Lutheran University; Kendall Brostuen, Brown
University. Workshop: Using the GPI in Study Abroad. Dennis Doyle and
Brain Zlystra, Central College; Larry Braskamp


NASPA--- naspa.org— Annual Conference, March 7 – 11, Seattle. Session:
Successful partnerships in assessment: Using the Global Perspective
Inventory to measure student learning and development. JoNes Van Hecke
and Keith Jones, Central College; Charles Walker, St Bonaventure; Joel
Frederickson, Bethel University; Larry Braskamp


You can learn more about the GPI by accessing our website,
gpi.central.edu.


On the Welcome page, please click “Take It!” if you and others wish to
take the GPI to learn of its contents. Use the Access Code, 9990, when
prompted. A partial list of the colleges administering the GPI this year
can be found by clicking on “Information and documents.” A summary of
our research on education abroad can be found in “Resources.”

Presidential Election Day in Hyde Park Chicago

I live and work in Hyde Park, Chicago and it is in the heart of Obama country. Barack Obama lives only four blocks from me and it's been very interesting to see how the security around his house has changed since he began to have Secret Service protection earlier in the year. Yesterday and today you hear helicopters flying all over the neighborhood.

My German host brother (from when I was an exchange student in Rosenheim, Germany during 1988) is here visiting for two weeks and I think it is a great time and a great neighborhood to be visiting. While I'm working he's using my bicycle to tour the city and he rides by Obama's house everyday which he finds "very cool". I'm encouraging him to head downtown tonight to see the Obama rally. He doesn't have a ticket but he is sure to get a good vibe from the action just by being outside before, during and after.

My 7 year old daughter is proudly wearing her Obama button to school today and enjoys finding signs, stickers and anything else that says Obama everywhere we walk and drive. We'll be sure to keep her up later than normal tonight to watch the election results. She's pretty engaged in the process for someone so young.

While there are many many important issues that frame this campaign I'm providing links to the candidates (at least the two that have a chance at the presidency) education policy sections of their websites so you know where they stand on the issues:

The Obama/Biden Education Policy: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/education/

The McCain/Palin Education Policy: http://tinyurl.com/5rzo6j

Last Freeman-ASIA Competition

The Institute of International Education (IIE) has announced that the Spring 2009 Freeman-ASIA study abroad scholarship competition is the last in this generous three-year grant by the Freeman Foundation. Since 2001, the Freeman-ASIA program has supported over 4,000 U.S. undergraduates to study abroad in East and Southeast Asia and reached thousands more through alumni outreach activities on campuses and in local communities.