Press Room
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ursula Oaks, 202.737.3699 x2553
For Release: Aug 15, 2007
NAFSA to Convene Task Force to Examine Institutional Management Issues in Study Abroad
WASHINGTON – NAFSA: Association of International Educators today announces that it will establish a task force to examine institutional management issues in study abroad and recommend guidelines in this area. The task force will be charged with broadly examining issues involved in universities’ management of study abroad, including the financing of study abroad, portability of financial aid, enrollment and credit-transfer policies, financial relations with third-party providers, and other issues.
Study abroad programs provide opportunities for international learning that are critical to the education of American college students and, in the long term, to the capacity of the United States to lead responsibly and compete effectively on the global stage. America’s college students recognize the great value—indeed, the necessity—of an education that includes international skills, and demand for study abroad opportunities has grown dramatically over the past decade. The growth of study abroad, and the necessity to ensure its quality and safety, has given rise to myriad institutional arrangements depending on the needs and the situation of the institution involved. In order for this crucial element of today’s higher education to be beyond reproach, it is time for the profession to review these arrangements and develop guidelines for the consideration of senior university management.
NAFSA will convene a small group of international education leaders who are well-versed in study abroad management and the challenges of managing its growth, financial arrangements, and the many types of relationships that exist between universities and outside providers. In undertaking this initiative, NAFSA seeks to support higher education’s longstanding commitment to managing these complex and challenging issues in a way that holds service to students as the top priority and maintains a high degree of integrity in keeping with the institution’s mission. Our objective is the continued growth and development of study abroad that is transparently managed, pedagogically sound, appropriately financed, accessible, and safe.
Study abroad programs provide opportunities for international learning that are critical to the education of American college students and, in the long term, to the capacity of the United States to lead responsibly and compete effectively on the global stage. America’s college students recognize the great value—indeed, the necessity—of an education that includes international skills, and demand for study abroad opportunities has grown dramatically over the past decade. The growth of study abroad, and the necessity to ensure its quality and safety, has given rise to myriad institutional arrangements depending on the needs and the situation of the institution involved. In order for this crucial element of today’s higher education to be beyond reproach, it is time for the profession to review these arrangements and develop guidelines for the consideration of senior university management.
NAFSA will convene a small group of international education leaders who are well-versed in study abroad management and the challenges of managing its growth, financial arrangements, and the many types of relationships that exist between universities and outside providers. In undertaking this initiative, NAFSA seeks to support higher education’s longstanding commitment to managing these complex and challenging issues in a way that holds service to students as the top priority and maintains a high degree of integrity in keeping with the institution’s mission. Our objective is the continued growth and development of study abroad that is transparently managed, pedagogically sound, appropriately financed, accessible, and safe.
