COIL 101: A Starter Guide to Virtual Exchange and Collaborative Online International Learning

What are virtual exchanges? What is COIL? How do we implement it effectively? What risks should we consider?

If you’ve asked yourself any of these questions, you’re in the right place. This guide brings together a “COIL 101” resource list and starter guide to answer these and other questions. We’ve separated them by what the different resources hope to address, etc. As you go through this list, it’s our hope that your knowledge of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) will grow and you’ll be better equipped to incorporate them into your own internationalization efforts.

What is COIL?

There are a number of resources that provide the COIL curious with some basic descriptions and easy-to-grasp examples of effective COIL programming. The article and video below are good starting points that introduce important definitions and provide insightful context for deeper dives into COIL and virtual exchanges. 

Virtual Exchange vs. COIL

While the terms ‘virtual exchange (VE)” and “Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)” are often used in connection with each other, it would be wrong to say they were perfectly interchangeable. In their article “Defining Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) and Distinguishing it from Virtual Exchange”, pedagogy scholars Simone Hackett, Mark Dawson, Jeroen Janssen & Jan van Tartwijk pull from a wide array of empirical work in virtual exchanges and the efforts of eminent COIL scholars to provide concrete understandings of VE, COIL, their differing characteristics, and reasons for why educators should not mix the terms. 

COIL in Practice CUNY’s Experience

Three faculty and administrators from different City University of New York (CUNY) campuses meet in January of 2025 on this episode of CUNY’s EdCast program titled Global Minds: Learning without Borders through COIL. In this short episode, they dive into the history of virtual exchanges and COIL as a type of VE, how COIL developed at CUNY, and where they see it going in the future. The most informative part of the episode are the included testimonials from students and faculty about their experiences, both the positives and areas for improvement in future exchanges.

Benefits of COIL

Once you understand what COIL is, the next logical question is: Why does it matter? These resources offer practical examples and research-grounded insights.

In 2022, administrators and faculty from Langara College in Canada and Lovely Professional University in India, arranged a presentation called “Why COIL Virtual Exchange Matters”. In this talk, they provide a practical example of how a program gets off the ground (1. Administrators connect 2. Faculty begin planning together), as well as student success stories, and learned insights from the program. Additionally, presenters specifically connect the benefits and outcomes of COIL to some of the UN SDGs, emphasizing the greater impact of COIL in those areas. (45:45)

COIL and Intercultural Competence

In that same year, Jessica Geraldine Borger from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia published a supplemental article discussing the enhancement of intercultural competency (ICC) through COIL. In Getting to the CoRe of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), Borger details the ways that faculty, particularly faculty in the sciences, often struggle with incorporating cultural competencies into their pedagogy and gives data-based evidence on how virtual exchanges can help fill in that teaching gap.

Challenges to COIL

It is rare for any endeavor, no matter how well thought out or well intentioned, to be ever truly perfectly executed. A few of the resources we listed address ways to improve COIL experiences and lessons learned from past COIL exchanges. However, we’d be remiss if we did not highlight additional resources that identify specific pitfalls of COIL programming and ways to improve COIL programs. 

Navigating Cultural and Institutional Differences

An insightful article in the 2016 Journal of Technology Management & Innovation, titled “Collaborative Online International Learning Experience in Practice Opportunities and Challenges” goes into detail on what is required to run effective COILs. Authors take the time to explain the various ways that differences in culture need to be navigated when inviting students from different countries to collaborate, specifically in the areas of individualism versus collectivism and time orientation. They also highlight struggles with institutional support and challenges in the equitable use of technological platforms. 

Addressing Critiques and Barriers

Robert O’Dowd is a scholar with years of experience studying and facilitating virtual exchanges. In Oct, 2024, O’Dowd gave a presentation titled “Overcoming Challenges and Barriers in Virtual Exchange”. In his talk, O’Dowd gives space for critique of virtual exchanges as a poor alternative to real-world study abroad and follows up with practical tips for how faculty and program leaders can help students make the most of their virtual exchange experiences.  

Conclusion & Additional Resources

This is far from the end of the resources and materials available on COIL and virtual exchanges! There are plenty of practitioners and experts who are willing to share their COIL experiences and advice. Continue deepening your understanding of COIL by visiting the additional resources below. 

The SUNY COIL Center is frequently named in presentations, scholarly articles, and other sources of information on the subjects of COIL and virtual exchanges. This body of experienced COIL facilitators and organizers have well established themselves as a respected hub for information and insight in this area of campus internationalization. Their youtube video library is a rich resource and a good introduction to the rest of their content. 

The Barzinji Institute for Global Virtual Learning, housed at Shenandoah University, is also a phenomenal resource for anyone eager to know more about COIL. With its years of award winning experience in COIL programming, this institute also serves as a tremendous resource for anyone hoping to bring COIL to their own campus. Their youtube library, while not entirely dedicated to COIL or virtual exchanges, has many informative videos on the subjects.  

The Stevens Initiative, a program of the Aspen Institute, is a strong advocate of virtual exchanges, particularly focusing on programs to less commonly visited destinations like the MENA region. The Initiative provides virtual programming of their own, grants to support students on programs, training for facilitators, and reporting on trends within virtual exchange – including an annual report on exchanges across their international partnerships