Empowering students with the necessary tools and resources regarding health, safety, and wellbeing abroad is an essential goal of many offices or institutions’ pre-departure programming. However, students’ sexual health — particularly the unique issues and concerns of LGBTQI+ identified students — is often overlooked or perhaps not sufficiently addressed in pre-departure orientations and materials. During this community discussion, participants will learn more about a few of the many sexual health considerations for LGBTQI+ identified student travelers, and discuss the ways in which important topics regarding sexual health can be better incorporated or emphasized in students’ comprehensive pre-departure preparations. Note: This session is designed for participants with an intermediate level of understanding of the LGBTQI+ community and issues.
A document with additional resources can be found in a document below the embedded video.
Presenters:
Kyle Keith (he, him, his) – International Programs Coordinator, North Carolina State University
Andy Quackenbush (he, him, his) – Study Abroad Advisor, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Melissa Chambers (she, her, hers) – Associate Director of Institutional Relations, Arcadia University – College of Global Studies
Posted: Friday, October 18, 2019 By: Jill Blondin, Ph.D. – Interim Executive Director of Global Education Office, Virginia Commonwealth University Christina Marino, M.A. – Assistant Director of Residence Education, VCU Globe, Virginia Commonwealth University
VCU Globe is an innovative, award-winning, and interdisciplinary global education living-learning program at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) that focuses on building students’ cultural agility through coursework, volunteer work, and co-curricular activities. A key outcome of the program is helping students to prepare for careers in an increasingly globalized world. With more than 300 students in 65 majors participating in the program, VCU Globe is devoted to preparing a diverse group of participants to succeed in their chosen field. In fact, the student population of VCU Globe has more ethnic diversity than the larger VCU campus at 66% and 43% respectively. Furthermore, 46% of VCU Globe students are Pell Grant eligible, while overall the campus has a 33% Pell Grant eligibility. VCU Globe has graduated 180 students who are pursuing advanced degrees in their fields of study or working in their desired industry. In this article, we will share strategies for creating professional development opportunities and career readiness in the context of global learning for a diverse population of students.
In 2015, the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) contracted Hart Research Associates to survey employers in order to understand which learning outcomes employers believe are most important to succeed in today’s economy (Hart Research Associates, 2015). This research revealed that 80% of employers felt that it was very important for recent college graduates to demonstrate the ability to apply learning in real-world settings (Hart Research Associates, 2015, p.6). Experiential learning and career preparedness are at the heart of what VCU Globe provides its students.
Since VCU Globe is an interdisciplinary program, this means that the staff and faculty must be prepared to assist and guide students of all majors. This assistance takes place early in a participant’s involvement in the program. In the first semester, students take an introductory course in which they are required to complete an “Industry Assignment”: they must interview someone in their prospective field and ask them specific questions about the way in which they developed and benefited from intercultural competence. This assignment is designed to help students develop professional networks, learn about their desired career from a professional in the field, and begin to connect curricular learning with careers. This interview experience often translates into a longer relationship, and sometimes mentorship or employment, for the student.
Students are also required to attend a number of career-focused workshops. From resume writing to networking to applying for national scholarships, such as the Fulbright, opportunities are provided to each VCU Globe student. These workshops bring experts to the students where they live and this helps to eliminate barriers and promote learning. These workshops are as diverse as our students and we try to bring in as many relevant opportunities during their VCU Globe experience. VCU Globe partners with VCU’s National Scholarship Office, VCU Career Services, VCU Libraries, and many other units to lead the workshops and share the services of their offices with our students. These workshops are required: in fact, they are tied into the curriculum as a graded assignment in specific courses. This highlights a comprehensive investment in our student’s professional lives: our goal is to ensure that each VCU Globe graduate is ready and able to compete for their dream job.
The capstone course of the program requires reflection, resume writing, and the completion of an electronic portfolio (e-portfolio) that documents a students learning while also being something tangible a student can share that demonstrates their career readiness. The e-portfolio in particular allows students to tell their stories of volunteer, curricular work, study abroad experiences, and co-curricular experiences that they have had. Hart Research Associates found that 80% of employers would find an e-portfolio useful in determining success (2015, pg. 13). The capstone course also works with students to encourage their own individual reflection on the program and begin translating their growth and experiences to potential employers or graduate programs. In the capstone course, we do a comprehensive review of all of each student’s resume and cover letter or professional statement. Through this process we work to ensure that the student has materials that are concise, tailored to their potential career path, and descriptive of their experiences. The capstone course also brings in campus experts from VCU University Relations and Career Services to discuss how social media impacts careers and how self assessments can assist in the job search and graduate school search process. Overall the capstone course really attempts to help students explain in professional documents the work they have done while at VCU and relate it to their desired careers.
VCU Globe is a Peace Corps Prep program and 78% of VCU Globe students are also working on certificates of completion from the Peace Corps. This Peace Corps Prep certificate is another way for students to highlight to potential employers that they have had a hands-on learning experience, served a diverse population, and focused on professional preparedness. There are opportunities to engage with Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) and speak with them about the challenges and successes of living and working abroad. As a Peace Corps Prep program, we work closely with the Peace Corps Recruiter in the area and provide a variety of opportunities for students to learn more about serving in the Peace Corps. Many of the VCU Globe students also work on campus as Campus Ambassadors for the Peace Corps. Furthermore, there is a competitive advantage for students if they decide to apply to the Peace Corps. Even if the student is not planning to work for the Peace Corps, this certificate highlights the cultural agility skills that the student has spent a significant amount of time working intentionally to improve.
The program also provides special career development opportunities that are designed to enhance a students’ resume, build leadership skills as well as communication skills. VCU Globe staff members work to utilize the resources in the Richmond metropolitan area to foster new relationships with employers, faculty, and non-profit organizations. Each year, for example, VCU Globe offers engaging visits to local Fortune 500 companies with global interests, such as Canon in Newport News, Ocean Network Express (ONE) in Richmond, and even U.S. Embassy visits for students participating in study abroad programs. The program also works with nearly a dozen non-profit organizations that serve the immigrant and refugee populations to place students as volunteers. Many of our students work with English as a Second Language (ESL) students in local Richmond Schools or Adult Education programs. There are unique opportunities for VCU Globe students to utilize their Spanish or Arabic language abilities in local clinics and community centers.
All of these strategies create professional development opportunities and career readiness in the context of global learning, and can be applied or adapted at different institutions depending on curriculum, faculty expertise, and students’ needs. Such student-focused career development opportunities embedded into global learning, prepares students for careers in an increasingly globalized world. VCU Globe students have a mean GPA 3.09 compared to 2.94 for the larger university. Since the first participants graduated from VCU in May of 2016, the success of VCU Globe’s professional development strategies has yielded 3 Fulbright Scholarship recipients; 1 Goldwater Honorable Mention; 7 Peace Corps Volunteers; 7 jobs with service organizations, such as AmeriCorps and Teach for America; 57 working in their desired field; and 33 pursuing advanced education in graduate or professional school.
Works Cited (APA Style)
Hart Research Associates (2015). Falling Short? College Learning and Career Success Selected Findings from Online Surveys of Employers and College Students Conducted on Behalf of the Association of American Colleges & Universities. Washington, D.C.: Hart Research Associates.
Posted: Friday, October 18, 2019 By: Dr. Thandi Dinani, Director- Office of Study Abroad, Belmont University Sarah Langston, Senior University Relations Manager, SAI Programs Michelle Morris, Program Assistant, Howard University Jenny Sullivan, Director of Education Abroad and International Fellowships, Rochester Institute of Technology
Over the last decade, the field of education abroad has recognized and acknowledged the significant discrepancy in the diversity of study abroad participants studying abroad each year. The Institute of International Education’s (IIE) Open Doors Report revealed that 8.8% of the 325,339 students who studied abroad in the 2015/16 reported studying abroad with a disability. This percentage was an increase of 3.5% from 2014/15. Even more interesting, the percentage of students studying abroad with reported disabilities has increased from 2.6% (1006 students) in 2006/2007 to 8.8% (5,641) in 2015/2016. Similarly, institutions reporting students with disabilities who are studying abroad has increased from 1006 institutions in 2006/7 to 5,641 institutions in 2015/16.
Consequently, institutions have increased commitment to not only review their respective enrollment, but to implement policies and practices that reflect an institutional commitment to increase the diversity of students who have access to international opportunities. The increase of diversity amongst students with disabilities requires institutions to implement policies and practices that increase recruitment, provide support, and ensure resources are available to students, education abroad offices, and international partner institutions.
In this article, we encourage institutions and education abroad offices to think beyond simply ensuring access and resources to students with disabilities. We introduce the concept of developing “inclusive design.” Consider ways that your services and programs can be inclusive of as many needs and abilities as possible. This concept and practice goes beyond accessibility or making special considerations for people with disabilities. It challenges institutions to fundamentally redesigning policies, processes, communications, programs and resources so that fewer barriers exist from the outset. Where accessibility aims to fill in the gaps left by exclusionary design practices, inclusive design aims to surpass conventional definitions and change standards of practice. For example, making it standard practice to upload transcripts and audio descriptions of lectures is one inclusive strategy that benefits deaf participants, blind participants and everyone else. Considering all students when initially designing materials and processes ensures all students are able to access materials as opposed to providing transcripts for specific students after-the-fact. When advising students with disabilities, try to think beyond how special considerations can be made for them, and how programs can be redesigned to provide a different-but full- experience for all participants of all abilities.
While many institutions have a foundation for supporting students with disabilities who study abroad, it is important to continually refine practices and processes. The essential questions institutions are asking are: How can we provide equal access to all students and encourage all students to participate in high impact opportunities like study abroad? How can we enhance their experience abroad and measure success? In this article, we hope to present a framework for thinking about how you can intentionally make strides and adopt strategies that will increase the participation and quality of experience for students with disabilities and all students who study abroad.
Supporting students with disabilities to study abroad is a complex topic because every student’s situation is unique. There is no one prescriptive solution for all students. To assist in identifying and developing inclusive practices, we propose the following framework to make progress toward identifying more useful and universal best practices. The framework may also help institutions and offices organize and prioritize initiatives. Making continual efforts, however big or small, in each of these areas will have a cumulative effect on the overall assistance and support provided to students with disabilities who study abroad.
The framework suggests five areas to research and review at your institution: policies, processes, communications, programs, and resources. For each of these areas, we encourage institutions to be intentional and thorough to complete five steps: 1) identify the situation, 2) evaluate possible solutions, 3) strategize ways to proceed, 4) implement your actions, and 5) assess your efforts.
Framework Section One: Policies Consider whether your current policies are helping or hindering the student experience? What new policies might you need to better support students? We encourage you to evaluate your policies related to:
If/how/when a student should self-disclose
Role and expectations of interpreters/aides during “off-hours”
Office definition of “reasonable accommodations”
Framework Section Two: Processes Review how processes in your education abroad office and other offices at your institution support students with disabilities? How can you improve or create new supportive processes? Consider examining your processes related to:
Accessibility of current advising and presentation materials
Evaluation of a location, partner or program for accessibility
Accessibility of how and where you meet with students
Training for staff and faculty for working with students with disabilities
Framework Section Three: Communications Next, we encourage you to review your print and online materials. Are students with disabilities represented in your marketing materials? What kind of language are you using in your communications? How do you communicate with students about their experiences abroad? For example, do you:
Intentionally market to and recruit students with disabilities
Offer advising and pre-departure training that prepares students for experiencing stereotypes or discrimination in another culture
Have a plan for communicating with family members who may have different opinions about a student’s needs
Framework Section Four: Programs Think about the various programs your office manages. Are the programs manageable for a person with disabilities? If not, are there appropriate alternatives you can manage? Consider the following:
Utilize partners who are based in-country and have experience with local laws and practices
Conduct program run-throughs with attention to accommodations that students may require
Survey your partners regarding their accessibility and services
Ask your campus disability services office to review the program schedule
Framework Section Five: Resources Lastly, we encourage offices and institutions to investigate opportunities that may be available through your campus, state, or federal government. Is there a campus funding pool available to support student accommodations abroad?
Consider federal sources such as Vocational Rehabilitation funds, and encourage students to apply for scholarships such as the Benjamin A. Gilman Award and Diversity Abroad
Explore professional support staff on your campus such as captionists, note takers, interpreters, mobility trainers, personal care assistants, and others who may be able to travel
Include a margin in program fees that can be used for accommodations, if needed
As you are reviewing your policies and practices, we encourage you to connect with external resources as well. In addition to the Diversity Abroad network, the following organizations provide helpful information related to working with students with disabilities: Mobility International: National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange, Forum on Education Abroad Standards of Good Practice Toolbox, NAFSA’s “Promoting Inclusion in Education Abroad: A Handbook of Research and Practice.”
Increasing the diversity of participants requires continual review of existing practices to ensure that we are providing quality programming for all students. By considering the framework’s practices and ideas, your office can work toward offering more inclusive programming for all students on your campus. By offering services and programs that are inclusive of students with disabilities, we are, in turn, enhancing the experience for all students. Having diverse participants on programs not only provides an opportunity for the individual student, but also brings a new lens to the program, expands perspectives of all participants, and results in a more robust global learning experience.
Posted: Friday, October 18, 2019 Contributed by: 2017-2018 Diversity Abroad Religious Identity Task Force members: Vivian-Lee Nyitray – Univ of California System; Lillian Read – Institute for Study Abroad, Butler University; Ira Kirschner – Rothberg International School, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Ashley Metz – University of Minnesota, Learning Abroad Center; Daniella Lubey – University of San Francisco
It is safe to wager that most students studying abroad in recent, current or future years are not familiar with the 1991 R.E.M. song referenced in the title of this article. While the song’s lyrics are not actually about losing one’s religion (in fact, it is a southern saying akin to ‘being at the end of one’s rope’), like all good art – it can be about anything you want it to be about. Appropriately, the song’s lyrics (such as “…life is bigger… than you, and you are not me…”) can be relevant and significant to the religious identity experience many students go through while studying abroad.
For many people, religion is an invisible identity, unless they choose to wear clear religious symbols or religious dress. Those who don’t ‘show’ their identity, can also choose whether to ‘out’ themselves as religious (or as secular, if they are in a religious society). The choice to visibly identify as religious is just one choice that many people can make regarding identity throughout their lives. It can be a challenging decision due to anticipated perceptions about the reaction from others – will my identity be disrespected? Will I be ridiculed for believing, or not believing, in a higher power? Is my religious practice legal in my current location? For others, it is not so much a concern, but more that they consider religion a private or personal matter and not something they need or want to share with others.
Religious Identity in Study Abroad
While studying abroad, students are faced with establishing support networks in a new environment that can feel far from the comforts of home. This can place students who want to explore a religion in a situation they haven’t experienced before – do they out themselves and risk being, at best, acknowledged as “the (non)religious one”, or at worst, ridiculed as “the (non)believer”? This question echoes even stronger for students coming from a country where they were a religious majority, and are studying abroad in a country where they are a religious minority – such as Christian American students studying in a predominantly Muslim, Jewish or Buddhist country. Being in the religious minority abroad raises questions about accessibility to religious services and resources, personal safety, and more. Being perceived or treated as a “minority” while abroad can be a valuable learning opportunity for students who may have no prior experience being “othered” at home. Although this is a unique experience for students to better understand the everyday challenges of their peers from minority or underrepresented communities, it can still be a jarring experience for students who have never experienced a minority status before. Many of these experiences were indicated on a recent student survey distributed by Diversity Abroad and members of the Diversity Network Religious Identity Task Force. An American Christian student who studied abroad in a diverse religious community in South Africa reflected on her time as a religious minority stating: “[studying abroad there was] a learning and humbling curve for me to realize that I ought to also be tolerant to other people’s religions and not feel so superior and conceited.”
Exposure of religious identity is also a critical issue for students with other visible identities, and raises the topic of intersectionality and legitimacy of dual identities. Due to the way that some religious leaders treat those who identify as LGBTQ, there are members of the queer community that are not comfortable around religion. Does this mean that an LGBTQ observant Muslim will be unwanted in an LGBTQ group due to their religious beliefs? There are also implications for race and ethnicity. In Israel it is not uncommon for a person of color to be Jewish. However, outside of Israel, Judaism is not a religion often associated with a person of color. Will that person not be believed to be Jewish, simply because of the color of their skin? Additionally, students may find that their ethnicity means that their host culture assumes they practice a certain religion. A Christian student studying abroad in India reported, “I am Indian by heritage, so when I went abroad many people assumed I was Hindu since majority of Indians are.”
Supporting Students in the Religious Minority
These are not easy questions, and often require bravery from the student to insist on the legitimacy of their intersectional identity. In regard to “outing” one’s self as non-religious/religious, it is important to keep personal safety in mind and the specific country the student is in. Sometimes, people are curious about those that are different than they are and other times, they may be afraid of those that are different than they are. Open communication about faith, or lack of faith, is extremely conducive to learning about the other, building bridges and dismantling fears. Additionally, students going to a country where religion is a dominant and highly visible part of the host culture may need advice on how to interact with that aspect of society while abroad. A Christian student who studied in Oman stated, “I felt comfortable with what I am (Christian), but I was more worried on how to show I do not judge religion of any sort and I am open minded, while being in the Middle East.”
The same is true about becoming a religious minority while studying abroad. No one should be afraid to ask about finding resources and a religious community. Religious minority students will often find a desire to support their religious needs because they are a religious minority – as opposed to denying them access to resources because of that.
Religious students also need to be aware that they might be held up as an example for their entire religion, and might be called out if they defy the religious stereotype. For example, a Christian student that identified as religious might be reminded by their roommates not to forget to go to church on Sunday – even if the Christian student wasn’t planning on going. A Jewish student might be called out for eating pork, and a Muslim student might not be invited to a pub crawl because their peers might assume that they don’t drink alcohol or don’t want to be in an environment that serves it. It’s important also to acknowledge Atheist students, who might be criticized for any portrayal of a religious belief, whether intentional or not.
Recommendations
Ultimately, these decisions are personal, and are up to each student. Individual factors also play a part and include the specific country’s religion and climate, the student’s comfort and level of self-confidence, and more. It is necessary for study abroad advisors to feel comfortable asking students if religious identity is a consideration for their study abroad experience; if students don’t feel comfortable talking about it, they can opt out of the discussion (but at least the responsibility of bringing it up won’t be on them). Staff at the hosting institutions should go out of their way to address this issue by normalizing the topic of religion, making sure that all advisors have a general familiarity with religious identities, and designating a staff member who will help connect students to the relevant resources in their host community. Students should feel comfortable asking all staff, from advisors at their home universities to their host institutions abroad, about resources for their religious identity. The comfort of discussing religion can be created by providing resources for students (that advisors can present to them without having in depth familiarity of specific identities), of alumni discussing their experiences abroad in relation to their identity – blogs, vlogs, interviews, or even a list of alumni who are willing to be contacted by prospective students. We should all remember that making religious identity visible or invisible is a choice that everyone can make, that intersectionality of other identities with religious identity is not only legitimate but common, and that religious journeys are full of ups and downs (not to mention lefts and rights). It is a valuable experience for students to go through the processes of losing, or gaining, their religions while studying abroad.
Posted: Friday, October 18, 2019 Contributed by: Adam Freed, University Relations Manager, CISabroad
It is well-documented that most participants in U.S. outbound study abroad programs are white, female, or both. Open Doors data shows that for over a decade, the representation of female students in these programs hovered around 65%, and in the same period, white students accounted for an average of 78% of all outbound study abroad participants (Student Profile, 2017). This “demographic gap” has seen increasing interest from researchers and professionals over the past decade. Universities and international education organizations have devoted significant resources into addressing some of the theorized causes of the “demographic gap” and have found some success. However, there is another clear issue within international education, one that influences participant diversity and if not addressed may slow the progress of diversity initiatives: The same “demographic gap” that is seen in participants is also present among the professionals in the field. Until we take a hard look in the mirror and address our own failings when it comes to diversity, we will do our students a disservice in advocating for their diversification.
First, it is important to understand where we stand today in terms of how the field of international education understands the “demographic gap”. Across all of the research that has been done thus far relating to student diversity in outbound study abroad, there are a number of common factors that are theorized to impact a students’ decision to participate or not participate in study abroad programs. Some of the most frequently cited factors are: overall student demographics among U.S. undergraduates (Terra Dotta, 2015), course offerings and applicability to graduation requirements (Barclay Hamir, 2011), financial aid availability (Bandyopadhyay, 2015), student predisposition/motivation (Salisbury, et al., 2008, Li, 2013), expectations/perceptions from students and families (McClure, et al., 2010), and marketing strategies (LaCount, 2016).
Professionals looking to address diversity among participants may find it daunting to know where to direct resources in order to have the biggest impact. To more clearly understand where an initiative can be most effective, it is useful to categorize these theorized factors. All of these factors have a subject, which is to say that each places the emphasis on one particular entity. In this case, these two possible entities are the student (the individual participant) and the system (the study abroad office or provider), so every factor is either student-centric or system-centric. Each factor can be more distinctly categorized by whether it comes from inside the entity (internal) or from outside (external). For example, financial aid is categorized as external student-centric because the availability of financial aid is largely dependent on the student but is controlled by an outside force (the university). The factors previously mentioned and others are categorized in the chart below for reference.
Factors Impacting Students’ Study Abroad Participation Decision
Internal Student-centric
External Student-centric
Predisposition to study abroad Career aspirations/personal motivation Perceptions of study abroad as a possibility
Applicability to graduation requirements Financial aid/other costs Cultural/familial expectations
Internal System-centric
External System-centric
Program duration Course offerings The X-Factor
U.S. undergraduate demographics Political climate
The X-Factor: Diversity Among Professionals The chart above is useful for anyone working towards greater diversity in outbound study abroad because it shows where professionals can have an impact and what factors may be out of their hands. However, there is a major gap in the research on one factor that has the widest-ranging impact across multiple other factors: international educators themselves. Using the categorization above, this internal system-centric factor has arguably the widest reach of all. From program development to marketing, international education professionals have an incredible influence over the entire study abroad process.
For this article, I examined eight higher education institutions and eight study abroad provider organizations regarding the demographic makeup of their staff based on the staff directory pages on their public websites. On average, white women represented 67.5% of staff, with white representation overall averaged 84.9%. When compared to the Open Doors data on demographics of outbound students, it is hard not to note a similarity. If the field sees the “demographic gap” among students to be cause for widespread action, shouldn’t it also approach its internal “demographic gap” with the same gravity?
Until now, diversity initiatives have largely focused on what is being done. From scholarships to new program models to changing advising/marketing practices, the field has been addressing the “demographic gap” through changing methods. The data suggests that another pertinent and effective area to address is who is directing the efforts, and that in addition to changing the methods, it is also changing the people doing the work that will bring about a lasting impact.
Consider the example of a study abroad office advising staff. If, in the case of many offices, the advisors are all white, a student from a racial minority may find it difficult to resonate with the advisor’s excitement about their own experiences abroad. The sharing of the advisor’s experience may not be useful in drawing that minority student in, as it is a near certainty that the student’s experience will be different because of racial bias or outright racism from which the white advisor may have been entirely shielded. Likewise, the white advisor may not have a good answer to a question like “What can I expect as a black woman abroad?”. Of course, there are myriad resources available online and through organizations like Diversity Abroad, but the best resource is the one that is already in the office and available immediately.
Study abroad staff may also unconsciously influence programs and student participation. If one majority group has control over the design, development, recruitment/marketing, and implementation of programs, it is not unreasonable to suggest that there may be some unintended biases toward members of that same majority group. At the very least, having a field that is visibly dominated by one demographic assuredly feeds the perception that study abroad is for one type of student.
What Can We Do? The best news is that there are some relatively easy ways to reverse the field’s “demographic gap”. First, we need to elevate diverse professionals in the field and provide them opportunities to share their knowledge and unique perspectives. Secondly, we need to hire diverse staff to fill our study abroad offices at all levels. It isn’t enough to simply organize an annual diversity training for an all-white staff; we need to intentionally change the demographic makeup of our offices. Diversity trainings are important and should not be minimized, but no amount of training can replace the value of multiple perspectives and experiences being present daily.
There will undoubtedly be reasons cited for why the field looks the way that it does, just as there are reasons given for why outbound programs lack diverse groups of participants. Over time, it’s possible that some of these trends will reverse as more and more non-white undergraduates enter our offices, but until then, how many students will be left without the chance to study abroad? Either the field is committed to diversity or it isn’t. If we are, then we must look in the mirror and admit our own failings if we are to make any sort of an impact at all.
References
Bandyopadhyay, S., & Bandyopadhyay, K. (n.d.). Factors Influencing Student Participation In College Study Abroad Programs. Retrieved August 5, 2018, from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1060059.pdf
Hamir, H. B. (2011). Go Abroad and Graduate On-Time: Study Abroad Participation, Degree Completion, and Time-to-Degree. Retrieved August 5, 2018, from Go Abroad and Graduate On-Time: Study Abroad Participation, Degree Completion, and Time-to-Degree
Li, M., Olson, J., & Frieze, I. (2013). Students’ Study Abroad Plans: The Influence of Motivational and Personality Factors. Retrieved August 5, 2018, from Students’ Study Abroad Plans: the Influence of Motivational and Personality Factors
Salisbury, M. H. (2008, June 20). Going Global: Understanding the Choice Process of the Intent to Study Abroad. Retrieved August 5, 2018, from Going Global: Understanding the Choice Process of the Intent to Study Abroad Student Profile. (n.d.). Retrieved August 5, 2018, from https://www.iie.org/Research-and-Insights/Open-Doors/Data/US-Study-Abroad/Student-Profile
Title: Sustainability in Action: Integrating SDGs into International Education
Presenters:
Sean Reilly, AFS
Saskia Kaya, AFS
Description:
Integrating Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into international education programs enhances their global impact. This session explores how SDG-focused curricula prepare students and educators for responsible and informed global citizenship..
Discuss how SDGs can be seamlessly integrated into curriculum and program design.
Highlight the value of aligning international education goals with global sustainability objectives.
Share examples of collaborative projects or community engagement initiatives tied to SDGs.
Explore the benefits of preparing students with sustainability-focused learning outcomes.
Title: Identity & Inclusion at the Crossroads: Involving Students in the Development of Practical Support Strategies in the European Context
Leadra Reeves, CASA Granada Spring ’24 Alum & Travel Grant Awardee
Dani Kaufman-Sedano, CASA Granada Spring ’23 Alum & Travel Grant Awardee
Description:
Join a seasoned study abroad director and two program alums as they share their stories, effective strategies, easy-to-implement practices, and the measurable outcomes that result from incorporating student voices in the development of inclusive support services onsite. In this deep-dive session, we invite you to engage in the exercise of validating the lived experiences of recent graduates whose identities span a range of both visible and invisible identities that we often encounter among our student cohorts, and of translating those experiences into concrete strategies. More specifically, based on both research findings and direct personal experiences, we will:
Come to a comprehensive understanding of inclusion, drawing from the different approaches utilized in Europe and the U.S., and the lived experiences of our students at this crossroads, and use it as the foundation for building inclusive programs and practices.
Explore the importance and the impact of inclusive approaches in academic and cultural adjustment support on students’ overall wellbeing and personal growth.
Identify specific challenges that students of varying identities face while studying abroad in Europe, with a particular focus on students of low-income backgrounds, Black students, LGBTQ+ students, and students of different religious backgrounds.
Discuss intentional support services/resources that study abroad programs can provide for diverse student populations in close collaboration with their host partners – institutions, host families, faculty, community organizations – and how to approach potential obstacles that may surface.
Engage with the process of developing, implementing and evaluating the success of inclusive initiatives, and measuring the direct impact on your students and the future of your program!
Title: From Abroad to Beyond: Turning European Experiences into Career Success
Presenters:
Nicola Sullivan, AIFS
Maya Edwards, AIFS
Description:
Global education experiences in Europe equip students with unique skills for careers in public and private sectors. This session highlights how these experiences translate into employability and career preparedness.
Explore how global education in Europe impacts students’ employability and career preparedness.
Identify transferable skills developed through international education and their alignment with workforce demands.
Discuss reverse culture shock and strategies to leverage the abroad experience professionally.
Showcase alumni success stories to inspire future students.
Concurrent Session Block 3
The Role of the Global University in Navigating Conflict, Dialogue, Transformation — How campuses cultivate dialogue, resilience, and civic readiness amid geopolitical tension while keeping learning and community at the center.
Partnerships that Drive Real Collaboration & Innovation — Models that move beyond finance-only deals to co-created programs, research, and talent pathways linking MENA and global institutions.
Concurrent Session Block 2
Making the Student Success Case for International Education to Campus Leadership — How to build deeper support for global learning among campus leadership by framing international education as a key driver to improving student success.
Inclusion in MENA: Narratives, Demographics & Opportunity — Public narratives about MENA are often formed at a distance. This session examines inclusion through societal trends and the policy frameworks that enable openness and stability.
The Value of International & Experiential Study Through the Lens of Global Employers — What employers say global and experiential learning uniquely delivers, from teamwork across cultures to problem-solving on real projects.
Concurrent Session Block 1
Preparing Today’s International Students for Tomorrow’s Workforce — How institutions align global and experiential learning along with employer partnerships so international students translate global study into career readiness and impact.
Unique Mental Health & Wellbeing Considerations for Study to & from MENA — Culturally grounded approaches that support student wellbeing across languages, faith, family expectations, and cross-border transitions.
Tech for Global Education: What’s Actually Working? — Practical, people-first uses of digital tools that expand reach, improve student support, and strengthen collaboration without turning staff into technologists.
