2006 The Year of Study Abroad
Take Action!

Celebrating the Year of Study Abroad is about more than appreciating how much progress study abroad has made in the recent past. This year is an opportunity for us to imagine a larger, more important role for international experiences for all undergraduate students. The following is a list of activities ~ some simple, some complex ~ that you can undertake to help promote study abroad.

College Administrators

• Make global learning a part of the college’s mission statement.
• Include passport applications in all freshman welcome packets.
• Include study abroad in the marketing of your university.
• Surveys show that more than 50% of graduating high school seniors are interested in studying abroad.
• Make the study abroad office a stop on the campus tour.
• Utilize the official “2006 Year of Study Abroad” logo or create your own  special “Year of Study Abroad” logo, place it on the home page of your institutions’ website and produce promotional materials to emphasize the variety of ways in which you are committed to international programming.
• Advertise study abroad in student newspapers and on campus radio and television.
• Feature talks by students who studied abroad on college TV monitors around campus.
• Promote study abroad in the foreign language classes.

• Create a master list of classes students may receive credit for while abroad.

Maintaining and sharing this list will help students make better decisions and will help faculty become engaged in the selection of high-quality programs.

• Work with your local embassies, consulates or other international organizations to promote their country and culture as a study abroad destination.
• Invite visiting international students and scholars to present lectures on campus. 
• Invite international students to serve as guest speakers at local high schools in an effort to spark the interest in study abroad before students reach college age. 
• Reward significant faculty involvement in study abroad by acknowledging it in tenure and promotion reviews.

 Faculty

• Get involved!
• Contact your college’s study abroad office to find out what opportunities are available or work together to create a unique international program.
• If you act as an academic advisor, educate yourself on all the possibilities that students have to study abroad.
• Champion inclusion and integration of study abroad across curriculum.

• Make study abroad a degree requirement for students, especially in the institutions’ honors programs.
• Many schools already have requirements for the following majors: foreign languages, international relations, and international business.

• Collaborate with corporate, non-profit and government communities to identify   the match between their operational needs and academic preparation that will enhance graduates’ global competency.

• Supplement program costs through special scholarships for studying abroad.
• Participate in visits to sites where students are studying abroad

International Education Offices

• Talk with your senior administration to promote study abroad. Show them your ranking in Open Doors, and compare your institution with other similar campuses.
• Invite faculty to be involved.
• Encourage faculty to participate in existing programs.
• Create a list of classes that can be taken abroad that faculty can share with the students they advise and mentor.
• Engage faculty in the selection of high-quality programs.
• Explore interest among faculty and institutional research offices in conducting study abroad research/assessment of student learning.
• Make sure you are on the agenda to speak at freshman orientation.
• Be the most visible office on campus.
• Study abroad offices need to be visible and apparent to students. Post signs in and offer information to every office students regularly visit.

• Have “Open House” Days.
• While most study abroad offices are always open for visits, create attention by announcing specific days where students and faculty are invited to stop by at any time to ask questions. (Offering cookies helps!)
• Schedule regular study abroad information sessions each semester.
• Don’t be a stranger to the rest of the college!
• Sending a student abroad requires the cooperation of many institutional offices. The offices of Admissions, Financial Aid, Registration, and Academic Affairs should know what you look like in person. They can be excellent partners for study abroad.
• At large universities, explore the possibility of setting up satellite study abroad offices during peak marketing times of the year.  Select high-volume traffic or targeted areas on campus such as the student union, near a cafeteria or at the school of engineering, for example, so as to attract engineering students to available overseas, credit bearing programs.
• Create a “Study Abroad Alumni” group that may both facilitate the reintegration of students who have returned from overseas education programs and provide the institution with valuable program ambassadors.  Invite them to tell their stories, and assist the office on campus in implementing supportive activities, producing articles for publication and marketing materials, promoting study abroad.

• Work with student cultural groups to host events that highlight study abroad offerings in all of the regions of the world.
• Organize a study abroad fair on your campus.
• Create a helpful guide for parents.
• Studying abroad is major a decision that is often considered by the entire family and it is important to reassure parents who are concerned about safety, rigor, and finances.

Students

• Sponsor a study abroad scholarship through your student government association.
• At over a dozen colleges, students have led the charge for study abroad by passing a student referendum to have a $1-$5 fee per credit per semester for all students. That money goes toward study abroad scholarships.

Parents

• Be informed!
• The world is filled with wonderful places for your son or daughter to learn. If you have concerns about specific places, visit travel.state.gov and talk with an education abroad director about current travel safety precautions.

Corporations

• Recruit students who’ve studied abroad.
• While many CEO’s agree that international experience and knowledge is crucial, hiring practices do not always show that. Make sure the human resources department is aware of the value of international exposure.
• Revisit position descriptions to reflect elements of global competence, beneficial to the organization’s overall preparedness to meet marketplace demands.
• Communicate corporate needs to the academic community
• Contribute to study abroad scholarship and program initiatives that support long-term corporate and professional development goals.

Government Officials

• Make a public statement of your support for 2006 The Year of Study Abroad.
• Make plans to participate in International Education Week, November 13-17, 2006.
• Encourage and support activities at local, state and/or national levels in support of existing undergraduate study abroad programs as well as K-12 initiatives.
• Examine numbers, demographics and destinations of students currently studying abroad from institutions in your region and encourage them to make plans to increase programs and participation rates over ten years.

• Review, enhance and promote state and local initiatives in support of study abroad, cultural exchanges and international education as integral to the region’s economic competitiveness and growth.

The Public

• Talk to your state officials about an international education policy.
• More than half the states have an international education policy declaring the importance of both study abroad and international students to the local economy. If your state is not on this list, consider talking to an elected official.
• Stay informed about opportunities to advocate for study abroad by joining the Advocacy Centered Team (ACT).
• ACT is a team of grassroots advocates who want to communicate with their elected officials about important international education issues.  Any one who wants to promote federal policies to advance international educational exchange can join ACT by going to www.nafsa.org/act.