Current Study Abroad Trends and Issues for U.S. and International Students: 2018 Results by The Forum on Education Abroad

• In Event: Study abroad outcomes: personal and learning levels

Proposal

Abstract

The Forum on Education Abroad has collected data from its members via the State of the Field Survey since 2006 to gather information from the field of study abroad on key issues and trends. In 2018, the Forum on Education Abroad released the State of the Field (SOF) Survey results. The SOF builds on the knowledge base of the previous six surveys in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015. This unique session will provide participants with the most updated trends of education abroad in the United States and overseas by education providers and higher education institutions and offer evidence-based information for the planning and development of future study abroad programs. A total of 264 providers/institutions completed the survey out of 768 member representatives (34% response rate). We invite all CIES members to learn about the current study abroad trends and issues for U.S. and international students. Roy Y. Chan, Chair of the CIES Study Abroad and International Students SIG Awards Committee, contributed to the data analysis and publication of the SOF Survey report.

Methodology

The 2017 State of the Field Survey was developed and implemented by The Forum’s Data Committee and Forum staff. In response to feedback from Forum members received during the 2016-17 academic year, Roy Y. Chan and his committee revised the survey to reflect changes in the field of education abroad and its vocabulary, to clarify questions, and to make the survey easier to complete. Questions that repeated information gathered elsewhere in the field, e.g., data collected by Open Doors, were not included in the 2017 survey. Overall, 35% of the questions are unchanged from the previous survey, 37% of the questions are modified, and 28% are new questions. The length of the survey was reduced by 12 questions compared to the previous year.

Links to the online survey were sent via SurveyMonkey Inc. online survey services on June 15, 2017. As in previous years, survey invitations were sent by email to the designated institutional representative from each Forum member institution and organization to ensure that each member was represented only once among survey respondents. Email reminders were sent after the initial distribution and responses were received through September 26, 2017. There was a 34% response rate for this 2017 survey. The link was sent to 768 member representatives, and 264 completed the survey.

Results

The 2017 Forum on Education Abroad State of the Field (SOF) Survey yielded a strong response rate, with 264 total responses, representing 34% of the overall membership of The Forum on Education Abroad at the time the survey was distributed. Consistent with previous iterations of the State of the Field, survey responses in 2017 are overwhelmingly from U.S. institutions that send their own students abroad (“U.S. Institutions,” 78%), followed by overseas program providers and host institutions (“Overseas Institutions and Organizations,” 10%), and U.S.-based entities that provide education abroad programs for students not earning a degree (“U.S. Program Providers,” 7%).

Among U.S. Institution respondents, 42% are public and 58% are private. The respondents represent community colleges (4%), institutions offering only bachelor’s degrees (19%), institutions offering bachelor’s and master’s but not doctoral degrees (22%), and institutions offering all levels of degrees (55%). These rates are similar to the respondents from the last State of the Field survey, conducted in 2015. More than half of respondents, 53%, indicate that international education is included in the mission statement of their institution or organization.

STUDENT PARTICIPATION 2016-17

In the 2016-17 academic year (including summer 2017), U.S. Institution respondents sent an average of 554 students abroad. Private institutions averaged 354 students abroad, whereas public institutions averaged 828 students.

The U.S. Program Providers participating in this survey sent an average of 1,327 students abroad during the 2016-17 academic year.
Responding Overseas Institutions and Organizations received an average of 427 education abroad students during the same period.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ABROAD

A question asked for the first time this year revealed that, during the 2016-17 academic year, nearly 7% of U.S. education abroad participants from private institutions and 5% of U.S. participants from public institutions were international students.
Respondents from both U.S. public and private institutions offer similar comments regarding international student study abroad on their campuses.

EARNING CREDIT ABROAD

U.S. Institutions report that students are most likely to be able to earn academic credit when the program is administered by their home school. Pre-approved programs are also very likely to return credit. Non-approved programs do not return credit at a rate of approximately 1 in 5 institutions. A number of institutions commented that they have a credit petition process, but that institutional credit is only granted for approved programs.

CONCERNS OF THE FIELD

State of the Field survey respondents were asked to rate their level of concern (on a five-point Likert scale, 1 = very unconcerned, 5 = very concerned) about various issues in education abroad. This question has been asked in the State of the Field Survey since 2006, with several new options in 2017.
The top concerns across all respondent types included crisis and risk management, need for better funding for students, adequate preparation of students, and supporting underrepresented students, as demonstrated by the large percentages of respondents indicating that they were very concerned about these issues. The issues of least concern included parent involvement, fears of terrorist attacks abroad, and career integration.

U.S. INSTITUTIONS

Among the 89% of U.S. Institutions that are actively trying to send a greater number of students abroad each year, 13% saw significant increases and 13% saw decreases in education abroad participation. The remaining indicated slight increases in participation (44%), reported that participation remained about the same (28%), or were just beginning their efforts to increase participation in education abroad (2%).

Among U.S. Institutions that are not actively trying to increase education abroad participation, 30% saw an increase in participation regardless. Other respondents, who aim to maintain levels of participation, indicated that all their students were required to study abroad, or that they consistently reached their participation goals and were currently focusing more on the quality of education abroad experiences.

Survey responses concerning the most effective ways to increase study abroad participation provided additional insights into institutional efforts. Increasing financial support (e.g., scholarships, lowered fees, federal funding) was identified as the top strategy by U.S. Institutions. Increasing the number of programs available was the lowest ranked method of increasing participation. Two new strategies that were added in the 2017 survey—expanding marketing and collaborating with institutional offices—are the second and third most used strategies.

U.S. PROGRAM PROVIDERS

Nearly all U.S. Program Providers who responded to this survey reported trying to increase participation in their programs. In reality, 19% reported a significant increase, 44% reported a slight increase, and 12% reported remaining the same in 2016-17 compared to the prior academic year. A quarter reported a decrease in participation from the past year.
In order to increase the number of education abroad students, U.S. Program Providers ranked expanding their marketing tools, outreach, and messaging to students as the most effective strategy. Other top strategies included collaborating with institutional offices and increasing the financial support for students. The lowest-ranked strategies included assessment and documenting the impact of education abroad, increasing staff support and advising and increasing the number of programs available. These findings align with the ranked strategies by U.S. Institutions

* A full report of this presentation can be downloaded at http://forumea.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/ForumEA-State-of-the-Field-18-web-version.pdf

Author

• Roy Y. Chan, Indiana University Bloomington