University aims to increase study abroad participants

Ali Jones
Contributing Writer

VCU pledged to double the number of undergraduate students studying abroad within the next five years as part of a new agreement with the Institute of International Education.

The IIE invited VCU to participate in their Generation Study Abroad campaign, to increase the number of college students across the United States studying abroad. The IIE is a nonprofit organization that works across the country, partnering with more than 500 institutions. IIE administers government sponsored grants and fellowships to the participating universities, such as the Fulbright, Boren, Global E³, Whitaker and Gilman scholarships.

The 2011-12 Open Doors Policy Report from the IIE collected data for the number of students sent to study abroad. VCU ranks 182 out of the 885 schools that reported their numbers to the IIE.

The top four schools in the rank, University of Southern California, University of Illinois, Purdue University and New York University, send thousands of students. Four hundred thirty-four students participated in a study abroad program.

By working with the IIE and their Generation Study Abroad campaign, VCU expects to gain the public awareness and support needed to rally more students to one of VCU’s study abroad programs.

In addition to the scholarships provided by IIE and donors, funding for the global education department’s stipend is also expected to increase from approximately $80,000 to $100,000, said Stephanie Tignor, director of Education Abroad.

By partnering with IIE for the cause, schools gain recognition and money, and IIE gains a stronger campaign, said McKenna Brown, Ph.D., executive director of Global Education.

“We’ve never had a specific program or campaign before,” Brown said. “With Generation Study Abroad, we can create an aspirational and achievable goal with focus and attention.”

Brown said the most common study abroad students tend to be white, female and part of the humanities, and travel to western Europe. VCU aims to expand beyond the profile, in addition to implementing the global study focus under VCU’s Quest for Direction plan.

Adding more full-time study abroad advisers, increasing the stipend by 20 percent, raising the amount from $80,000 to $100,000, awarding at least $15,000 to faculty to develop their programs and working with other academic departments to raise awareness and create more programs are some of the actions taken to begin the global study focus and to double the number of students studying abroad, Tignor said.

VCU is also creating funds such as the Quest Global Impact Department, the Global Learning Advisory Panel, a university advisory body for centralizing communication and an endowment plan for scholarships, Tignor said.

“I think every student should take the opportunity; it’s transformative and impacts your learning, and also gives you the chance to experience a different academic environment,” Tignor said. “It helps you to interact with people around the world, to gain a better sense of other cultures and your own cultural identity, and to develop valuable skills.”

Sarah Vedomske, a senior mass communications major studying public relations and minoring in French, traveled abroad her fall and spring semester of 2013 through ISEP.

“My plan was to study in the fall and then come back… I ended up loving it so much that I just stayed the second semester,” Vedomske said. “I wanted to study my freshman year but there weren’t any programs for mass comm at the time … now there’s a bunch of programs for mass comm, as well as others.”

Brown said studying abroad in the past was considered the ornament in higher education: Getting a degree was the main focus and studying abroad was simply a bonus. During the past decade, studying abroad has become interwoven into the degree and education, she said.

“VCU has made the transition from a commuter school to a residential one, and the development of the school fits in with the process,” Brown said. “The success involved with increasing studying abroad benefits both the student and the institution.”