Forum President Responds to the Chronicle of Higher Education

The December 15 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education featured an article about the academic integrity of the University of Indianapolis's branch campus in Athens, Greece. In response, President Brian Whalen has submitted a letter to the editor.

 

To The Editor:

Sara Hebel's "On an American Campus in Greece, a Chorus of Critics" points out the need for standards for educational programs offered by U.S. institutions abroad. In fact, the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission designated a Standards Development Organization (SDO) for education abroad in 2005: the Forum on Education Abroad.

The Forum's Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad were developed with the input of hundreds of professionals working in the U.S. and around the world. They are available at www.forumea.org.

Currently, the Forum is testing the implementation of these standards at 19 institutions, including U.S. colleges and universities, study abroad providers, and overseas host institutions in Australia, England, Ireland, and Mexico. At a Standards Summit held at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA ten days ago, representatives from these institutions as well as peer reviewers who conducted site visits met to refine the standards and the processes for implementing them.

The results will be presented at the Forum's conference, March 1 - 3, 2007 at the University of Texas in Austin, where the Forum's Quality Improvement Program (QUIP) for Education Abroad will be advanced. QUIP is a multi-level, comprehensive process that will provide quality assurance in education abroad for the benefit of students, faculty, administrators, and parents.

We invite colleagues interested in education abroad to join in this conversation in Austin.

Brian J. Whalen
President and CEO
The Forum on Education Abroad
Carlisle, PA

Study Abroad Act of 2006

On July 26, 2006 Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Norman Coleman (R-MN) introduced the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Act of 2006 (S. 3744), which calls for a national program to encourage study abroad.

The legislation carries on the legacy of the late Senator Paul Simon, who sought to promote peace and security through international understanding and global awareness. In the weeks before his untimely death, Senator Simon wrote, "This major national initiative ... can lift our vision and responsiveness to the rest of the world."

As outlined by the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program, the program will create fellowships and scholarships for individual students and establish partnerships with colleges and universities. The goal of the program is to create and sustain annual growth rates to achieve 1 million students studying abroad annually by 2016-17.

A focus of the Act is to expand study abroad opportunities to new populations, such as minorities and students with disabilities; underrepresented fields such as science, mathematics engineering, and business; and community colleges, minority-serving colleges, and low-income-serving institutions. In addition, the program would encourage study in non-traditional and developing countries.

Finally, the Commission calls for "the most demanding quality control" for participating programs, which makes the Forum's Quality Improvement Program (QUIP) of vital importance to the field of education abroad.

The Forum will play a critical role in the further development and possible implementation of this proposed legislation. Please weigh in with your views by contributing to our Forum Discussion!

What are your views of the proposed Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Act of 2006?

What are its strengths and weaknesses?

What improvements, if any, would you like to see in this Act?

Will it help to bring to fruition Senator Simon's vision?