Growing Media Response

As the media respond to the New York Times article, Forum president and CEO Brian Whalen continues to advocate on behalf of Forum members. He has given full interviews to The Chronicle of Higher Education and InsideHigherEd.com.

He has also sent a letter to the editor of the New York Times:

Re: "In Study Abroad, Gifts and Money for Universities" - August 13, 2007

While the article fails to accurately describe the academic nature of education abroad and the essential role that providers play in insuring quality programming, it raises issues central to the Forum on Education Abroad's mission. A global organization of nearly 300 institutional members, we represent approximately 70 percent of the U.S. students abroad.

In 2005, the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission recognized the Forum as the Standards Development Organization for the field of education abroad. Developed by hundreds of professionals from around the world, the Forum's Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad offer an excellent roadmap for developing and managing programs focused on serving students.

The Forum encourages study abroad organizations and institutions to review their policies and practices in light of these Standards, and now it offers the Quality Improvement Program, a voluntary process of rigorous self-study and peer review, to independently assess program improvement.

Sincerely,

Brian Whalen, Ph.D.
President and CEO
The Forum on Education Abroad