Mission
Located on the campus of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, The Forum on Education Abroad is the only organization whose exclusive purpose it is to serve the field of education abroad. Recognized by the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission as the Standards Development Organization (SDO) for education abroad, the Forum's Standards of Good Practice are recognized as the definitive means by which the quality of education abroad programs may be judged.
The Forum's Quality Improvement Program for Education Abroad (QUIP) uses the Standards as part of a rigorous self-study and peer review quality assurance program that is available to all Forum institutional members. The Forum also offers Guided Standards Assessments, which guide participants through an assessment of specific areas of the Standards of Good Practice.
Forum members include US colleges and universities, overseas institutions, consortia, agencies, and provider organizations. The Forum focuses on developing and implementing standards of good practice, encouraging and supporting research initiatives, and offering educational programs and resources to its members. Its mission is to help to improve education abroad programs to benefit the students that participate in them. It is achieving this goal by establishing standards of good practice, improving education abroad curricula, and promoting data collection and outcomes assessment, all to advocate for high quality education abroad programs.
History
The Forum was first conceived in San Diego in May 2000 by a group of education abroad professionals who felt the need for a stand-alone organization. By January 2001, an organizational statement and goals for the new organization were defined. A meeting one month later in Tucson resulted in the creation of a mission statement with five goal areas, the development of criteria for voting membership, and the establishment of subcommittees to produce a Communications Plan, Business Plan, Incorporation Plan, and Member Services/Tasks Plan.
In July 2001, the decision was made to incorporate as the Forum, and over the course of the next year, a Board was created and a search for an Executive Director took place. The Forum co-sponsored the University of Minnesota's Curriculum Integration Conference and agreed to partner with Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, and adopt it as the official journal of the Forum.
The first annual meeting of the Forum was held in May 2002 with over 150 members in attendance, who approved an Advisory Council (now called the Forum Council). Geoffrey Bannister, executive director, opened the Forum's office at Smith College on October 15, 2002.
In November 2004, the Forum held its first annual conference in conjunction with the CIEE annual conference, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with 165 participants in attendance. A dynamic 2005 conference, originally planned for New Orleans, was held in Miami, Florida (again in conjunction with the CIEE conference) with 225 attending.
In 2005 the Forum received recognition from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to serve as the Standards Development Organization (SDO) for the field of education abroad. Through SDOs, the U.S. government encourages self-regulation and compliance with standards in a wide variety of fields. This important status grants the Forum legal protection in undertaking standards development work, and obligates the organization to exhibit the following elements in developing and disseminating standards: Openness, defined as the opportunity for involvement by all parties known to be affected by the particular standards development activity; Balance, which requires balancing interests so that standards development activities are not dominated by any single group of interested parties; Transparency, which calls for readily available access to essential information regarding proposed and final standards; Consensus, defined as the requirement that substantial agreement be reached on all material points after the consideration of all views and objections; and Due Process, including the right to express a position, to have it considered, and to appeal an adverse decision.
The Forum's Bylaws were revised on May 25, 2006, and on July 1, 2006, the Forum moved its operations to Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Brian Whalen, who had been serving as chair of the Forum Council, became president and CEO while continuing his duties as associate provost and executive director of global education at Dickinson College.
The Forum's third annual conference, "Standards in a Diverse World: The Future of Education Abroad" was convened in Austin, Texas in March, 2007. This was the Forum's first stand-alone conference, and it attracted 400 attendees. Presentations and sessions focused on the results of the Forum's Standards Pilot Project.
The Forum Board of Directors formally adopted the Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad (2007) on July 14, 2007. Also in 2007, the Quality Improvement Program (QUIP) was launched as a voluntary process for Forum member institutions to be recognized for assessing how well their programs meet the Standards of Good Practice. The Forum BEVI (Beliefs-Events-Values Inventory) Project (http://www.forumea.org/research-bevi-project.cfm) was initiated in 2007, providing members with the opportunity to document student learning outcomes. A collaboration with Craig Shealy, Director of the International Beliefs and Values Institute, the project included 13 Forum member institutions that helped to refine a new instrument to assess the impact of education abroad.
In August, 2007 a front page New York Times article and subsequent investigation by both the New York and Connecticut Offices of the Attorneys General, examined relationships between institutions and provider organizations. The Forum played a critical leadership role throughout this period and advocated both for its members and for following the Forum's Standards of Good Practice. President and CEO Whalen met with the Offices of the Attorneys General to discuss the Standards of Good Practice, the draft of the Forum's Code of Ethics, and how the field of education abroad functions. The Forum's leadership during this time reflected the importance of self-regulation and adherence to standards.
The Forum's fourth annual conference, "Mapping the Field," was held in Boston, MA in April, 2008 with over 700 people in attendance. The Code of Ethicsdebuted at the conference and the Forum Board formerly adopted it at its meeting in July, 2008. Also in 2008, a special workshop covering trends and issues in U.S. education abroad and the Standards of Good Practice was convened in Limerick, Ireland and was attended by all of the Irish Universities. The Forum announced in December, 2008 a joint project with IIE (Institute for International Education) funded by the U.S. Department of State to assess and expand education abroad capacity in key regions of the world.
In February, 2009, the Forum's fifth annual conference was held in Portland, OR with 725 attending. The theme of the conference, "Being There: Teaching and Learning Abroad," focused on the unique opportunities and challenges of teaching and learning at education abroad sites. The Forum released the Standards for Short-Term Education Abroad Programs at the conference, providing a specialized set of guidelines for this type of program. Also debuting was the first edition of the Education Abroad Glossary. A Fireside Dialogue held in conjunction with the annual conference focused on the theme, "Beyond the Basics of Risk Management" spawned several initiatives, including the development of an Incident Database for Education Abroad, the first national effort to catalog the range and types of critical incidents that occur on education abroad programs. The Forum increased its presence overseas in 2009, offering workshops and presentations in Australia, England, and India.
In March, 2010 in Charlotte, NC the Forum convened its sixth annual conference, "Vision and Value in Education Abroad," which attracted over 900 participants. A new member service was launched, Guided Standards Assessments, providing members with a way to assess their programs by focusing on specific areas of the Standards. The Forum continued to expand its international reach by conducting workshops in Australia, Brazil, England, and Spain, which attracted universities and education abroad programs located in these countries.
In 2010 the Forum membership has grown to include more than 450 member institutions composed of 75% U.S. colleges and universities; 15% provider organizations; and 10% universities located outside of the United States. Together Forum members represent over 90% of the U.S. students who study abroad. It continues to be guided by a forward-looking Strategic Plan that outlines its goals and plans for achieving them.
Interested in becoming a member? Learn more here.
