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The Forum’s commitment to developing and promoting standards of good practice for the field of education abroad lies at the core of the Forum’s mission. The ultimate goal of the Standards is to improve practices in education abroad, so that our students’ international educational experiences are as rich and meaningful as possible
The goals of the Forum’s standards work are to:
- Provide a forum for discussion and generation of good practices.
- Develop, publish and disseminate agreed upon standards of good practice.
- Develop and provide tools for measuring good practices.
- Advocate for global adoption of standards of good practice.
The Standards Committee has incorporated member feedback into the proposed changes to the Forum’s Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad to include elements relating to environmental and social responsibility. The draft of the proposed changes was available for public review and comment. Forum members and non-members alike were encouraged to read the draft and to send opinions, comments, questions, and suggestions to the Forum. This public comment period ended on October 1, 2009.
On Friday January 30, the Forum released its Standards of Good Practice for Short-Term Education Abroad Programs. This important initiative recognizes the growth of student participation in short-term programs and responds to the expressed need for a more specific set of standards that apply to short-term programs. The Standards for Short-Term Programs are not a substitute for the broader Standards, but are intended to act as a companion to provide the most comprehensive guidance for short-term program development and management.
The Standards of Good Practice for Short-Term Education Abroad Programs are the work of the Forum Standards Committee, together with input from the Forum membership and the field at large. The Forum thanks Committee Chair Michael Steinberg for his leadership. Forum President and CEO Brian Whalen notes that “short-term programs help to expand education abroad capacity by providing opportunities for students who are less likely to study abroad for longer periods. The new set of standards will help to assure the quality of short-term programs by increasing their effectiveness so that they accomplish their goals and benefit students.”
Forum conference attendees will receive a print copy, and members not in attendance will receive their copy via mail after the conference.
Code of Ethics for Education Abroad
From The Forum's President:
The Forum is pleased to present its Code of Ethics for Education Abroad. We believe it
will provide direction to institutions and organizations involved in education abroad and help ensure that students achieve the maximum benefit from their education abroad experiences. The Code should assist organizations as they seek to provide services in accord with the highest ethical standards, with the ultimate goal that students’ international educational experiences are as rich and meaningful as possible.
The Code is not meant to substitute for specific institutional and organizational policies and practices. Rather, it is intended to guide the development and review of these policies and practices. The Forum encourages member institutions, as part of their ongoing quality improvement process, to commit to ongoing reflection about and periodic review of the extent to which the organization meets the ethical principles articulated in the Code of Ethics
This Code is the culmination of exhaustive research, discussion, and consensus-building among our members to establish high standards and a uniform set of ethical guidelines. The development of the Code has involved contributions from the Forum’s membership of more than 300 institutions and organizations that together represent approximately 80% of the U.S. students who study abroad. The membership includes institutions and organizations located around the world, which has ensured a balanced and culturally sensitive approach to the development of these principles and guidelines.
It is important to note that the Code will become part of the Forum’s Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad, which forms the basis for the Forum’s Quality Improvement Program (QUIP). QUIP is a process by which Forum member institutions and organizations voluntarily assess their education abroad programs through a standardized self-study and peer review process that utilizes the Standards of Good Practice. Currently, more than 20 institutions and organizations are in various stages of the QUIP process.
The Forum will develop and offer tools to support both education about and use of the Code of Ethics. The Forum Conference in Boston on April 2 - 4, for example, will offer 8 different sessions that focus on various aspects of the Code of Ethics and provide attendees many opportunities to discuss and share insights. In the near future, a toolbox of specific examples of ethical best practices will be available to Forum members on the Forum web site, similar to the toolbox that supports the Standards of Good Practice. This will provide members with specific examples for implementing practices that meet the highest ethical standards.
I am extremely proud of the work of the Forum membership in supporting and completing this critically important set of ethical guidelines. I want to thank especially Michael Steinberg, Chair of the Standards Committee and Sheila Bayne, Chair of the Forum Council, for their outstanding work in helping to lead this effort. The Ethics Working Group, composed of colleagues from over 40 member institutions, deserves our sincere thanks and praise. They have performed a tremendous service to the field of education abroad that will be felt for many years to come.
As we move forward, collaborations among and between colleges, universities, provider organizations and host institutions will be even more essential to building education abroad capacity of the highest quality. The Forum’s Code of Ethics will assist greatly in trying to realize this goal by serving as a blueprint for effective, ethical practices.
I invite you to share your views of the Code of Ethics on the Forum Discussion Board: http://www.forumea.org/forumblog.html Forum members are also encouraged to review the Media Talking Points and the Code of Ethics Timeline that may be found in the Standards Toolbox.
Thank you once again for your interest in the Forum and the Code of Ethics.
Brian Whalen, President and CEO
NOTE:
The Forum's Code of Ethics for Education Abroad is now available in pdf format at the Forum website. Forum members and conference attendees received a print version at the conference in Boston; those members not in attendance received their copy by mail, after the conference.
To order extra copies of the print version, please email info@forumea.org.
Code of Ethics for Education Abroad prices:
Members: $3/copy or $25/10 copies
Non-members: $4/copy or $35/10 copies
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