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​Maximizing the Impact of Education Abroad

​Education abroad programs have long been recognized as transformative educational experiences. However, in recent years, researchers and educators have begun to identify study abroad as a "High-Impact Practice" (HIP) - a teaching and learning approach that has been shown to significantly enhance student engagement and success. This framework helps us understand not just why education abroad abroad matters, but how to design programs that can deepen its educational impact. 

What are High-Impact Practices (HIP)?

High-Impact Practices are teaching and learning approaches that have been widely tested and shown to benefit students from many backgrounds. These educational experiences: 
  • Demand considerable time and effort 
  • Facilitate learning outside the classroom 
  • Require meaningful interactions with faculty and peers 
  • Encourage collaboration with diverse others 
  • Provide frequent and substantive feedback 
  • Allow students to apply and test what they are learning in new situations 

Education abroad when intentionally designed incorporates many of these elements, making it a powerful vehicle for student learning and development. 

When does Education Abroad Qualify as a HIP?

When thoughtfully structured, study abroad can incorporate these essential HIP elements: 
  • Immersive experiential learning: Well-designed programs create environments where students must actively engage with new cultural contexts that challenge their assumptions. However, this requires guided engagement rather than mere exposure to different settings. 
  • Sustained engagement: While even short-term programs represent time away from campus, meaningful learning requires structured activities that promote deep engagement with local contexts beyond tourist experiences. 
  • Diverse perspectives: Effective programs intentionally facilitate meaningful interactions with people from different cultural backgrounds rather than assuming these interactions will occur naturally or lead to intercultural competence without facilitation. 
  • Applied learning: Programs must be deliberately designed with opportunities for students to apply academic concepts in real-world situations, with faculty guidance to help students recognize and process these connections. 
  • Ongoing critical reflection opportunities: Structured and informal reflection opportunities must be intentionally built into programs before, during, and after the experience. Without guided reflection, students may not examine their own cultural frameworks or process their experiences in ways that lead to deeper learning. 
  • Frequent, timely and constructive feedback: Regular feedback on assignments, projects, experiences or presentations from mentors and peers both challenge and support students to strengthen their learning.
  • Public demonstration of competence: Meaningful culminating projects require thoughtful design and clear expectations for how students will synthesize and share their learning with audiences beyond the program.
The mere act of studying in another location – whether internationally or domestically – does not automatically create a high-impact educational experience. Rather, it is the intentional incorporation of these design elements that allows education abroad to fulfill its potential as a truly transformative High-Impact Practice. 

Examples of Education Abroad as a HIP

Example 1: Language Acquisition in Context 
A Spanish language program in Barcelona pairs classroom instruction with homestays and community partnerships. Students attend language classes in the morning, volunteer with local organizations in the afternoon, and live with host families. Weekly reflection sessions help students connect their experiences to broader learning objectives. 
Example 2: Global Health Field Studies 
Nursing students participate in a four-week program in Thailand, where they shadow healthcare professionals in both urban and rural settings. The program includes structured opportunities to compare healthcare systems, examine social determinants of health across cultures, and reflect on ethical dimensions of global health practices. 
Example 3: Business in Emerging Economies ​
Business students spend a semester in Vietnam, taking courses while completing consulting projects with local businesses. Faculty guide students through applying business theories to culturally specific contexts, requiring students to adapt their approaches based on feedback from local partners. 

Designing Education Abroad as a HIP

To maximize the impact of study abroad experiences, consider these design principles: 
  • Set clear learning outcomes that align with program activities 
  • Incorporate structured reflection before, during, and after the experience 
  • Create meaningful engagement with local communities beyond tourism 
  • Provide appropriate preparation and support for cross-cultural learning 
  • Connect the experience to students' broader academic and life goals 

Assessment Considerations
Effective assessment of study abroad as a HIP measures not just satisfaction but actual learning outcomes such as: 
  • Intercultural competence development 
  • Global perspective-taking 
  • Critical thinking growth 
  • Career readiness enhancement 
  • Academic engagement after return 

The Utilization Challenge

Despite strong evidence supporting its effectiveness, education abroad consistently ranks as the least utilized High-Impact Practice among students in U.S. Institutions. Common barriers include: 
  1. Cost and financial concerns: Many students perceive study abroad as financially unattainable 
  2. Curricular integration issues: Difficulty fitting international experiences into structured degree programs 
  3. Limited institutional support: Inadequate funding and staffing for international education offices 
  4. Awareness gaps: Many faculty and administrators remain unfamiliar with the educational benefits 
  5. Student concerns: Fear of delayed graduation, language barriers, or leaving support networks 
  6. Faculty hesitation: Reluctance to develop or lead programs due to perceived complexity or lack of recognition 

Strategies to Increase Access and Use of Education Abroad

Administrative Approaches
  • Develop alternative funding models: Create institutional scholarships, course fees that include international components, or alumni-supported travel funds 
  • Build faculty incentive structures: Recognize international program development in promotion and tenure processes
  • Establish strategic institutional partnerships: Create sustained relationships with international partners to reduce program development costs 
  • Integrate globally-focused outcomes: Include global competencies in institutional learning outcomes 
Programmatic Innovations
  • Design for full participation: Use equity-minded principles to produce programs that are welcoming and accessible to the full range of learners.
  • Design short-term, high-impact programs: Create 1-3 week experiences that maintain rigorous learning outcomes while reducing time and cost barriers. 
  • Develop hybrid models: Combine virtual international collaboration with shorter in-person experiences 
  • Embed international experiences: Integrate study abroad  components into required courses, co-curricular & student activities rather than as separate electives. 
  • Create sequential global learning: Design pathways that build global competencies across multiple courses and experiences.
Additional Resources
Check out the Syllabi & Educator resources page to find examples of implementing this practice in education abroad programming. If you are wanting to dig deeper into this topic, consider the following readings: 
​Learn more from experts in the field in our Standards in Action Book Series.
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