1. U.S. Internationalization and Study Abroad Trends
Heather H. Ward Associate Director for Internationalization and Global Engagement American Council on Education Fulbright Portugal Lisbon October 26, 2017
HEATHER

2. American Council on Education (ACE)
Umbrella organization est. 1918
Leadership & advocacy
National and international reach
Mission and Goals
Approximately1800 institutions
All sectors of U.S. higher education
Membership
When discussing diversity of membership, note that there are opportunities for international students in ALL sectors of U.S. higher education.

3. ACE Center for Internationalization & Global Engagement (CIGE)
Programs
Internationalization of US Institutions
Global Engagement
Research

4. Mapping Internationalization on U.S. Campuses
Only comprehensive source of data and analysis on U.S. higher education internationalization.
Survey conducted every 5 years (2001, 2006, 2011, 2016).
Includes a range of institution types:
Associates (community colleges)
Baccalaureate (4-year liberal arts)
Master’s
Doctoral
New report released in June 2017.

5. Internationalization
72% of institutions report that internationalization has accelerated.
More institutions report a high level of internationalization.

6. Reasons for Internationalizing
#1 Improve student preparedness for a global era.
#2 Diversify students, faculty, and staff at the home campus.
#3 Become more attractive to prospective students at home and overseas.

7. Priority Activities

8. Education Abroad About 1/5 of institutions have numerical targets.
Range from 1 to 100 percent of students, with average of 33.
More common for undergraduates.
Slow increase in
participation.

9. Mode of Education Abroad
Increase for study abroad, internships, service, research
Large number reporting N/A. Opportunities limited for large numbers of students.

10. Administrative Model
Overseen by institutions’ own education abroad offices (52%)
Individual faculty (49%)
Third-party providers, institutional partners, consortia (25-30%)

11. Education Abroad Financing
More than half of U.S. colleges and universities provide institutional funds for study abroad scholarships.
Mostly for undergraduates.
At some institutions, financial aid may be used for study abroad, usually for internal / faculty led programs.

12. Foreign Language Enrollment
Total enrollment across all languages decreased by 6.7 percent between 2009 and 2013.
Enrollment in Portuguese increased 10.1% in that period.
Spanish enrollment exceeded all other languages combined.
- Modern Language Association 2013

13. Foreign Language Requirements
In 2016, 46% of respondents have a language requirement for undergraduate degrees.
First increase since 2003.
Required length of study is one year or the equivalent for about half of the institutions.

14. Size and Complexity of U.S. Higher Education
Degree-granting institutions
4,703
Student enrollment
20,994,113
Degrees awarded annually
3,552,640
Instructional faculty
1,523,615
Staff and faculty (part- and full-time)
3,840,980
Source: Digest of Education Statistics, Title IV eligible degree granting institutions (note: staff includes professional and non-professional staff and faculty full- and part-time instructional faculty for 1995, 2005, and 2011; Table 287)
Source: Digest of Education Statistics, NCES
Updated 10.13

15. No U.S. Ministry of Education

16. Distribution by Sector (2013)
Public
Private (Non-Profit)
Private (For-Profit)
Two-year
Community Colleges 989 institutions (28%)
10,992,454 (45%)
Junior Colleges 96 institutions (3%)
221,354 students (1%)
For-Profit 2-year
699 institutions (20%)
581,833 students (2%)
Four-year
State Colleges
396 institutions (11%)
3,531,029 students (15%)
Liberal Arts Colleges
875 institutions (25%)
2,579,673 students (11%)
For-Profit 4-year
195 institutions (5%)
333,054 (1%)
University
Research Universities
175 institutions (5%)
4,649,256 students (19%)
106 institutions (3%)
1,308,242 students (5%)
For-Profit Research
11 institutions (<1%)
79,584 (<1%)
Source: Department of Education, IPEDS
Note on source: Lindsay Wayt, CPRS research associate, pulled these numbers, with help from Jon Turk
Source: Department of Education, IPEDS

17. Other U.S. Higher Education Trends
Increasing access and enrollment of “post-traditional” students
Education perceived as pathway to a career
Focus on student support, engagement, and retention
Reduction of public support for higher education
Priority on international student recruitment and internationalization at home

18. Source: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

19. Discussion

20. Thank you! Obrigada!
Heather H. Ward Associate Director Center for Internationalization and Global Engagement