Sending American students abroad

Did you know that only 0.3 percent of U.S. college students study abroad? That’s a pitifully low number when considering that even two percent of Chinese students go abroad to study, and the percentage is much higher among some Europeans.

With a little luck, though, the situation could soon be improving. A bill was recently introduced in the U.S. Congress – the Study Abroad Foundation Act - to “expand study abroad opportunities for U.S. undergraduates.” It was sponsored by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). The goal is not only to quadruple the number of study abroad students, but also to send more students to Asia, Latin America and Africa, which today account for less than one-third of international student programs.

Andres Oppenheimer of the Miami Herald discussed the issue in a recent column:

While much of the world’s population growth and economic expansion in coming decades will take place in China, India and Latin America, only a tiny fraction of U.S. college students are getting a global education. What’s more, most of them are going to Great Britain, Italy and Spain, supporters of the bill say. If the United States wants to remain competitive, and secure, this has to change, they say.

”I’m afraid we are far behind,” Sen. Durbin told me in a telephone interview. “More and more students from areas like Asia are coming to the United States. Sadly, very few U.S. students are moving in the other direction.” …

”Americans are notoriously uninformed about the rest of the world, compared to people in many other countries,” says Victor C. Johnson, a senior advisor to the Association of International Educators (NAFSA). “We believe that it’s crucial for American students in a global age to have had international experience as part of their education.” …

My opinion: I like this plan.

I like it, too. Americans really, desperately need to better understand the world we live in, and getting more students to go abroad is a good start.

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3. The rise of study abroad programs ...