Legislation aims to increase study-abroad participation

Sens. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and Norman Coleman, R-Minn., recently introduced the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Act of 2006, which would create a fellowship program to significantly increase the number of college students studying abroad.

"Study-abroad programs open a door to the world for our students," said Purdue President Martin C. Jischke. "In the years ahead, American young people will live and work in an increasingly globalized world where they will need to interact with people of different backgrounds and customs. This legislation would make it possible for more students to better understand other cultures and societies, preparing them to be leaders of the future."

The legislation stems from the findings of the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program issued late last year, which found that 191,321 — about 1 percent — of all college students studied abroad in the 2004-05 academic year. The goal of the Lincoln Act would be to increase this to 1 million per year within 10 years. 

Congress established the Lincoln commission in 2004 with the goal of recommending a program to expand study-abroad opportunities not just to more students, but also to a wider cross section of students. As a result of the commission's findings, the Senate passed a resolution designating 2006 as the Year of Study Abroad.

The commission found among the students who did study abroad, a majority traveled to Europe, majored in the humanities and came from upper socioeconomic groups. It also found that fewer than 10 percent of college graduates had studied abroad.

The Lincoln Act would seek to increase the number of students who travel abroad by providing:

• Authorization for the Secretary of State to establish and carry out a program for undergraduate students to study abroad for credit.

•  Lincoln Fellowships for undergraduate students. This would constitute 25 percent of the funding that would be authorized.

• Lincoln Institutional Leverage Grants so institutions can award study-abroad fellowships to undergraduates and also reform academic programs and institutional policies that inhibit student participation in study abroad. These grants would constitute 75 percent of the funding that would be authorized.

The Lincoln Act also places an emphasis on improving study-abroad participation by two-year and historically black institutions and on encouraging study in developing countries.

"These are excellent recommendations that would benefit study-abroad programs all over the country, including Purdue," said Riall Nolan, associate provost and dean of International Programs at Purdue. "Purdue already has in place a wonderful model for students, but this legislation would undoubtedly improve our program, giving more students the push they need to study in other countries.

"Traveling abroad has a real transformative effect on students. Encouraging more of them to take an interest in studying in a wider variety of countries could have a dramatic effect on our country's higher-education landscape."

Purdue offers more than 200 study-abroad and internship programs in dozens of countries, and it sends about 1,000 students abroad each year.

Earlier this year, Purdue was selected as one of five institutions in the country to receive the Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization, which honors colleges and universities for overall excellence in internationalization efforts.

Writer: Kim Medaris, (765) 494-6889, kmedaris@purdue.edu

Sources: Martin C. Jischke, (765) 494-9708

Riall Nolan, (765) 494-9399, rwnolan@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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