Arcadia University Ranked #1 in Nation in Open Doors Study Abroad Rate

Arcadia University ranks #1 in the nation for the percentage of undergraduate students studying abroad in the 2008 Open Doors report, the authoritative annual census conducted by the Institute of International Education (www.iie.org). Arcadia has the highest percentage of undergraduate study abroad participation among all U.S. colleges and universities for the academic year 2006-07.

“Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders,” says Arcadia University President Jerry Greiner. “And tomorrow, every leader will need a global perspective. Study abroad is no longer perceived as just for the privileged. It’s part of a complete education that includes multicultural interaction.”

Arcadia’s vision is that students—including many who are the first generation in their families to attend college—should have firsthand knowledge of other countries and their cultures. Making that vision a reality requires an institutional commitment to supporting students who want to study abroad and innovative new programs to get large numbers of students involved, including the following:
London Preview was established in 1994 to introduce students to study abroad and has expanded to Scotland, Spain and Italy previews.
The First Year Study Abroad Experience (FYSAE) began in 2003 and has expanded to two semesters and three countries.
More recently, faculty in many disciplines have developed Major Abroad Programs (MAPs), which require a year of study abroad.
Arcadia’s #1 ranking occurs prior to the Fall 2008 implementation of Arcadia’s new Undergraduate Curriculum (www.arcadia.edu/curriculum), which requires a Global Connections Experience and Reflection—study abroad or study away domestically—of every student.

“Arcadia has made significant gains in education abroad participation, thanks to ongoing financial support, faculty encouragement, and creative program models. It’s a credit to the multi-continent Arcadia community that our participants continue to grow in number. We can highlight the collaboration among University groups, department initiatives, credit-bearing Preview courses, FYSAE, MAPs and faculty-led global initiatives at both the undergraduate and graduate levels,” Greiner says. “Having achieved national recognition for study abroad, we are implementing innovative Global Connections Experiences in our new Undergraduate Curriculum.”

Key to making study abroad accessible is Arcadia’s commitment that scholarships and grants and all other financial aid except work study “travel” with the student who studies at one of Arcadia’s 100 programs around the world.

“Our success in serving students who want to study abroad really is made possible by Jan Finn and the Office of International Services,” Greiner adds. “They provide each student with the personal attention needed to match study abroad programs with individual needs. And we are fortunate to have a Center for Education Abroad, which offers more than 100 integrated programs at some of the top universities around the world.”

“We work every day to provide programs across disciplines and across nations in order to ensure students can take courses that meet their academic needs,” notes Dr. Nicolette DeVille Christensen, Vice President and Executive Director of Arcadia’s Center for Education Abroad (www.arcadia.edu/abroad). “Our 60-year history of education abroad programming dates back to a group of women who traveled with a professor to a war-ravaged Europe to study the economic effects of World War II in 1948. We remember the forward-thinking of the University then as we move forward with new endeavors now.”

“The learning experience that lasts a lifetime is the immersion in another culture, another place, another people, another language,” Christensen adds. “The insight born of living and learning with other people after the initial tourist gaze has worn off and daily life begins is what we strive for in all of our programs.”

About Open Doors: The Open Doors report is published by the Institute of International Education, the leading not-for-profit educational and cultural exchange organization in the United States. IIE has conducted the annual statistical survey of the international students in the United States since 1949, and with support from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs since the early 1970s. The census is based on a survey of close to 3,000 accredited U.S. institutions. Open Doors also reports on U.S. students studying abroad and on international scholars at U.S. universities and international students enrolled in pre-academic Intensive English Programs, based on separate surveys. A full press kit and further details on the Open Doors 2008 surveys and their findings can be accessed at www.opendoors.iienetwork.org.

About Arcadia University: Arcadia University is a top-ranked private university in metropolitan Philadelphia and a national leader in study abroad. The 2008 Open Doors report ranks Arcadia University 1st in the nation in the percentage of undergraduate students studying abroad. U.S. News & World Report ranks Arcadia University among the top 25 master’s universities in the North, as one of the top study abroad programs in the nation, and a Great School at a Great Price. Annually, Arcadia’s Center for Education Abroad sends 3,000 students from colleges and universities around the country to 100 different study abroad programs at some of the finest universities across the globe. Arcadia University promises a distinctively global, integrative and personal learning experience that prepares students to contribute and prosper in a diverse and dynamic world.

Contacts

Arcadia University
Lori Bauer, University Relations
Office: 215-572-2969
Cell: 215-847-1819
or
LevLane
Neil Simpkins
Office: 215-825-9625