education abroad functional report

5/21/2018 Education Abroad Functional Report

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Brandi Hoffman, Hannah Croft10/10/13

Student Affairs Functions in Higher Education

Functional Area ReportEducation Abroad Programs and Services

Education abroad is a functional area within Student Affairs that is both enticing and yet jobscan be elusive. We were tasked to dive into the functional area to create a better understanding ofEducation Abroad for ourselves and to be able to paint a clearer picture for our classmates.Key Functions:

We identified professionals on both of our campuses, Kent State and Case Western Reserve,to have a conversation focused around unpacking this area of Student Affairs. Case and Kent offered

different perspectives of Education Abroad programming done within public and private universities.

Brandi interviewed with a Case Western professional and a Kent Program alumna, Lisa Brown. Lisais a Study Abroad Adviser within the Center for International Affairs in Higher Education of CaseWestern Reserve University. Hannah interviewed Ediz Kaykayoglu, the Assistant Director of

Education Abroad at Kent State University. Most Education Abroad Advisers have experiences

gained from their own international experiences. Whether those come from undergraduate study,work experiences, personal heritage or even a class offered at a co-op university in Italy, thoseexperiences remain pertinent in the work these professionals do in their daily lives.

Education Abroad Programs do not always have the deepest pocketbooks to fundprogramming outside of office responsibilities and daily functions. Case Western is a little different

than the average in that respect, as they have been afforded a budget that allows wiggle room inprogramming and getting their name out. The office currently has programs around promotional

events and information sessions, advertising for programs, and an annual study abroad fair. They arelooking to create programming around returning students as well to allow their peers to hear personalexperiences and tips of traveling.

At Kent State, Kaykayoglu and the Education Abroad office not only work with partnered

institutions in Florence and Geneva which hundreds of students travel to each semester but they also

work with faculty who would like to coordinate major specific programs abroad. In addition to all ofthose programs, the office also works with exchange programs internationally and nationally tocoordinate not only Kent State students but also other students who are interested in an education

abroad program coordinated through Kent State. All in all, the office helps with over 200 educationabroad programs. KayKayoglu spoke about how through all this coordination and partnership he hashad the opportunity to work with people all across higher education.

That opportunity holds true at Case as well. When Case began searching to narrow down thecooperating universities across the world that were potential partners to their study abroad programs

they were faced with the challenge of sifting through about 800 potential programs. Managing largequantities of university programs outside of our country and deeply understanding not only theuniversity, but the countrys culture, the programs specifics and the geographic location demands

what the student will entail is a large part of this functional area. It all must be explained clearly forthe student at the beginning of their process to set a strong foundation for their exploration into the

opportunity and why they may want to pursue it. As a Study Abroad Adviser spending timeexplaining and answering questions that allow students to decide if they want to commit to the

experience is huge. Making sure paperwork is filled out timely and correctly is imperative. Havingcooperating universities abroad that the university can trust and communicate freely with can makethe job that much easier for the advisers.


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Through our interviews and research, we also found that a top priority for education abroadprofessionals is to create a welcoming environment for students to engage and learn in a global

community. Kaykayoglu spoke of ensuring that students see the true value in studying abroad

because he believes they can bring back their new views of culture and diversity and enlighten thecampus community and future employers.

Key Educational Goals & Learning Outcomes for students associated with Education Abroad: Help to engage students in a global citizenship

Enable students to develop their adaptability in diverse situations

Help students to get outside their comfort zones and grow in self identity through travel

Professional Associations Serving Education Abroad:Both professionals discussed being members of the Association of International Educators orNAFSA. This association is one that focuses on abroad and international issues across the board.There are leadership roles available that can play into the specific interests of professionals available

through this association. For example, Lisa sits on the Visa Issues committee of NASFA. Yet, thereis not much programming for graduate students and new professionals at this time although progresshas been made in recent years. Many Study Abroad Advisers join the association called Forum EA asit has a focus that is tailored specifically to study abroad advising and programing. Diversity Abroad

is another organization some education abroad professionals work with since it creates and educatesstudents about study abroad programs.

Journals and other publications of key interest and further resources used: Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad

Journal of Studies in International Education

Assessment tools or approaches used to measure outcomes:Both offices we interviewed do not do a lot of assessment yet. Case Westerns office recently openedin 2011 and are currently working without a director of the office, and Kent State is currently running

on a staff of two professional staff who support over 200 education abroad programs. Kent State doessurvey students who have participated in study abroad, however this is something that they are

striving to improve on once two new professional staff are hired. They are currently in the hiringprocess this semester.Final Notes:

A difference we found between the two universities came up in the issues our professionalsdiscussed with us that their students are most likely to identify with when contemplating study

abroad. Students at Kent focused on a more practical approach in affording the trip and the issues

around how they can get there and stay there comfortably. Kaykayoglu talked about what he referredto as the 4 Fs, Family, Friends, Finance and Fear. He talked about the social values students arehearing from family and friends and the fear of embarking somewhere completely different fromwhat they might have known, and finally the hardship of figuring out how they are going to afford it.

The students at Case were more apt to focus on the experience itself as a value to their education no

matter the financial cost. The students often view the sacrifices of studying abroad as taking amisstep within their demanding lock-step major programs. Although this is ultimately a perceived

barrier, there is only a small window of opportunity to study abroad for many of the campusprograms. The Case student body is one that pushes for high achievement and students must oftencontemplate the ties they have in organizations of the community, the leadership roles they have or

those they may wish to have in the future and how leaving the campus for an extended amount of

time may affect them down the road. It is important to note that the students from either university,Kent or Case, do not have problems that are mutually exclusive to the university they attend. Manyof the issues students face are similar across the boards in both public and private universities. There


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is a lot of consideration and planning that a student must take responsibility for before headingabroad and it was interesting to discuss how a campus culture may influence how students may go

about weighing the options.

Contacts and ReferencesLisa BrownStudy Abroad AdviserThe Center for International AffairsCase Western Reserve UniversityPhone: 216-368-2517Email: [email protected]

Ediz KaykayogluAssistant DirectorEducation AbroadKent State UniversityPhone:330-672-7984

Email: [email protected]

education abroad functional report

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