Brian Whalen is president and chief executive officer of the Forum on Education Abroad, the only organization designed to exclusively serve the field of abroad education. The forum was created in 2001, and its members include Goucher College and more than 300 other U.S. and overseas higher education institutions, making up about 75 percent of the American study-abroad market. Based at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., the forum aims to improve the study-abroad experience.
When other members of the Forum on Education Abroad look at Goucher, what kind of school do they see?
I think they’re thought of as an institution that has thought through the best way for them to incorporate study abroad into the curriculum.
Are study-abroad programs growing in the United States?
Study-abroad programs are becoming more popular — no doubt about it.
How and why are they growing?
Institutions are focusing on how study abroad relates to their curriculum and their faculty. Study abroad was often seen as an extra kind of experience and not a part of the campus.
The globalization of our society clearly is a driving force. We’re really connected worldwide in ways we were not connected before. I also think many of the younger faculty themselves have studied abroad.
How can you tell if a study-abroad program or requirement is a success?
Assessing the outcomes of study abroad is important. It’s one thing to set up programs and encourage students to go, or require them to go.
The key is to ensure that there is enough support for the program to sustain it over time, which means training faculty, ensuring that the curriculum is globalized.
