Increasing International Study Abroad Rates for Business Students

Abstract

ABSTRACTThere is almost universal recognition of need for business schools to increase participation rates of students studying abroad. AACSB accreditation standards emphasize this. Political and business leaders call for more students to have international experience. Yet number of students studying abroad inches up at an alarmingly slow rate. What are barriers to students studying abroad? This paper reports findings of survey that was recently completed, results of which suggest strategies for what needs to be done in Colleges of Business, especially those based in U.S., to increase number of students studying abroad.INTRODUCTIONFar too few U.S. students study abroad - about 1% by most estimates - and numbers are skewed to wealthier students from elite colleges and universities (Bellamy and Weinberg, 2006, p. 20) In 2010-11 academic year, NAFSA (2011) reported that 273,996 U.S. students studied abroad for academic credit - still about 1% of all students at institutions of higher education.Two recent headlines tell story of academic globalization - Why Americans are Choosing to Study Abroad in Record Numbers from The Christian Science Monitor (Mach, 2011) reporting that record number of American students studied abroad in 2009-2010, 270,604, up 4% from previous year. The second headline - Foreign Students Studying in - from USA Today on same day (November 14, 2011) reported that number of foreign students studying in U.S. was up 4.7% to 723,277 (Macklein, 2011). So not only do numbers of incoming students outnumber outgoing by almost 3:1, growth rate of incoming students is higher.However, more recent is even more alarming. The Chronicle of Higher Education (McMurtrie, 2012) has reported that latest figures show that the number of Americans who studied abroad grew an anemic 1.3 percent...according to latest Open Doors report by Institute of International Education. Further, short trips are increasingly more popular. any international experience is worthwhile, spending semester abroad is generally viewed as more beneficial than short trip. So not only is growth in study abroad approaching a standstill, more students are opting for less intense short term travel programs.Although much has been written about benefits of overseas study to returning students, little has been published which discusses how to use this outcome information and other strategies to motivate future students to go abroad. (A comprehensive bibliography of research findings detailing benefits of study abroad is available from authors) Indeed much research has provided numerous reasons to encourage participation, but only handful of studies have empirically explored obstacles to increasing participation (Salisbury, et al, 2009) The Council on International Educational Exchange's 2006 publication summed up lack of research thusly: While there is good deal of folk wisdom about what motivates students to go abroad, there is very little hard data (Council on International Education Exchange, 2006). More specifically, there is dearth of information relating to business majors and their unique study abroad circumstances.The reality is that numbers of US college students studying abroad, starting from lower base-point, is not growing at pace of numbers of students coming from abroad to U.S. Incoming students continue to exceed number of outgoing students and is growing at faster pace. incoming international students enrich our campus environment, pump more than $20 billion into U.S. economy and for most part, leave with positive impression of U.S., their presence here does little to better equip our students to compete in global marketplace when they graduate. As Thomas L. Friedman (2007) says in his book, The World is Flat, Every young American today would be wise to think of himself or herself as competing against every young Chinese, Indian, or Brazilian. …

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