The Sixth Annual Forum on Education Abroad Conference 2010

The Forum conference theme, "Vision and Value in Education Abroad takes up the central importance of creating and maintaining a compelling vision for education aboad while communicating its value. The conference will focus on articulating the vital nature of education abroad and the many benefits that it brings to students, organizations, institutions, communities and societies. This theme is especially important as we address the challenges brought on by the current global economic crisis, when both the vision and the value of education abroad may be called into question.

The conference will address how vision and value shape education abroad in all its contexts. Vision encompasses the mission, goals, curriculum, program designs and models, and how students, parents, faculty, administrators and education abroad professionals think about and describe education abroad. Vision refers to the act of imagination that leads to the creation of education abroad programs, often involving collaborations between faculty, program providers, sending and host institutions. Our vision of education abroad has evolved over time: programs have responded to developments in technology, communications, travel, economics, politics and culture, and the way that we describe our programs and their importance has also changed. A student s vision is shaped and re-shaped before, during and after the education abroad experience, and program providers and home and host institutions envision education abroad in a wide variety of ways that shape student learning.
Value refers to the meaning that education abroad has for students, faculty, institutions, communities and societies. Knowledge of other cultures and societies, disciplinary learning, intercultural skills, language skills, personal growth and development, and career enhancement are but some of the associated values that education abroad has for students. A characteristic of the value of education abroad is the way in which it can foster a variety of outcomes, which require multiple modes of assessment. For organizations and institutions, assessing and articulating the value of education abroad is a central challenge, especially during a period when there are questions raised about the price and cost of higher education.