SOAR STRENGTHS | OPPORTUNITIES | ASPIRATIONS | RESULTS WHITEPAPER
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Your Crescendo spoke with internal and external stakeholders of The Forum on Education Abroad in a series of focus groups and individual interviews to capture their thoughts and insights surrounding basic tenets of the organization. These stakeholders included board members, staff, affiliates and forum members. Perspective from a variety of individuals affiliated with The Forum on Education Abroad in a broad range of capacities enables the team at Your Crescendo to get a more comprehensive view of where the organization stands as well as prospects and priorities for the future. Their input helps clarify the current situation to better address next steps for the organization to move forward. Participants were asked to weigh in on topics specific to the Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations and Results of the organization.
The questions they were asked included:
STRENGTHS 1. What does the organization excel at? 2. What are the organization’s greatest accomplishments? 3. What are you most proud of? 4. What makes the organization unique?
OPPORTUNITIES 1. What partnerships would lead to greater success? 2. What changes and trends in the market align with the organization’s strengths? 3. What threats do you see? 4. Are there gaps in the market that the organization could fill? ASPIRATIONS 1. What do you want to achieve in the future? 2. What should your future business look like? 3. How can you make a difference? 4. What is the organization passionate about? (Stated differently, what does the organization love to do?)
RESULT 1. What measures will tell you that you are on track to achieve success? 2. How do you translate your vision of success into tangible outcomes? 3. How do you know when you’ve achieved your goals?
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The SOAR exercise creates a baseline to help The Forum on Education Abroad define and articulate its strategic direction by determining the current situation as well as the vision for the future. Responses and comments were reviewed, analyzed and organized to be incorporated in decision making by the leadership of the organization. Several key themes emerged from the exercise including strong communications and effectiveness; opportunities for partnerships and outreach; aspirations to improve funding sources and diversity; and a desire for tangible economic and environmental impact, among other significant fundamental tenets.
There is an overwhelming sense of commitment among all those interviewed to make a difference and have real impact both on the forum members and the students they serve.
There is much work to be done to process and integrate the full results from the SOAR exercise, but the organization has a solid base and quality leadership with a wealth of opportunities to improve in a number of areas.
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RECURRING THEMES
STRENGTHS
OPPORTUNITIES
ASPIRATIONS
RESULTS
Unique status as the standard’s development organization for the field
Going Virtual
To be the Go To Source in Education Abroad
Qualitative Measures of Impact (learning, global citizenship, etc)
Expanding Beyond US Centric Approach
Continued and Growing Advocacy
Provides a sense of community for study abroad practitioners
Membership Renewals and Growth
Forum can prioritize and advocate for the voices of the underrepresented in the industry
Expand Sphere of Influence/Relevance through partners and other schools, institutions, etc. Be more aggressive about expanding the membership and audiences
Continue to grow diversity and set new standards and models for members and partners
Forum serves as an advocate for the education abroad field
As a trusted institution, Forum can do/provide research on study abroad
The Value and benefits of Membership
Research initiatives through grant funding
Nimble, Adaptable and Responsive to the changing needs of education abroad
Provide Post-COVID Guidance, Innovations
Creating Global Citizens
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After conducting these interviews and focus groups, recurring themes emerged. Here is a topline summary of those themes and excerpts of the comments shared by participants:
STRENGTHS
The Forum on Education Abroad has strength in:
■ STANDARDS:
“One other thing that I think is a strength of the Forum is our unique status as the standard’s development organization for the field, because there’s no other professional organization or association out there that can claim to fill that role. It’s a designation we get from the department of justice and Federal Trade Commission, and so that’s one thing that makes us unique” - Elizabeth
• Unique status as the standard’s development organization for the field • Provides a sense of community for study abroad practitioners • Forum serves as an advocate for the education abroad field
“For me, when I’m looking for professional development opportunities or resources, I know that the forum is going to be my one-stop-shop.” – Kyle
“I think the fact that the Forum in Education Abroad is recognized by federal agencies as the standard development organization for the field really professionalizes the field.” – Joy
• The Value and benefits of Membership
“The standards speak to all of us and allow us to have the continuity and speak the same language.” – Keshia
• Nimble, Adaptable and Responsive to the changing needs of education abroad
“Certainly, I think the Forum’s greatest accomplishment is in the standards and it’s probably what it’s most notable for, really driving for the field high standards and best practices that many organizations have gone to in terms of strengthening their delivery of education abroad programming, as well as the integration of student learning outcomes in it. I mean, without a doubt I think that’s the greatest accomplishment.” - Craig
“I think more voices from abroad have been included in this process, as now we’ve reached the sixth edition. And so I think that, that’s a really strong testament toward both the applicability, and the interest that the people have in using them.” - Mark
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■ COMMUNITY:
“I think something else that we do well and what I hear from our members and feedback from our events is providing a space and opportunities for members and professionals in the field to have discussion, talk about best practices... I think we do a good job of kind of fostering that conversation in giving platforms for members to do so.” – Lindsay
• Provides a sense of community • Dialogue Rich - Providing a space/opportunity for members and professionals in the field to have discussion, talk about best practices. • Variety of ways to involve the membership • Annual conference brings everyone in the field together
“I always have loved it when it was really fireside, it was dialogue rich… I think Forum’s great strength is when it’s the most conversational… I think that’s really, in whatever way Forum is able to retain, genuine, vulnerable dialogue, that isn’t posturing of any kind. That to me is what I loved about it, to be honest…I like meaningful substantive, relational, genuine, authentic kinds of frameworks, and I think Forum has one of the best shots of that.” – Lorna
■ BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP:
“I think it’s always been a space that there’s been a lot of nurturing and professional development that was both formal and informal, and really targeted in a very specific way to education abroad.” – Keshia
• Value of Membership • Training/Professional
Development - Nurtures the professional development of those in the field • Networking
“I think the Forum has done very well in terms of certification and training programs that help to reinforce the role of the Forum within the field. So, you look at everything from QUIP to the certification residency program, those are all opportunities I think that are unique to the field, that meet the needs of really many of the different members, whether that is a college or university, or an education abroad provider. And is also accessible to our international colleagues who are looking at the standards as kind of a grounding point for the entirety of the field.” - Craig
■ ADVOCATE IN THE FIELD: • Leadership • Forum serves as an
“I think you’ve seen that role of the Forum being an advocate for everybody, especially through this COVID-19 crisis… I do think the past few months have really brought that strength. I mean, it was always there, but I think we’ve just seen it in action.” - Elena
advocate for the education abroad field • Independent/Impartial Professional Organization for the Field • Brings in new voices (US, abroad and the underrepresented) • Field support of the Forum
“I think also having a leader who truly believes in equity, in the language that she uses, but also in the practices that she uses to reach the goals of the organization. That is something that I’m proud of, to be a part of the forum. When Melissa came in, she had these ideas, she had this philosophical perspective, that we are going to be concerned about equity issues from our international partners, to historically black colleges and universities, Latinx serving institutions, and excuse me, and she has been committed to making sure that those voices are at the table at every turn.” - Dawn
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■ FOCUS ON EDUCATION ABROAD: • Specialized focus on Education Abroad • Produces consistent, high quality products for those in education abroad (attracts members)
“I think one of the things that makes the Forum unique in the field of international ed and higher ed is that it focuses solely on education abroad. Whereas many of the other organizations are focused on other parts of international ed, the Forum exclusively focuses on ed abroad, which I think makes it unique amongst peer organizations.” - Tracey
■ ADAPTABLE:
“I think just the shift, not only pulling the conference off and the logistics but having such a quick shift shows that the Forum can be nimble, and the fact that it also coincided with this pandemic and challenges being faced by our members. So not only did we shift the conference and provide this platform for people to gather, but also being able to respond to needs with other resources and services to address the challenges going on at the same time. Shows that we could be nimble and quick on our feet.” - Lindsay “One of the things that we’ve really tried to strike here at the Forum is to try to adapt to how the field is shifting and kind of meet those needs...We kind of tried to step in and identify those needs at the moment when they’re happening, even if that means kind of throwing everything to the side to focus on this because that’s what the field needs at that moment...I think that’s something that we always try to be conscious about and try to provide as much support as we can in those critical moments.”
• Nimble/Adaptable/ Responsive to the changing needs of education abroad • Being flexible to make participation affordable and manageable for institutions of different sizes and strengths, and individuals • Ability to reinvent ourselves
■ REPRESENTATION IN THE FIELD: • Wide representation of voices
“That sense of very close ties that are literally a phone call away, I find Forum keeps growing and what it’s offering as a product, but it manages to my mind to still feel accessible, small, relatable, and that almost anybody can participate.” – Lorna
■ FOCUS ON D&I:
“I know that in this present moment, so where we are right now, the forum is doing a lot to make it affordable and manageable for institutions of different sizes and strengths, and individuals, like I’m grateful for the amount of opportunity they’re providing, even for people who don’t really have the resources right now to pay to go to the conference, or to be paying members.“ – Keshia
• Working towards diversity and inclusion
■ ACCESSIBLE:
• The organization (staff) is accessible, relatable and almost anyone can participate • All services do not have a fee attached (accessibility to other schools and institutions that can’t afford full membership.)
“I think that’s a strength that the forum does have a lot of resources that are not behind a paywall.” - Joy
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OPPORTUNITIES
The Forum on Education Abroad has the opportunity
■ GOING VIRTUAL:
“But I think also, one thing I’ve seen happen in some organizations in the field right now is an increase in just webinars on particular topics that are open and accessible for free and just really some incredibly powerful speakers. So, it gives you access to conversations from very interesting people that relate directly to our field and at no cost. I was thinking about that as a potential opportunity for the field.” – Mary
• Explore Forum’s role in virtual global experiences (workshops, webinars, events, etc.) • Virtual exchange/mobility • Explore “What is global education in a virtual world?” • Opportunity for Forum to help the field to better leverage technology via resources and professional development
“I think another potential opportunity, given how slow higher ed has been to embrace technology relative to other industries, would be the forum kind of stepping in and providing more resources and professional development opportunities for us to think as a field about how we can leverage technology. I think within higher ed, we probably have been some of the better stakeholders to use technology, just because we’ve been forced to because of the nature of our work, but I think it could go so much further, and that’s what we’re beginning to see now, are some really innovative ideas of how do you bring technology into the work that we do. That could be another space the forum might want to dive a little bit deeper in.” - Kyle
“I think that is something that we have real potential, to lead, and to show the power of virtual exchange, and to still show the power of education abroad.” – Dawn
■ EXPAND BEYOND US CENTRIC APPROACH: • Expand US centric approach • Include non-US perspectives • Go beyond focus on US and Europe • Extend our outreach and services for our international members • International Membership • International conference needs to evolve to serve students of non-US based institutions who have a global imperative
“I also think that international membership is an opportunity. The Forum does excellent work but it’s still a very U.S. centered Organization. So I think to outreach the non-U.S. members is important.” – Thomas
“It’s a big world out there, and I still think that, expanding beyond again, US institutions is something that, needs to be still highlighted as far as, the forum’s work moving forward.” - Mark
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■ CONTINUED ADVOCACY:
“Institutions have to be able to make much more nuanced region-specific, country- specific, sometimes city-specific decisions. And we don’t have a framework or an argument for that right now, but it’s absolutely critical because we’re painting with a very broad brush… I guess what I’m getting at is advocacy, nuance advocacy is absolutely critical to the Forum’s mission and to the future.” – Lorna
• Nuanced advocacy • Forum can be the voice of the industry • Forum can prioritize the voices of the underrepresented in the industry • Advocate for legitimizing education abroad in an academic sense - make sure that they understand that this is a vital and critical component of a student’s academic career. • Direct the conversation of how do we grapple with our identities as intercultural educators, rather than international educators • Boost confidence about the reopening of study abroad
“One of the things that I’ve been hearing more and more from our university partners is what opportunities are there for the Forum to really be the voice for the field, and look to present and speak for the voice of the industry.” – Carri
“But I would love to see the forum do more work in the space of legitimizing education abroad in an academic sense. I think they’re uniquely positioned with its organizational composition to contribute in this space… I think just being the centralized body they are for our field, there’s a lot of opportunity here to really help us legitimize the profession.” – Kyle “We really do do more work than just send students to take classes abroad. I think there’s a lot more to be done in helping those who don’t speak our language, who don’t do this work on a day-to-day basis, understand the sheer breadth and complexities that we are grappling with and the work that we do.” – Kyle “How do we grapple with our identities as intercultural educators, rather than international educators, and find ways to pivot to these modalities that will allow us to accomplish that. Again, the Forum, just because they’ve established credibility as the go-to resource for those of us in the field, this could be an opportunity for them to direct that conversation.” – Kyle “I think we’ve seen more of this with the Forum, especially recently with the pandemic, is an opportunity for advocacy, both at the federal level and then providing some resources for us perhaps for advocacy at the state level, and even at the local level if necessary.” - Tracey
■ RESEARCH:
“Maybe there is kind of a gap in research on the results of this kind of hybrid model. So I think Forum could be a good platform for that kind of research and it would be useful I think for many of us and for many stakeholders to have that from the Forum, which is a trusted institution who can have that kind of level of research.” - Rosa
• As a trusted institution, Forum can do/provide research on hybrid study abroad model • Opportunity for Forum to do industry research • Incentivize industry professionals to contribute to a larger research study by providing data (assists with legitimizing the field)
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■ COVID RELATED INNOVATIONS:
“I think given the uncertainty and those threats that are prevalent in the field I think there’s a lot of opportunity for us to generate those resources that are going to help our members move forward.” – Lindsay
• Generate resources to help Forum members move forward (COVID tracker, etc.) • Opportunity for the Forum to be proactive and get in front of COVID related issues • Use the Forum standards as grounding in a time of chaos • Opportunity for the Forum to think about how to retain students and field staff in internationalization efforts (that may be otherwise lost due to COVID) • Need for more domestic abroad exchange experiences • Explore opportunities in the intercultural learning space and who is responsible for them within the university context
“Just in a landscape of chaos, it does feel to me, an especially important time to have the grounding standards of the Forum... I think there’s going to be a huge need for updated risk management resources around COVID-19… I feel that that would be of extraordinary value, low cost expertise that we can rely on to safely make decisions about reopening and keeping students safe to the best of our ability when travel resumes.” - Mary
■ BRIDGE THE
“I think COVID brought on the idea that, Forum has to maintain members, and keep members involved as so many institutions are, trying to figure out what their future is.” - Mark
ACCREDITATION SIDE: • Regional accreditation - cement that cornerstone
that the Forum already has within the field and its perception within memberships
■ MAINTAIN AND GROW MEMBERSHIP
■ CONSIDER POST
“I don’t know that the standard, the usual membership fee and approach works for some of the smaller institutions. Individual memberships, not necessarily institutional membership, I think that’s something that may be shifting.” - Keshia
COVID INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIPs • For those that have
displaced due to COVID, try to define where individuals stand in this whole deal without having, an institutional membership
“I left my organization and I moved to the US, that was a different life change for me, but I still felt that there was this gap. Since I no longer really had an institution, to hang my hat on, so to speak within the forums. I feel that, that’s something that forum could really, work on. It is an opportunity, because now there’s just a ton of professionals out there who are, looking for jobs, and ways to stay connected to their fields of study abroad.” - Mark
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■ MAKE CONTENT MORE ACCESSIBLE: • Provide some free, shareable programming • New version of the
“I do think that there’s an opportunity now, with the new version of the standards, to reach out to certain types of institutions and maybe even some organizations to be sure that they’re aware of the new standards. And perhaps provide some training or education so that they understand now that all of those previous concerns have been addressed.” - Tracey
standards are now attainable for some
types of institutions and organizations (potential new members)
■ EXPAND TARGET
“So far the Forum is still very much centered on higher education, but I think the sooner you begin the international education, the better.” - Thomas
BEYOND COLLEGE AGE STUDENTS: • Organize education abroad and other internationalization initiatives for pre-university levels and kids • Expand target of those interested in education abroad (serve non- traditional students, retirees, etc.) • Include gap year in Forum focus
■ PARTNERSHIPS:
“I do think there’s an opportunity now, to catch up for the visual look and feel of the forum, the website, and the communication stuff.” – John
• Solidifying partnerships • International partnerships
■ MISC: • Provide business support for businesses/consultants in the field • Solidify/Improve the work that the Forum is already doing with college age students • Opportunity for organizations to centralize through the Forum • Opportunity for Forum to engage staff at institutions outside of the study abroad office • Improve branding
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■ THREAT
“I have a concern that maybe only the students whose families may have rebound or they have access to a lot of financial support, be it financial aid, scholarships, and things like that, are the only ones we’re going to be able to send abroad. If that’s the case, then, our numbers overall in the industry I think are going to be bit dismal.” - Bianca
• Consolidation of the field (need to choose what Ed Abroad org to belong to) • More complicated to travel now • Study abroad programming may be cut from universities
• Budgets • Networking is more complicated now
“I would say that the chaos is with us for the foreseeable future, whether it’s political chaos, it’s social chaos, it’s educational chaos, it’s with us. I do think that one of the biggest challenges is going to be navigating chaos.” – Lorna
• Impact of COVID-19 • Uncertainty for both students and the field in general • Navigating political, social, educational chaos
• Not branching out too far beyond what we’re doing well • Not being nimble enough • Loss of progress made in the area of study abroad equity and access
“One of my huge fears is that we’re going to lose a lot of the progress we have made for equity and access, and how can the Forum help us with that? How can we continue to prove and show to all these universities that not only is this an integral part of the student development, but we have to make sure that it’s accessible to anyone that wants and is ready for that experience.” - Jessica
• Developing vocational job ready framework • Current membership model is not affordable for some smaller institutions
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ASPIRATIONS
The Forum on Education Abroad has aspirations
■ GO TO SOURCE IN
“Maybe one aspiration of the Forum could be to be the internationally recognized accreditor for education abroad programs.” – Thomas “I certainly would like to see the Forum remain just the obvious place to go to learn about education abroad. I see a lot of value of having one space where the field can really convene and tackle these big questions together.” – Elizabeth
EDUCATION ABROAD: • To be the go-to source to learn about education abroad • Forum to be the internationally recognized accreditor for education abroad programs.
“If there’s one place that I can go to dedicate my professional time focus and conference money, it’s the Forum.” - Elizabeth
■ CONTINUED ADVOCACY:
“In terms of what the forum should want to achieve in the future, I would think it would be kind of being that main liaison between us collectively as a field and larger entities that can really have profound effects on the work that we do.” - Kyle
• Advocacy of education abroad • Being that main liaison
between us collectively as a field and larger entities that can really have profound effects on the work that we do.
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■ EXPAND SPHERE OF INFLUENCE/ RELEVANCE: • Expand international
“How might global learning need to change a little bit and how is that reflected in the products and services of the Forum?” - Leo
relevance and reach by partnering with
international organizations • Expand outside of college to high schools/language schools • Direct tie of learning outcomes for participants, and what the needs are, both in terms of students coming from the United States, but then also every other type of international students. • Continue to be passionate about that mission and critical vision of the organization • Address Forum role/ responsibility for environmental impacts on education abroad, and our responsibility to climate change
■ MEMBERSHIP:
“Because I also think too, an institutional membership versus an individual membership, it does also create more buy in for certain people at a lower cost point, it also might be someone that I feel really passionate, I think I should be a part of this, that my university doesn’t understand or support it, yet it still gives me the opportunity to get involved and then carry it with me.” – Jessica
• Explore non-institutional membership (individual membership) • Be more aggressive about expanding the audience/ membership
“I think it’s the Forum’s responsibility to look at all of us and say, “Hey, you’re the ones that are signing up for the listening sessions, you’re the ones that are helping with all this stuff, you’re the ones responding to the surveys, can you ask three of your friends in the field?... Make it my responsibility to bring other voices to the table.” - Jessica
“I feel like individual membership would give us access to a wider population. I think we would have more contacts in our database and be able to reach more people directly.” - Elizabeth
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■ DIVERSIFY:
“I think is beginning to be a strength of the Forum, but the fact that one of the guiding principles is equity, diversity, and inclusion, that as a field we are addressing that and being sure that we’re closing those participation gaps against historically underserved populations in education abroad. And that the Forum is giving us best practices and the tools to manage that and to achieve those... or eliminate those gaps rather at our own institutions and organizations.” – Tracey “So I think that’s one thing for me, aspirationally is, to get more institutions that have majority students of color. To get more HBCUs, to get more Hispanic serving institutions, AANAPISI institutions, and to have them play a significant role… to actually have them be a part of the forum and to be engaged, and involved, in all the decision making, and at all levels on the council, in other spaces” - Dawn
• Increased faculty representation in the Forum • More member referrals to grow membership and increase diversity of representation • Continued focus on D&I • Have conferences outside of the US and Europe (stop treating other locations as “other”) to build relationships elsewhere • Become more diverse in their own internal, knowledge base - tackling, different regions by having regional expertise/liaisons
“If you look at our member profile, we still are very dominantly, leaning towards, American certain type of institution. And if we do have that better balance in the membership, I think growing out of that we’re going to have to... Everybody’s voice has to be heard.” – Enda
On moving to regional offices/liaisons: “I think it’s a really interesting idea because, timing wise, our mission now has moved to this more inclusive, mission. We’re less US centric so, maybe it’s the time to be branching out into, and having representation in other countries.” – Enda
■ POST-COVID
“I don’t believe there is a standard’s development organization for secondary education. So again, if we don’t do it, somebody else will.” - Lindsay
INNOVATIONS: • Be the standard’s
development organization for secondary education • What does distance education look like? • Quick peer reviewer • Present opportunities for or suggestions for institutions to consider to innovate and remain relevant post COVID
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■ PARTNERSHIPS: • Regulate approaches
“Not only is the Forum a convener, not only is it a place where people think about these things and can bring together a lot of people who think about issues that we want to think about, given our positionality and what we do in the area of the world in which we focus. But it’s also the... It’s affordable. Institutional membership is affordable, coming to the conference is affordable… And so as the Forum grows and changes and has aspirations as every organization does and should, I would hope that that level of comfort is always there” - Elena
(exchanges to partnerships) that could lead to student exchanges but also taking courses in different universities with which you are partners. • Explore partnerships focused on talking about the strategy of international and how education abroad is important in that
■ ACCESSIBILITY:
• Study abroad accessibility for all students • Study abroad content accessibility for institutions (HBCUs, HSIs, etc.) • Forum maintains its’ level of “comfort” and accessibility as it grows
■ CREATING GLOBAL CITIZENS:
“This whole situation that we are going through will leave traces. And in the field of internationalization I can foresee the growing importance of internationalization at home, like anchoring internationalization in the curriculum rather than more emphasis on mobility programs and virtual mobility. And that is a possible threat to the Forum too because the Forum has very much specialized on physical mobility on education abroad programs.” – Thomas
• Change in curriculum to focus on creating global citizens • Growing importance of internationalization at home, anchoring internationalization in the curriculum rather than more emphasis on mobility programs and virtual mobility
“I think the Forum needs to continue to articulate the just critical need of global engagement and education abroad as a practice in whatever medium it takes place going forward.” - Leo
“While our eye has generally been on this question of mobility, all of a sudden all of us are talking about well, what happens when there is no mobility?... What does it mean to be engaged in distance education, and what’s the Forum’s interest in starting to think about that?... What does it mean to deliver internationalization and kind of a global education for those students who aren’t moving? “ - Craig
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■ AGILITY: • Forum to be more agile and able to pivot as it grows • Forum remains an efficient organization and stays very true to what the needs of the field are
“So I think one of the things that I would hope is that as the organization grows and becomes a bigger voice, or whatever the case may be, that it does not lose the ability to be responsive to the needs of the members that are a part of it. And doesn’t lose the ability to kind of pivot if something happens that needs the organization behind it.” - Carri
■ MISC: • A means of cultivating new leadership in the field • Creating more aspirational conference experiences • Decide whether it’s going to
“Perhaps there’s another means altogether to encourage development of really new leadership in the field to ensure that we continue having just really strong set of leaders who are interested not only in serving their local offices and providers, but the field as a whole.” - Mary
compete with other study abroad organizations or whether it’s going to carve out a totally different thing all for itself
■ THREAT
• Growing importance of internationalization at home, anchoring internationalization in the curriculum rather than more emphasis on mobility programs and virtual mobility
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RESULTS
The Forum on Education Abroad wants results
■ INTANGIBLE/ QUALITATIVE MEASURES: • Go-to source to learn about education abroad • Measure how valuable the Forum is • Effectiveness = Actions/ Policies align with the Forum’s standards • Environmental Impact • Find if there is more interest and more of an international outlook and not just U.S. centered. • Less international conflict/ wars • Finding ways to reinforce that things are done by the Forum (and its’ members) for the benefit of the student experience • Creating global citizens • Relationships, networking, participation • Cultural thought shifts • Produce more renaissance men and women • More peer to peer dialogues/opportunities to connect • Supporting a less defined
“It’s the go-to for the standards, that’s it. That’s the only organization that has the standards. So then what else can the Forum become the go to? I feel like it should be the go-to for all things at abroad. So what other things can be added in so that people say, “That’s the first thing I check when I need to know an answer. The first thing I check is the Forum website or the Forum mailings…” - Emily
“I think that’s always a sign of success, when you’re seen as the entity to listen to or to hear from when it comes to issues impacting the field, from the perspective of government agencies.” - Leo
“I think results, for me, is that the Forum can continue to provide more opportunities to get all the voices in small rooms, to have conversations and to push each other because chances are, someone out there has a different idea, point of view that when you hear it, it can push you in the way that you need to be pushed.” - Jessica “I think a lot of times the participants that participate in our trainings and our committees many of them are very much focused on the student experience whereas maybe those of us behind the scenes of the Forum are focused on the service we’re providing to individuals. And so I think making that connection a lot of times in our goals and priorities is important.” – Lindsay
“I struggle with this issue of results because to me it would be that people would say, man, I built a network, I found colleagues, I was able to participate, I was included.” – Lorna
“Well, what constitutes a globally educated person? I mean, I don’t know, honestly. I think we have all kinds of cultural contextual pedagogical answers to that, which is good. But I don’t know if we’ve ever really tackled the question of ... and I’m not saying there is, is there a curriculum that supports that?” – Lorna “I want to produce more, for lack of a better phrase in the 21st century, renaissance men and women because I think we desperately need that. The failure of imagination is challenging our country on every front… if we could create people who have imagination, who could imagine what it might be to be somebody else, that to me, is the bubble experiment.” – Lorna “You can measure success by the amount of members that you have, the amount of revenue that your conference drives, the amount of books you sell, or workshops you sell or whatever. But it’s the things that you can’t measure that are almost more important to people in this field.” – Carri
pathway of participation in the field (grad student assistance, etc.) • Benchmarking
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• Awareness and an ability to speak to all of those critical standards • Legitimization of field/ Reputation in the field as an advocate • Motivation of members • Develop specific equity goals or diversity goals • Recognized value of the Forum’s certification product (How many orgs are using it to hire people?)
“So I think you can have kind of those hard metrics that you’re measured by. But I think to a lot of us in the field, it’s just like where do you go for the answers? So I think to me, success for the Forum is what are the things that you’re going to put out there that innovate or that become new…” - Carri “When there’s a crisis and we’re managing it, and that our policies are based on the standards. If we followed our policy, was the outcome the best we could have hoped for with that particular crisis?... So, that’s another way that I guess I would translate the Forum’s vision into tangible outcomes. Are we able to pull it off on the ground, in a practical sense, based on those outlines or those best practices that come out of the Forum?” – Tracey
“I would really like to see the Forum work on more ways to get institutions to actually, value the certification process.” – Mark
“The idea of the anecdote is important because it helps people see, themselves being involved as opposed to, X number of people, did stuff. So I think that that marriage of numbers, and stories, like for any organization really needs to, happen more, moving forward.” - Mark
■ MEASURES:
“I guess the measures really then are the number of resources that they are developing in this space, and then tracking how these resources are being used, if they’re being used, and seeking feedback to make sure they are accomplishing what the intent was.” – Kyle
• Membership renewals • Membership growth • Member engagement/online event attendance • Student participation rates in education abroad • Participation rates beyond membership • Number of research initiatives they’re supporting or championing • Number of resources developed • Measure what our students are walking away from these experiences with • Establish and measure learning outcomes of global competencies • Regular engagement survey • Use of annual report • Accreditation
“Perhaps another result that the Forum could look to is if they’re able to help the field cultivate this clearinghouse or database of international measures for study abroad, other data points than just participation rates.” - Kyle
“No one really complains about the smoothness of the highways, they complain about the potholes. So, we use as a root and a foundation best practices and standards for what we do, and that translates to, certainly from an evaluative perspective, strong outcomes and high participation rates and all those other things.” – Craig “I’ve always enjoyed the Forum’s use of their Annual Report. Primarily because it highlights what the issues of the field are on a year to year basis, and it articulates explicitly what the Forum is doing to try and address what those current issues are… one suggestion would be to try and solicit information from the membership about the ways in which they’re utilizing the Forum to address those critical issues within the field on a year to year basis, and help report that out as well.” - Craig
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■ DIVERSIFICATION:
“I think specifying, some diversity or equity goals I think is absolutely critical, and then going back in and breaking them down and talking to people, through focus groups, through surveys, open ended questions…We can’t just rely on the numbers, we need to be able to tell the stories behind the numbers, to know that we have actually achieved something.” - Dawn
• Continued diversity in the profile of membership • Diversified representation within the Forum • Ongoing cycle of conferences (diversified locations) that the Forum puts on or participates in
“Maybe 10 years from now, every one of the working groups has participation that is half U.S.-based and half international-based. Perhaps 10 years from now, we all know and can see on the site what the on-the-ground teams are, representatives are for the forum in different countries, to help people make those partnerships.” - Keshia
■ LEGITIMIZE FIELD: • Educational institutions take study abroad more seriously
“If the Forum does decide that it wants to help with this idea of legitimization of the academic, and beyond, quite frankly, aspects of the field, I think they can look to the number of research initiatives they’re supporting or championing, maybe grant funds to develop the level of funding they’re able to help generate in that space.” – Kyle
“In 10 years, do higher educational institutions take study abroad more seriously? I don’t know exactly how we measure that, but are there more, as others have said, maybe more a broader range of participation, so more faculty or deans or other people who are maybe not in it every day who are engaged.” - Joy
■ MISC: • Ability for the organization to sustain and grow through COVID • Proactive agility • Innovation • Strengthened partnerships
“If the Forum can be agile and just respond to things. Not in a reactionary way, but in a proactive way. I think that’s key, and it has done that in lots of instances. But there’s other instances when it could have been maybe just a little bit more on the ball, but it’s, I think, definitely going that way.” - Emily
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CONTIBUTORS
Rosa Almoguera Thomas Buntru Lindsay McCauslin Jessica Francis Elizabeth Frohlich Lorna Stern
Mary Ogburn Carri Orrison Emily Gorlewski Elena Corbett Kyle Rausch Joy Phaphouvaninh
Keshia Abraham Bianca Schonberg Audrey Bistline Leo Rowland Craig Rinker Abe De La Rosa
Tracey Bradley Enda Carroll Mark Odenwelder John Lucas Dr. Dawn Whitehead
FACILITATORS
Reggie Hammond
Erika Williams
EDITORS
Dominique Tate-Williams
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