Spring Break
Study abroad expands horizons as well as career options
Maiko Michishita
Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: News
As students see the value of higher education to be a competitive applicant, the number of students who study abroad also increases. The number of Americans studying abroad increased by 8 percent to about 241,000 in the 2006-07 academic year, according to the Open Doors 2008 report, which is published annually by the Institute of International Education.
The number of students from Arkansas was 901, about a 31 percent increase from an academic year before.
The UA Study Abroad office has many more students applying for scholarships compared to last year, Long said. So scholarship opportunities for them will be more competitive than before.
"Interest in studying abroad is high, but at the same time, students need money," she said.
US Senators Dick Durbin D., Ill., and Roger Wicker, R-Miss., introduced legislation to institute a study abroad program Feb. 25 to help build global awareness and international understanding, according to the Durbin's Web site.
Called The Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2009, the proposal would create a national program that encourages colleges to enhance students' participation, increases commitments with diverse host countries and provides financial aid. The goal is to send at least 1 million undergraduates go and study abroad every year. One million represent about half of US college students graduating annually, according to the NAFSA: Association of International Educators Web site.
"America will be served well by taking steps to ensure our students - the future leaders of our nation - have a higher level of foreign language proficiency and international and cultural knowledge," Wicker said in the press release published on the Web site.
In spite of the increased number of students studying abroad, the Simon Act points out that the number is still a small portion of American students. Only 1 percent of undergraduate students studied abroad, and about 60 percent of them went to Western Europe in the 2004-05 academic year, according to the NAFSA Web site. And in the next 50 years, about 95 percent of the world population growth is expected to occur outside Europe. The Simon Act calls for developing study abroad programs to more diverse countries, especially to developing ones.
The number of students from Arkansas was 901, about a 31 percent increase from an academic year before.
The UA Study Abroad office has many more students applying for scholarships compared to last year, Long said. So scholarship opportunities for them will be more competitive than before.
"Interest in studying abroad is high, but at the same time, students need money," she said.
US Senators Dick Durbin D., Ill., and Roger Wicker, R-Miss., introduced legislation to institute a study abroad program Feb. 25 to help build global awareness and international understanding, according to the Durbin's Web site.
Called The Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2009, the proposal would create a national program that encourages colleges to enhance students' participation, increases commitments with diverse host countries and provides financial aid. The goal is to send at least 1 million undergraduates go and study abroad every year. One million represent about half of US college students graduating annually, according to the NAFSA: Association of International Educators Web site.
"America will be served well by taking steps to ensure our students - the future leaders of our nation - have a higher level of foreign language proficiency and international and cultural knowledge," Wicker said in the press release published on the Web site.
In spite of the increased number of students studying abroad, the Simon Act points out that the number is still a small portion of American students. Only 1 percent of undergraduate students studied abroad, and about 60 percent of them went to Western Europe in the 2004-05 academic year, according to the NAFSA Web site. And in the next 50 years, about 95 percent of the world population growth is expected to occur outside Europe. The Simon Act calls for developing study abroad programs to more diverse countries, especially to developing ones.
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