Higher education institutions, study abroad organisations and other partners in the US have so far committed US$185m over the next five years to increase access to outbound study abroad through the Institute of International Education’s outbound initiative.

IIE has launched a $400,000 scholarship fund to support 160 students to study abroad through its Generation Study Abroad initiative to double the number of US students studying abroad by 2019.

The Institute of International Education has today launched a campaign to target high school K-12 teachers across the country to “pledge” to the Generation Study Abroad initiative.

The Council on International Educational Exchange has pledged $20m in study abroad scholarships and will sponsor 10,000 student passports to support the Generation Study Abroad initiative. This the largest donation to date to the five-year project.

According to the Institute of International Education the number of international students in the US has grown by an impressive 8% to reach an all-time high of 886,052 in 2013. Big gains were seen in enrolments from China and Saudi Arabia while an increase in Indian numbers has reversed a three-year decline.

The Institute of International Education has launched a US$2 million five-year initiative to double the number of US college students studying abroad, emphasising that an international experience is a "career-enhancing necessity of a college degree".