A white paper from the International Coalition for Global Education and Exchange, an organising initiative of members working in and supporting international education and exchange programs, has called for the US to develop an internationalisation strategy for its education sector.
“With a 2019 budget allocation of $147.9 million over five years, followed by $8 million per year of ongoing funding, Canada’s International Education Strategy (IES), is a collaboration between and among the provinces, territories, associations and institutions,” noted the report.
“Key components of the IES include a five-year Outbound Student Mobility Pilot program which assists post-secondary students with the costs of study or work abroad.”
While the “US Department of Education’s Succeeding Globally Through International Education and Engagement, enunciated in 2012 and 2018, makes manifest a high level of commitment to internationalisation”, the white paper stated that current policies lack specific targets.
“Now is the time to revisit our own lack of a coordinated, national strategy and to operationalise a comprehensive internationalisation plan with goals and metrics for achievement supported with appropriate funding and resources,” it argued.
Among the proposed goals suggested by The International Coalition for Global Education and Exchange are:
- Doubling the number of international students and exchange visitors who study, work, intern, and train in the US by 2025
- Doubling the number of high need Americans who study abroad by 2025
- Doubling the number of US students studying science and technology abroad by 2025
- Increasing resources and opportunities for US students traditionally underrepresented in education abroad
“International education and exchange programs can and should be the cornerstone to reunite and reignite the world with peace and prosperity”
“While these four goals are robust and will require maximum effort, we know that international education and exchange programs can and should be the cornerstone to reunite and reignite the world with peace and prosperity,” said Melissa Torres, president and CEO of The Forum on Education Abroad and co-founder of the Coalition.
“We call on the US government and business and higher education leaders across the nation to make an investment in developing a national strategy and supporting it with sufficient resources so that we might build a stronger foundation upon which to achieve the peaceful world we all seek.”
