The Impact of Study Abroad on Academic Success: An Analysis of First-Time Students Entering Old Dominion University, Virginia, 2000-2004 (original) (raw)
Related papers
2016
The purpose of this study was to assess the predictive effect of participation in study abroad and earned credits abroad on persistence degree attainment, and time-to-degree of undergraduate students. The analysis was based on the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS) and the Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B), which are national data sets maintained by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education. The analysis accounted for student characteristics, academic preparation, social integration, and academic integration. The findings revealed that participation in study abroad and earned credits abroad positively affected persistence and degree completion of undergraduate students in the U.S., and are associated with shorter time-to-degree. This record was migrated from the OpenDepot repository service in June, 2017 before shutting down.
The Effect of Study Abroad on College Completion in a State University System
Working Paper, 2012
Until recently studying abroad was regarded as an academic luxury that might contribute to college students' personal growth, but detracted from efficient degree completion. Few studies examine the impact of study abroad on academic learning outcomes. The present study, in contrast, examines the impact of studying abroad on the probability of graduating in four, five, or six years. It utilizes a large data base (N>14000) from an institutionally diverse state-wide higher education system. Study abroad cohorts were matched with domestic-only students who had identical levels of persistence. Regression procedures also controlled on precollege variables and on college achievement up to the semester of study abroad. Results indicated that the graduation rates for study abroad students exceeded those for domestic students by 7.5%, 7.9%, and 5.3% for four-, five-, and six-year graduation rates, respectively. Regression models showed a 10% advantage for the probability of graduating in four-years and 25% for five-year graduation. These findings support the view that studying abroad actually can increase the likelihood of timely college completion.
Modeling the effects of study abroad programs on college students
2009
This study explored the possibility of modeling the effects of a study abroad program on students from a university in the northeastern United States. A program effect model was proposed after conducting an extensive literature review and empirically examining a sample of 265 participants in 2005. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM) were then used to test the model. Three factors were identified in EFA and CFA: foreign interaction, personal growth, and career development. Personal growth effects were found to partially mediate the relationship between foreign interactions and career plans. For study abroad program participants, the experience of being independent increases personal growth and influences future career plans. Foreign experience or interactions also directly affect future career direction. These findings suggest that study abroad program effects are significantly interrelated. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Education Abroad and College Completion
Research in Higher Education, 2022
While some stakeholders presume that studying abroad distracts students from efficient pursuit of their programs of study, others regard education abroad as a high impact practice that fosters student engagement and hence college completion. The Consortium for Analysis of Student Success through International Education (CASSIE), compiled semester-by-semester records from 221,981 students across 35 institutions. Of those students, 30,549 had studied abroad. Using nearest-neighbor matching techniques that accounted for a myriad of potentially confounding variables along with matching on institution, the analysis found positive impacts of education abroad on graduation within 4 and 6 years and on cumulative GPA at graduation. A very small increase in credit hours earned emerged, counterbalanced by a small decrease in time-to-degree associated with studying abroad. Overall, the results warrant conclusions that studying abroad does not impede timely graduation. To the contrary, encouraging students to study abroad promotes college completion. These results held similarly for students who had multiple study abroad experiences, and who have studied abroad for varying program lengths.
A sample of 1580 students was examined to: 1) determine if there exist differences in desired program duration between those who are and are not subject to an international experience requirement (IER), 2) establish if interest differs by year in school and 3) examine degree of interest by the existence or absence of the IER, preferred duration, and the interaction of these factors. Results indicated that students who are not subject to the IER desire to study abroad for longer than their peers who are subject. Freshmen and sophomores have higher levels of interest than seniors and graduate students and juniors have higher levels of interest than seniors. A small to medium proportion of interest variance is accounted for by the IER, a large proportion is accounted for by duration, and a small proportion is accounted for by the interaction of these factors. Implications for practice are extended.
The Journal of Higher Education
This study utilized the large-scale, multi-institutional CASSIE dataset to examine the impact of education abroad participation on academic outcomes for first-generation college students. Using robust multivariate matching methodology that effectively minimized self-selection bias, results showed the magnitude of benefit offered by studying abroad was greater for first-generation students than for continuing-generation students. Even after matching on a variety of background and prior achievement variables, first-generation students who studied abroad had higher 4-and 6-year graduation rates, had higher cumulative GPA scores, and took less time to graduate-relative to first-generation students who did not study abroad. These findings suggest that education abroad programming can be leveraged as a high-impact educational practice to promote college completion rates among first-generation students.
Large-Scale Assessment of Student Attitudes after a Short-Term Study Abroad Program
University of Delaware I n t r o d u c t i o n As national boundaries have lost their traditional significance over the past thirty years through increased travel, global telecommunications, and international trade and investment, it has become important for individuals to possess firsthand experience with other cultures. Traditionally, American undergraduates accomplish this by studying abroad. Yet the vast majority of undergraduate students in the United States do not include a sojourn abroad in their academic careers. In fact, fewer than 5% of American college students will earn credit abroad before they graduate, and most of them will remain abroad for a fairly brief period of time. Fewer students are participating in traditional "Junior Year Abroad" programs, and more are opting for semester programs or-even more frequently-short-term programs that last less than eight weeks. According to the latest data of the Institute for International Education (IIE), the percentage of students studying abroad for traditional, one-year terms has decreased from about 14% in 1993/94 to less than 8% in 2001 (IIE, 2003). In the same period, the proportion of students on short-term programs has risen from about 38% to nearly half of the total, making such programs the most common mode of overseas study by U.S. students today.