Forum on Education Abroad

The Forum on Education Abroad is a United States 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional association serving the field commonly described as education abroad or study abroad. It brings together colleges and universities, education-abroad program providers, overseas host institutions, service organizations, and other affiliated professionals. The organization is headquartered on the campus of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and functions as a field-building and standards-setting body rather than as a student recruitment agency or a conventional study-abroad provider. The Forum was conceived in 2000 by education-abroad professionals who believed that the expanding field needed a dedicated organization with a common professional framework. Its organizational structure and goals were developed during meetings in early 2001, and the organization was incorporated as the Forum on Education Abroad in July of that year. Its stated areas of work include establishing Standards of Good Practice, supporting research and data collection, improving curriculum and program design, assessing educational outcomes, and advocating for the value and quality of education abroad. A central part of the Forum's institutional identity is its role as a Standards Development Organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. The recognition, obtained in 2005, positioned the Forum as the designated organization responsible for developing voluntary professional standards for education abroad. The standards address issues such as program design, student advising, health and safety, resources, operations, assessment, marketing, and institutional responsibilities. They were created in response to a field that historically had few common quality-control mechanisms and that involved institutions and providers with different missions, resources, and operating models. The Forum's standards work developed through several editions and a member-based pilot process. An initial edition appeared in 2004, followed by a second edition in 2005. Beginning in 2006, volunteer institutions and providers tested the standards through a pilot project involving domestic and overseas universities, colleges, community colleges, consortia, and education-abroad providers. Findings from the project were presented at the Forum's 2007 conference in Austin, Texas, and informed a third edition released in 2008. Additional guidance for short-term education-abroad programs followed in 2009, reflecting the growing importance of shorter programs in the overall study-abroad landscape. The organization also operates the Quality Improvement Program, commonly known as QUIP. This voluntary process combines guided institutional self-study with peer review. It is intended to help participating members evaluate and strengthen areas including program design, assessment, marketing and promotion, student advising, and organizational resources and operations. IES Abroad was identified as the first third-party provider to complete the relevant review category and receive the QUIP 2A designation. The Forum gained additional visibility during public scrutiny of relationships among study-abroad providers and U.S. universities. Following a 2007 New York Times report, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office investigated financial and governance relationships involving study-abroad organizations and higher-education institutions. The Forum responded in part through development of a Code of Ethics intended to provide guidance for colleges, providers, and overseas host institutions. The episode reinforced the organization's role in promoting transparency, ethical practice, and accountability in a field with complex partnerships. By 2013, the Forum reported more than 650 member institutions, including U.S. colleges and universities, provider organizations, and institutions outside the United States. Its members collectively represented more than 90 percent of U.S. students who studied abroad. The organization continues to support the profession through standards, conferences, publications, research, member services, and quality-improvement initiatives. Its president and chief executive officer is Melissa Torres.

The Forum on Education Abroad emerged from discussions among education-abroad professionals who believed that the field needed a dedicated association with a shared professional identity and common standards. The concept was first discussed in San Diego in May 2000. By January 2001, participants had prepared an organizational statement and defined goals for a new association. A meeting in Tucson the following month produced a mission statement, five broad goal areas, criteria for voting membership, and a series of planning assignments covering communications, business operations, incorporation, and member services. The organization was incorporated as the Forum on Education Abroad in July 2001. During the following year, it created a Board of Advisors and began searching for an executive director. It also co-sponsored the University of Minnesota's Curriculum Integration Conference and established a relationship with Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, adopting the journal as its official publication. The first annual meeting took place in May 2002 and attracted more than 150 members. Participants approved an Advisory Council, later known as the Forum Council, to support governance and professional direction. The Forum held its first annual conference in November 2004 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, alongside the annual conference of the Council on International Educational Exchange. The event had 165 participants. In the same period, the organization began formalizing its standards role. Its first edition of the Standards of Good Practice appeared in 2004, followed by a second edition in 2005. That year, the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission recognized the Forum as the Standards Development Organization for education abroad. The standards addressed a field that had expanded substantially but lacked a single, widely shared framework for quality assurance. Education-abroad programs were operated by universities, consortia, nonprofit and commercial providers, overseas institutions, and other partners. Existing controls included institutional policies, regional and disciplinary accreditation, student evaluations, faculty review, advisory boards, approved-program lists, and occasional internal or external evaluations. These mechanisms varied considerably, while institutions also faced growing concerns about risk, liability, student welfare, and limited administrative resources. In January 2006, the Forum began a pilot project using the 2005 edition of the standards. Volunteer participants included U.S. and overseas providers, universities and colleges, community colleges, and consortia. The pilot tested how the standards could be used for structured institutional reflection and improvement. On July 1, 2006, the Forum moved its operations to Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Brian Whalen, then chair of the Forum Council and also a Dickinson global-education administrator, became president and chief executive officer. The pilot's findings were presented at the Forum's March 2007 conference in Austin, Texas. The meeting, titled "Standards in a Diverse World: The Future of Education Abroad," was the Forum's first independent conference and drew approximately 400 attendees. On July 14, 2007, the Forum's board formally adopted the Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad. The organization subsequently introduced the Quality Improvement Program, or QUIP, as a voluntary pathway through which member institutions could conduct a guided self-study and peer review against the standards. The Forum's standards and ethics work also developed during a period of heightened public scrutiny. A New York Times article published in August 2007 examined opaque relationships between study-abroad providers and U.S. universities. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office then issued subpoenas to numerous providers and colleges. In response to concerns about transparency and conflicts of interest, the Forum developed a Code of Ethics intended to guide colleges, providers, and overseas host institutions in managing their relationships. The standards program continued to evolve. Feedback from the pilot led to a third edition released in March 2008. As short-term programs became more common and members requested more specific guidance, the Forum released Standards of Good Practice for Short Term Education Abroad Programs in 2009. QUIP expanded the Forum's role from publishing standards to offering a structured improvement and peer-review process. IES Abroad was reported as the first third-party provider to complete the applicable review category and receive the QUIP 2A designation. By 2013, membership had grown beyond 650 institutions. The reported membership mix consisted primarily of U.S. colleges and universities, with additional provider organizations and universities outside the United States. Collectively, members represented more than 90 percent of U.S. students studying abroad. The Forum's ongoing activities include standards development, research, professional conferences, publications, member education, quality improvement, and advocacy for effective and responsible education-abroad practice. It remains a nonprofit field association rather than a direct-to-student travel or study-abroad operator.

• 2013

  Membership exceeds 650 institutions

  [1]Forum on Education Abroaden.wikipedia.org

  The Forum reported more than 650 member institutions representing over 90 percent of U.S. students studying abroad.

• 2009

  Short-term program standards released

  [1]Forum on Education Abroaden.wikipedia.org

  The Forum issued dedicated standards for short-term education-abroad programs.

• 2008

  Third edition of standards released

  [1]Forum on Education Abroaden.wikipedia.org

  Feedback from the standards pilot informed a third edition of the Standards of Good Practice.

• 2007

  Standards formally adopted

  [1]Forum on Education Abroaden.wikipedia.org

  The board adopted the Standards of Good Practice after the pilot findings were presented at the Austin conference.

• 2006

  Operations move to Dickinson College

  [1]Forum on Education Abroaden.wikipedia.org

  The Forum moved its operations to Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and began testing its standards through a multi-participant pilot project.

• 2005

  Recognized as Standards Development Organization

  [1]Forum on Education Abroaden.wikipedia.org

  The U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission recognized the Forum as the field's Standards Development Organization.

• 2004

  First Standards edition and first annual conference

  [1]Forum on Education Abroaden.wikipedia.org

  The first edition of the Standards of Good Practice was released, and the Forum held its first annual conference in Santa Fe.

• 2002

  First annual meeting

  [1]Forum on Education Abroaden.wikipedia.org

  More than 150 members attended the first annual meeting and approved the Advisory Council, later called the Forum Council.

• 2001

  Forum incorporated

  [1]Forum on Education Abroaden.wikipedia.org

  The organization established its mission, membership framework, planning structures, and was incorporated as the Forum on Education Abroad in July.

• 2000

  Concept first discussed

  [1]Forum on Education Abroaden.wikipedia.org

  Education-abroad professionals met in San Diego and began developing the idea of a stand-alone organization for the field.

A nonprofit standards-development and professional association for the education-abroad field, positioned between higher-education institutions, program providers, overseas host organizations, and related service organizations. Its differentiation rests on field-wide standards, research, professional convening, and voluntary quality improvement rather than direct delivery of study-abroad programs.

• Professional standards · 2004

  Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad

  The Forum's principal standards framework for education-abroad practice. It provides a common reference for institutions, providers, and overseas partners in areas including program design, student advising, health and safety, resources, operations, marketing, assessment, and institutional accountability. The standards evolved through multiple editions and a field-wide pilot process rather than being presented as a government licensing regime.

• Professional standards · 2009

  Standards of Good Practice for Short Term Education Abroad Programs

  A specialized standards framework responding to the growth of short-term education-abroad programs. It provides guidance tailored to programs whose compressed schedules and distinctive academic, logistical, and student-support requirements may not be fully addressed by general education-abroad guidance.

• Quality assurance and peer review · 2007

  Quality Improvement Program (QUIP)

  A voluntary program for eligible institutional members that combines guided self-study with peer review. Participating organizations examine program design, evaluation and assessment, marketing and promotion, student advising, resources, and operations, then receive a report and recommendations intended to support continuous improvement.

• Ethical guidance · 2007

  Code of Ethics

  Ethical guidance developed for colleges, education-abroad providers, and foreign host institutions. It was intended to improve transparency and provide a practical framework for managing relationships and responsibilities in a field where institutional and provider arrangements had attracted public and regulatory scrutiny.

• Professional events · 2002

  Annual conference and professional development

  The Forum's conference program convenes education-abroad professionals to discuss standards, curriculum integration, assessment, student support, risk, ethics, and emerging practices. Its first stand-alone conference took place in Austin in 2007 and centered on the standards pilot and the future of education abroad.

• 2007

  New York investigation of study-abroad relationships

  A New York Times report raised questions about opaque relationships between study-abroad providers and U.S. universities. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office subsequently investigated and subpoenaed multiple providers and higher-education institutions. The Forum was described as responding through ethics guidance intended to improve transparency and responsible relationship management.

  Source

Read more

• 2007Quality Improvement Program

  Member institutions and providers

  The Forum launched QUIP as a voluntary self-study and peer-review pathway for members seeking structured evaluation against the Standards of Good Practice.

  Outcome. IES Abroad became the first reported third-party provider to complete the relevant review category and receive the QUIP 2A designation.

  Source
• 2006Standards Pilot Project

  United States · International education-abroad institutions and providers

  The Forum recruited volunteer institutions and providers to test the 2005 edition of its Standards of Good Practice. Participants represented domestic and overseas universities, colleges, community colleges, consortia, and education-abroad providers.

  Outcome. The pilot's findings were presented at the 2007 Austin conference and contributed to the third edition of the standards released in 2008.

  Source

• 2007

  Formalize standards adoption and launch quality improvementStrategy

  Background

  The standards pilot generated feedback on how a common framework could be applied by different types of institutions and providers.

  Action taken

  The board adopted the Standards of Good Practice and introduced QUIP as a voluntary self-study and peer-review process.

  Aftermath

  The Forum expanded from standards publication into structured quality improvement, assessment, and peer review.

  Source

• 2007

  Develop an ethics frameworkOther

  Background

  Public and legal scrutiny focused on financial and organizational relationships between study-abroad providers and higher-education institutions.

  Action taken

  The Forum developed a Code of Ethics for colleges, providers, and overseas host institutions.

  Aftermath

  The code reinforced the Forum's emphasis on transparency, accountability, and responsible partnership management.

  Source

• 2006

  Move operations to Dickinson CollegeStrategy

  Background

  The growing association needed an institutional base for its operations and professional programs.

  Action taken

  The Forum relocated its operations to Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

  Aftermath

  Dickinson College became the organization's operating location, while the Forum continued to serve a broader membership across the education-abroad field.

  Source

• 2005

  Assume formal standards-development roleStrategy

  Background

  The education-abroad field had varied institutional practices and limited common quality-control mechanisms.

  Action taken

  The Forum secured recognition from the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission as the Standards Development Organization for education abroad.

  Aftermath

  The recognition established the Forum as the principal field-wide body for developing voluntary standards and related professional resources.

  Source

1. 1Forum on Education Abroaden.wikipedia.org
2. 2Forum on Education Abroad official websiteforumea.org