Assessing the Impact of Study Abroad on Student Learning at Michigan State University

Abstract

Michigan State University (MSU) is strongly committed to the idea that study abroad is deeply beneficial and important for undergraduate students. However, there is a relative scarcity of systematically gathered qualitative and quantitative information that assesses the impact of study abroad. In the summer of 2000, MSU implemented a broad plan to design and put in place mechanisms for continuously assessing the impact of study abroad on students, on faculty, and on MSU as a whole. An institutional assessment committee was established to oversee the project, setting the general direction and goals of the project, with the day-to-day responsibility for the activities of the project delegated to staff members. The project has proceeded inductively; that is, inferring general results from specific student and faculty responses. The results of the project were obtained primarily for internal MSU use. Therefore, while we recognize that our conclusions may be similar to some to be found in the literature, the discussion presented here is limited to these internal results, and not intended to be comparative. To this end, we have not undertaken a search of the existing literature in order to provide a bibliography and citations.