Brandi Hoffman, Hannah Croft

10/10/13
Student Affairs Functions in Higher Education

Functional Area Report
Education Abroad Programs and Services
Education abroad is a functional area within Student Affairs that is both enticing and yet jobs
can be elusive. We were tasked to dive into the functional area to create a better understanding of
Education Abroad for ourselves and to be able to paint a clearer picture for our classmates.
Key Functions:
We identified professionals on both of our campuses, Kent State and Case Western Reserve,
to have a conversation focused around unpacking this area of Student Affairs. Case and Kent offered
different perspectives of Education Abroad programming done within public and private universities.
Brandi interviewed with a Case Western professional and a Kent Program alumna, Lisa Brown. Lisa
is a Study Abroad Adviser within the Center for International Affairs in Higher Education of Case
Western Reserve University. Hannah interviewed Ediz Kaykayoglu, the Assistant Director of
Education Abroad at Kent State University. Most Education Abroad Advisers have experiences
gained from their own international experiences. Whether those come from undergraduate study,
work experiences, personal heritage or even a class offered at a co-op university in Italy, those
experiences remain pertinent in the work these professionals do in their daily lives.
Education Abroad Programs do not always have the deepest pocketbooks to fund
programming outside of office responsibilities and daily functions. Case Western is a little different
than the average in that respect, as they have been afforded a budget that allows wiggle room in
programming and getting their name out. The office currently has programs around promotional
events and information sessions, advertising for programs, and an annual study abroad fair. They are
looking to create programming around returning students as well to allow their peers to hear personal
experiences and tips of traveling.
At Kent State, Kaykayoglu and the Education Abroad office not only work with partnered
institutions in Florence and Geneva which hundreds of students travel to each semester but they also
work with faculty who would like to coordinate major specific programs abroad. In addition to all of
those programs, the office also works with exchange programs internationally and nationally to
coordinate not only Kent State students but also other students who are interested in an education
abroad program coordinated through Kent State. All in all, the office helps with over 200 education
abroad programs. KayKayoglu spoke about how through all this coordination and partnership he has
had the opportunity to work with people all across higher education.

That opportunity holds true at Case as well. When Case began searching to narrow down the
cooperating universities across the world that were potential partners to their study abroad programs
they were faced with the challenge of sifting through about 800 potential programs. Managing large
quantities of university programs outside of our country and deeply understanding not only the
university, but the countrys culture, the programs specifics and the geographic location demands
what the student will entail is a large part of this functional area. It all must be explained clearly for
the student at the beginning of their process to set a strong foundation for their exploration into the
opportunity and why they may want to pursue it. As a Study Abroad Adviser spending time
explaining and answering questions that allow students to decide if they want to commit to the
experience is huge. Making sure paperwork is filled out timely and correctly is imperative. Having
cooperating universities abroad that the university can trust and communicate freely with can make
the job that much easier for the advisers.
Through our interviews and research, we also found that a top priority for education abroad
professionals is to create a welcoming environment for students to engage and learn in a global
community. Kaykayoglu spoke of ensuring that students see the true value in studying abroad
because he believes they can bring back their new views of culture and diversity and enlighten the
campus community and future employers.
Key Educational Goals & Learning Outcomes for students associated with Education Abroad:
Help to engage students in a global citizenship
Enable students to develop their adaptability in diverse situations
Help students to get outside their comfort zones and grow in self identity through travel
Professional Associations Serving Education Abroad:
Both professionals discussed being members of the Association of International Educators or
NAFSA. This association is one that focuses on abroad and international issues across the board.
There are leadership roles available that can play into the specific interests of professionals available
through this association. For example, Lisa sits on the Visa Issues committee of NASFA. Yet, there
is not much programming for graduate students and new professionals at this time although progress
has been made in recent years. Many Study Abroad Advisers join the association called Forum EA as
it has a focus that is tailored specifically to study abroad advising and programing. Diversity Abroad
is another organization some education abroad professionals work with since it creates and educates
students about study abroad programs.
Journals and other publications of key interest and further resources used:
Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad
Journal of Studies in International Education
Assessment tools or approaches used to measure outcomes:
Both offices we interviewed do not do a lot of assessment yet. Case Westerns office recently opened
in 2011 and are currently working without a director of the office, and Kent State is currently running
on a staff of two professional staff who support over 200 education abroad programs. Kent State does
survey students who have participated in study abroad, however this is something that they are
striving to improve on once two new professional staff are hired. They are currently in the hiring
process this semester.
Final Notes:
A difference we found between the two universities came up in the issues our professionals
discussed with us that their students are most likely to identify with when contemplating study
abroad. Students at Kent focused on a more practical approach in affording the trip and the issues
around how they can get there and stay there comfortably. Kaykayoglu talked about what he referred
to as the 4 Fs, Family, Friends, Finance and Fear. He talked about the social values students are
hearing from family and friends and the fear of embarking somewhere completely different from
what they might have known, and finally the hardship of figuring out how they are going to afford it.
The students at Case were more apt to focus on the experience itself as a value to their education no
matter the financial cost. The students often view the sacrifices of studying abroad as taking a
misstep within their demanding lock-step major programs. Although this is ultimately a perceived
barrier, there is only a small window of opportunity to study abroad for many of the campus
programs. The Case student body is one that pushes for high achievement and students must often
contemplate the ties they have in organizations of the community, the leadership roles they have or
those they may wish to have in the future and how leaving the campus for an extended amount of
time may affect them down the road. It is important to note that the students from either university,
Kent or Case, do not have problems that are mutually exclusive to the university they attend. Many
of the issues students face are similar across the boards in both public and private universities. There
is a lot of consideration and planning that a student must take responsibility for before heading
abroad and it was interesting to discuss how a campus culture may influence how students may go
about weighing the options.

Contacts and References
Lisa Brown
Study Abroad Adviser
The Center for International Affairs
Case Western Reserve University
Phone: 216-368-2517
Email: lxb260@case.edu

Ediz Kaykayoglu
Assistant Director
Education Abroad
Kent State University
Phone:330-672-7984
Email: ekaykayo@kent.edu