Think studying abroad will slow your graduation down? Think again! According to this article below, even in a
very highly structured major like engineering, students who study abroad
graduate in a timelier manner than their peers who stay on campus.
“These are experiences where students deepen their commitment to
learning and they’re motivated to get on with life,” said Gayle
Woodruff, Minnesota’s director of curriculum and campus
internationalization. “They see a potential that may not have been there
before. Study abroad really ignites a kind of deeper learning for
students.”
But Mark Salisbury, assistant dean and director of institutional
research and assessment at Augustana College, cites reasons to be
skeptical of a causal link between study abroad and on-time graduation.
He suggested that the link may be indirect – attributable to the process
of planning for study abroad rather than the experience of study abroad
itself.
“When a student decides to study abroad, the process they have to go
through is actually somewhat long and complex,” Salisbury said. “If you
can get a student to actually play along with that process, you foster
their investment in their education.”
“Not only does the student have a fairly clear sense of the curricular
path they’re going to take to graduation, they’ve also been forced to
reflect on the question of, 'Why am I doing this program, why am I
participating in this series of experiences?' ”
