The Forum on Education Abroad

The Office of Study Abroad (OSA) is pleased to invite our program leaders, academic advisers and study abroad colleagues to learn about the Forum on Education Abroad. Please join us at the Kellogg Center for an informative lecture as OSA, in consultation with each college’s Dean’s Designee, considers the value to MSU of the Forum’s principles of good practice in education abroad in response to quality assessment recommendations made in the 2008 Study Abroad Task Force Report.

Quality and Standards in Education Abroad
March 2, 2010
10:00 am to 11:30 am
Kellogg Center Auditorium

Presented by Dr. Brian Whalen, President and CEO of the Forum, and Dr. Larry A. Braskamp, Professor Emeritus of Education at Loyola University Chicago and Senior Fellow at the American Association of Colleges and Universities, the lecture will address ways in which we as international educators can improve our practices in education abroad, so that our student experiences are as rich and meaningful as possible.

As MSU strives to continually provide high-quality study abroad programming, we encourage you to attend this presentation to familiarize yourself with the Forum, share ideas, learn why such benchmarking models are needed, and join in the discussion about the complexity of the education abroad field itself.  

RSVPs are not required.

More information about:

1. The Presentation
2. The Forum on Education Abroad
3. The Presenters

What you can expect to be covered in the presentation:

1. Background on the Forum on Education Abroad: History, Purpose, Mission, Organization, Membership, Programs and Services
2. The Context for the Standards of Good Practice: Why are Standards needed?
3. Discussion of the complexity of the education abroad field itself, its major players and program types
4. Discussion of existing quality control mechanisms and how the education abroad field remains largely unregulated
5. Discussion of the unique environmental factors that impact education abroad and make standards and quality control essential: How were the Standards developed?
6. Discussion of the Forum’s Standards Development Organization status and its rigorous development and testing of the Standards
7. Overview of the ongoing assessment and development of the Standards
8. What do the Standards Encompass?: Overview of the Structure and Content of the Nine Standards; The Code of Ethics for Education Abroad; The Standards for Short-Term Education Abroad Programs; Standards, Queries, Toolbox of Best Practices
9. How are the Standards used to assess, improve and recognize programs?: Some examples of how the Standards are being used concretely to assess and improve programs; Overview of the formal Quality Improvement Program
10. Question and Answer About the Forum

What is the Forum on Education Abroad?

Forum on Education Abroad is the only organization whose exclusive purpose it is to serve the field of education abroad. To learn more about this history and the mission of the Forum, visit their Website.

About the Presenters

Dr. Brian Whalen
President and CEO of the Forum on Education Abroad

Dr. Brian Whalen is the President and CEO of the Forum on Education Abroad, a global membership association of over 400 institutional members, and the only organization whose exclusive purpose is to serve the field of U.S. education abroad. He was, until recently, also Associate Provost, Associate Professor of International Studies and Executive Director of the Office of Global Education at Dickinson College. A well known international educator, Brian has written and spoken extensively on a wide range of international education topics and has served on a number of boards of international education organizations. For five years he was an on-site resident director of study abroad programs in Italy. Brian is the founding editor of Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, founded in 1994 as the first academic journal devoted to study abroad, and he continues to serve as its editor and publisher. Brian holds B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in psychology.

Dr. Larry A. Braskamp
Professor Emeritus of Education at Loyola University Chicago; Senior Fellow at the American Association of Colleges and Universities

Larry A. Braskamp, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Education at Loyola University Chicago and Senior Fellow at the American Association of Colleges and Universities. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Elmhurst College.

In his role as Senior Scientist, Braskamp serves as a strategic consultant to The Gallup Organization's Higher Education division, applying Gallup research to improve education. He draws on his many years of experience in higher education to provide Gallup's clients with consulting on how to create campus-wide strengths-based initiatives designed to develop the whole student. Braskamp is a frequent contributor to Gallup publications and is available for on-site program evaluation and design consulting. Braskamp is also in demand as a speaker at conferences and learning events.

In 1967, Braskamp joined the faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), where he received a Distinguished Teaching Award. He also served as Assistant to the Chancellor at UNL. Braskamp joined the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in 1976. He served in a number of administrative positions at UIUC, including Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Acting Dean of the College of Applied Life Studies.

Braskamp was Dean of the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) from 1989 to 1996. During the 1996-1997 academic year, he served as the Executive Director of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. From 1997 to 1998, Braskamp was a professor in the College of Education and a Faculty Fellow in the International Center for Health Leadership Development at UIC. He served as the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Loyola University Chicago from 1998 to 2002. From 2002 to 2005, he was a Professor and directed a project on how church-related colleges develop students with purpose.

Braskamp is the co-author and coeditor of seven books, including Putting Students First: How Colleges Develop Students Purposefully, Assessing Faculty Work, and The Motivation Factor: A Theory of Personal Investment. He has published more than one hundred research articles and papers.

Braskamp received his bachelor's degree in psychology from Central College in Pella, Iowa. He received his master's degree in counseling psychology and doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Iowa.

 

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