Abroad
(or Overseas or Foreign) – As adjectives, terms used to describe the country or culture that hosts the U.S. student during his/her international educational experience. Each term has some drawback; for example, U.S. students in Canada are not technically “abroad” or “overseas,” and “foreign” often has a pejorative usage in popular press.
Academic Advising
Based in the teaching and learning mission of higher education, [academic advising] is a series of intentional interactions with a curriculum, a pedagogy, and a set of student learning outcomes… [it] synthesizes and contextualizes students’ educational experiences within the frameworks of their aspirations, abilities, and lives to extend learning beyond campus boundaries and timeframes
Academic Internship Program
A subtype of field study program in which the focal activity is a credit-bearing internship.
Administrative Fee
(or Overhead Fee) – A fee paid to an education abroad office, university, or provider that contributes to the general Overhead Costs of an institution or organization. It may be either separate from or incorporated into the program fee
Advisory Committee
(or Advisory Board) – A group of individuals who provide guidance and advice for an education abroad entity, such as an education abroad office at a university or a nonprofit or for-profit independent program provider.
Affiliated Program
(or Cosponsored Program) – A subtype of Approved Program with which an institution has established a special relationship. There is no standard significance for an “affiliated program.” Each institution determines together with the program the nature and scope of the relationship. Within this relationship, an affiliated program is generally awarded special considerations, which can include: the awarding of resident credit, the counting of grades toward the student’s GPA at the home institution, publicity in the college catalog and/or website, applicability of institutional financial aid, or permission for students to participate. Affiliation sometimes also can bring special benefits to students, such as scholarships, special discounts, priority for admission, additional advising support, or more orientation or on-site services.
Affiliation Agreement
Arrangement, usually in writing, between a study abroad provider or host institution and a home institution. The affiliation may take many forms. Examples range from a loose relationship giving the provider’s programs a higher profile on the home campus, to relationships outlining very specific responsibilities and privileges on both parts, to formal membership in a consortium.
Application Fee
A required fee (usually nonrefundable) submitted with an application to an education abroad program.
Appreciative Advising
The intentional collaborative practice of asking positive, open-ended questions that help students optimize their educational experiences and achieve their dreams, goals, and potentials.
Approved Program
A program that an institution has in some way vetted and endorsed for its students. Some institutions maintain a list of approved programs that give all participants special services, in which case the term is virtually synonymous with Affiliated Program. Other institutions approve participation on a student-by-student basis. “Approved program” thus has a broader meaning than “affiliated program.” Benefits vary by institution but could cover such topics as resident credit, institutional financial aid, departure orientation, or highlighted information (for example, in an institutional catalog or website). Terms that have a similar meaning to this definition of approved programs include “recognized,” “preferred,” “highlighted,” “recommended,” “promoted,” and “supported” programs.
Area Studies Program
A subtype of study abroad program whose primary focus is the study of the host country or region from the perspectives of a variety of disciplines.
Assess
measure effectiveness through the articulation of goals (3.17), development of associated measures, and identification of observable outputs and outcomes (3.29, 3.30)
Assessment
process of measuring effectiveness, usually through the articulation of goals (3.17) and performance measures, the development of associated measures, and the identification of observable outcomes (3.29, 3.30)
- Note 1 to entry: Assessment is usually used to inform whether the initial goals were achieved.