Many consider study abroad a luxury reserved for kids with rich parents, but overall participation rates remain fairly steady, despite the rocky economy.
“Fewer people go for full-year programs,” says Jon Stauff, Ph.D., director of Center for Global Engagement at The College of New Jersey, “but the number of people participating in summer programs is actually way up.”
Denise Connerty, assistant vice president for International Affairs at Temple, reports similar patterns. “We are seeing more short-term study abroad participation, which reflects national trends, but the overall numbers are fairly steady.”
According to Connerty, there was a big jump in numbers after 9/11. “Students realized that you can’t ignore the rest of the world; you need to know what’s going on beyond our borders.”
