THE PROJECT FOR LEARNING ABROAD, TRAINING AND OUTREACH (PLATO)

Study abroad is one of the most effective ways to develop international perspectives that promote global understanding, yet too few U.S. community college and university students take advantage of this opportunity. For those who do study abroad, too many participate in programs with limited orientation prior to study abroad and find a disconnect, rather than an integration of the study abroad experience into their home campus degree programs. Many times, recognition of the added value of the study abroad experience by the institution, employers, and participants upon the student’s return to the home campus is also lacking.

This is a problem for many U.S. college and university students and is exacerbated by unacceptably low levels of participation by African American students (3.4%), Latino/Hispanics (5.1%), Native American (0.5%) and Asian/Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders (6.0%) [IIE, Open Doors 2004]. Many underrepresented student populations are left out of current study abroad recruitment and outreach. As Craig writes in The Black Collegian, “Our world is rapidly changing politically, socially and economically, yet the vast majority of African-American students believe that study abroad does not have any relationship to their career [Craig, S., “Reflecting The Norms of an International Society,” May 1998].” Many underrepresented students who can benefit from study abroad lack the information, resources, and support for study abroad that can motivate participation. For many of the institutions that have served these groups, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), the challenges are significant. In California, for example, community colleges serve over 2.5 million students of which the majority are non-traditional students. Of that total, according to California Colleges for International Education (CCIE) Director Rosalind Raby, only about 3,800 students took part in study abroad programs over the past year. This reflects a participation rate of just over 1/100 of one percent. This is unacceptable. According to the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), approximately half of all minority undergraduate students attend a community college (47% of African-American students, 56% of Hispanic students, 48% of Asian/Pacific Islander students, 57% of Native American students).

For those students who do study abroad, effective orientation is critical for students’ success. Very few (estimated at less than 50 of the more than 1,500 US colleges and universities offering study abroad) U.S. colleges and universities provide a comprehensive pre-study abroad for-credit orientation course. It is critical that students with a limited background in the languages and cultures of the world, as well as a limited understanding of the U.S.’s role in the world, receive additional academic learning in order to take full advantage of their foreign experience. In addition to emphasizing academic study, it is critical to preparing students to live in another country and culture. PLATO Initiatives

In 2004, the U.S. Department of Education awarded a FIPSE Comprehensive Program grant to the Center for Global Education at Loyola Marymount University, with project partners (listed below) to begin work on the Project for Learning Abroad, Training and Outreach (PLATO). More recently, the IFSA Foundation awarded the Center a grant to enhance project efforts. The PLATO Project is creating an integrated, multi-dimensional program of initiatives to address the needs of students who study abroad, the institutions from which they originate and to which they return, and the administrators, teachers and students at the K-12 schools and community colleges from which study abroad participants will come. The project consists of seven primary initiatives:
1. Outreach to Underrepresented Students for Study Abroad
2. Pre-Study Abroad Online Learning Course
3. Retention Resources and Mentor Message Boards for Students During Study Abroad
4. Post-Study Abroad/Re-entry Online Course
5. International Honors Certificate
6. Faculty/Staff Development Modules
7. K-12 and Community College and Home Campus Outreach