While there are many factors that impact students’ plans to go abroad, funding in the form of scholarships may be one important element in their decision-making. A new column for recipients of Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) scholarships has been added to this 2024 update. Coupled with data on Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship recipients, the updated data table provides a reference point on the impact that scholarships may have on student participation rates and their ability to level the playing field for more students to capitalize on an education abroad experience.
[2024] Comparative Data Table on Race & Ethnicity in Education Abroad by Percentage of Students
|
Race/Ethnicity
|
U.S. Population [2020]
|
U.S. Higher Ed. Enrollment [Fall 2021]
|
Open Doors Report – U.S. Students Abroad [2021-22]
|
U.S. Community College Enrollment [Fall 2021]
|
U.S. Community College Students Abroad [2021-22]
|
Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) Scholarship Award Recipients [2021-22]
|
Gilman Scholarship Recipients [20 Year Annual Report, 2021]
|
Your Institution / Organization Enrollment [date]
|
Your Institution Students Abroad [date]
|
|
White/Caucasian
|
57.8%
|
52.0%
|
68.6%
|
45.0%
|
61.5%
|
13.5%
|
34.0%
|
|
|
|
Black/African American
|
12.1%
|
13.0%
|
5.3%
|
12.0%
|
5.8%
|
21.0%
|
18.0%
|
|
|
|
Hispanic/Latino American
|
18.7%
|
22.0%
|
11.9%
|
27.0%
|
22.3%
|
33.0%
|
21.0%
|
|
|
|
Asian American & Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
|
6.1%
|
8.0%
|
8.6%
|
6.0%
|
4.8%
|
16.5%
|
17.0%
|
|
|
|
Native American
|
0.7%
|
1.0%
|
0.4%
|
1.0%
|
1.1%
|
0.5%
|
1.0%
|
|
|
Multiracial
|
4.6%
|
4.0%
|
5.3%>
|
4.0%
|
4.5%
|
15.5%>
|
9.0%>
|
|
|
|
No Response / Unknown
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
4.0%
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
[2010] Comparative Data Table on Race & Ethnicity in Education Abroad by Percentage of Students
|
Race/Ethnicity
|
U.S. Population [2008]
|
U.S. Higher Ed. Enrollment [2008]
|
Open Doors Report – U.S. Students Abroad [2007-08]
|
U.S. Community College Enrollment [2009]
|
U.S. Community College Students Abroad [2007-08]
|
Gilman Scholarship Fall Recipients [2007-08]
|
|
White/Caucasian
|
79.8%
|
63.3%
|
81.8%
|
61.0%
|
68.8%
|
44.0%
|
|
Black/African American
|
12.8%
|
13.5%
|
4.0%
|
14.0%
|
6.4%
|
15.0%
|
|
Hispanic/Latino American
|
15.4%
|
11.9%
|
5.9%
|
15.0%
|
15.1%
|
14.0%
|
|
Asian American & Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
|
4.7%
|
6.8%
|
6.6%
|
7.0%
|
4.7%
|
11.0%
|
|
Native American
|
1.0%
|
1.0%
|
0.5%
|
1.0%
|
0.4%
|
1.0%
|
|
Multiracial
|
1.7%
|
Not Available
|
1.2%
|
2.0%
|
4.7%
|
9.0%
|
|
No Response / Unknown
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
6.0%
|
The updated comparative data table not only provides a simple and easy-to-digest snapshot of the current state of affairs of our study abroad programming race and ethnicity participation rates; it also highlights the value that the most basic data provides when assessing our diversity and inclusion education abroad practices as we continue to work towards access and inclusion in global programming. In reviewing the two tables, we gain insight into the field’s efforts over the past 14 years. Some of the takeaways as well as questions that arise are as follows:
-
Since the multiracial population category option first became available as an identifier in the 2000 Census, it has steadily increased as a way that people identify themselves. (Parker et al., 2015; Jones et al., 2021). This is seen both in the change in the U.S. population identifying as multiracial from 2008 to 2020, as well as across almost all of the other enrollment categories listed on the table.
-
There has been a significant jump in the percentage of students who identify as Hispanic/Latino American in U.S. higher ed enrollment, and the percentage of Hispanic/Latino American students studying abroad has increased accordingly: both essentially doubling from 2010 to 2024. This correlation shows that the participation rate for Hispanic/Latino American students in study abroad programs has actually remained stagnant relative to their representation in the student body.
-
Similarly, the percentage of Black/African American identifying students studying abroad is not reflective of Black/African Americans’ overall enrollment in U.S. higher education. In the community college data in particular, Black/African American enrollment in study abroad significantly lags behind as compared to Black/African American community college enrollment as a whole.
-
Scholarships are touted as an important means to potentially address disparity in participation rates in racial and ethnically minoritized students. More analysis is needed to show their impact in relation to the numerous other factors that influence student decisions. They could arguably be said to assist in maintaining the current enrollment of underrepresented students in study abroad; however, they alone are certainly not enough to level the playing field. While this table includes scholarship data from Gilman and FEA, it does not account for the numerous smaller scholarships that have been created over the last decade, nor does it quantify the efforts made towards additional factors that impact underrepresented students’ decisions to study abroad. For additional analysis, it would be interesting to compare applicant data versus recipient data from Gilman and FEA, as well as to their relevant eligible population subsets. This data table can be used for these purposes.
Colleagues are encouraged to repurpose this comparative data table to meet their needs and interests when assessing race and ethnicity with simple data. Additional enrollment categories or variables that may be of interest include: students abroad on your institution’s/organization’s internal education abroad scholarships, students abroad on semester/year-long programs, students abroad on faculty-led programs, students abroad by destination, scholarship eligible students, scholarship applicants, etc.
Awareness has grown and the field has certainly made attempts to level the playing field for underrepresented students in our education abroad programming since these efforts were first documented starting in the 1980s and early 1990s (Gliozzo, 1980; Stallman et al., 2010). However, as noted above, there is still more work to be done to ensure that study abroad is accessible to students across all identities and that participation rates more closely reflect the student body as a whole. The field may be uniquely posed at this time of rebuilding to more deeply consider our current participation rates of racially and ethnically minoritized students and take that into account when (re-)developing education abroad programming. Regularly producing these comparative data tables on race and ethnicity abroad will assist us in monitoring our efforts as we continue this important work.
The authors would like to acknowledge that they identify as White.
References
American Association of Community Colleges. (2023). AACC fast facts 2023.https://www.aacc.nche.edu/researchtrends/fast-facts/
Comp, D. (2010). Comparative data on race and ethnicity in education abroad. In Diversity in International Education Hands-On Workshop: Summary Report and Data from the Workshop held on September 21, 2010, National Press Club, Washington, DC (pp. 19-21). American Institute for Foreign Study.  https://www.aifsabroad.com/publications/
Comp, D. (2019). Effective utilization of data for strategic planning and reporting with case study: My failed advocacy strategy. In. A. C. Ogden, L. M. Alexander, & E. Mackintosh (Eds.), Education abroad operational management: Strategies, opportunities, and innovations, A report on ISA ThinkDen, 72-75. Austin, TX: International Studies Abroad. http://bit.ly/ISAThinkDenReport2018
Fund for Education Abroad (FEA). (2023, December). Comparative data on race & ethnicity of FEA Awards 2021-2022 by percentage of students. Data obtained from Angela Schaffer, Executive Director of the Fund for Education Abroad. https://fundforeducationabroad.org/
Gliozzo, C. (1980, December). The international education of minority students. Minority Education, 2(5), 6-7.
Institute of International Education. (2023). Profile of U.S. study abroad students, 2023 Open Doors U.S. student data. https://opendoorsdata.org/data/us-study-abroad/student-profile/
Institute for International Education. (2023). Student characteristics: U.S. students studying abroad at Associate's colleges data from the 2023 Open Doors Report. https://opendoorsdata.org/data/us-study-abroad/community-college-student-characteristics/
Institute for International Education. (2021, October). A legacy of supporting excellence and opportunity in study abroad: 20-Year impact study, abridged report. https://www.gilmanscholarship.org/20thanniversary/
Jones, N., Marks, R., Ramirez, R., & Rios-Vargas, M. (2021, August 21). 2020 Census illuminates racial and ethnic composition of the country. U.S. Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/08/improved-race-ethnicity-measures-reveal-united-states-population-much-more-multiracial.html
Parker, K., Menasce Horowitz, J., Morin, R., & Hugo Lopez, M. (2015, June 11). Multiracial in America: Proud, diverse and growing in numbers. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2015/06/11/multiracial-in-america/
Stallman, E., Woodruff, G., Kasravi, J., & Comp, D. (2010). The diversification of the student profile. In W. W. Hoffa & S. DePaul (Eds.), A history of US study abroad: 1965 to present (pp. 115-160). The Forum on Education Abroad/Frontiers: The interdisciplinary journal of study abroad.
United States Census Bureau. (2020). DP1 | Profile of general population and housing characteristics, 2020: DEC Demographic Profile. https://data.census.gov/table?g=010XX00US&d=DEC+Demographic+Profile
U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). Characteristics of postsecondary students.https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/csb/postsecondarystudents