As Australia re-opens to the world and our students can once again engage in learning abroad experiences, we are presented with the opportunity to review historical practices and challenge assumptions. Short-term learning abroad programs have helped Australian universities to quickly increase outbound participation rates to a level that matches the US. In Australia, as elsewhere, students have driven the growth in short-term programs with some students choosing to undertake multiple short-term programs during their degree. New research demonstrates that this approach can have a greater career impact in some categories.
The conclusions of the paper invite the higher education sector in Australia (and globally) to re-think the ways we construct and advise on learning abroad opportunities for our students.
The final research paper from the IEAA Career Outcomes of Learning Abroad (COLA) project provided an opportunity to view short-term learning abroad through a different lens. Even with all the usual caveats of education research around perceptions, motivations and the role of pre-existing individual characteristics, the conclusions of the paper invite the higher education sector in Australia (and globally) to re-think the ways we construct and advise on learning abroad opportunities for our students as we switch our learning abroad programs back on.
In this paper, we set out to test the standard assumption that a semester or year-long exchange is the gold standard in learning abroad outcomes. Whether we agree or not, there remain some negative perceptions about the relative value of short-term programs for our students.
The COLA study found that around 25% of participants undertook more than one learning abroad experience during their study.
The COLA study found that around 25% of participants undertook more than one learning abroad experience during their study. There is very little research globally that considers outcomes of more than one learning abroad experience on students.
In response to the hypothesis – Does participation in more than one short-term program provide greater career-related outcomes than participation in one mid- and long-term program? – the COLA project found that on three overall outcomes, individuals who participated in multiple short-term programs reported a greater impact on their career. These three outcomes were:
- Obtaining their first job in their field of study
- Obtaining subsequent career-related jobs, and
- Developing skills to support their professional role.
Additionally, one skill that positively impacts on employability, critical thinking, was rated higher for multiple short-term program participants.
For all other areas tested including having a full-time job at the time of the study, long-term career prospects and the development of eight critical skills that positively impact on employability, there was no difference between the groups. Essentially it means that in terms of career outcomes, undertaking more than one short-term program can have a similar impact as undertaking one mid-to-long-term program.
These research findings have notable implications for the sector. Firstly, it’s time to update our understanding of the value short-term learning abroad programs can bring to our students. It is apparent that our students are several steps ahead of us because, in 2019, 73% of learning abroad participation was represented by short-term programs.
Secondly, many students struggle to find the resources as well as space in their degree to undertake a traditional exchange program. Acknowledging that all exchange programs can be financially challenging for many students, short-term programs may be viewed as more accessible, especially to non-traditional cohorts.
Fitting a short-term program into a highly structured degree program such as many professional majors as well as STEM disciplines can be much less complex.
Post-COVID learning abroad advising should examine how students are being supported to fit more than one international experience into their degree plans.
Third, we need to focus on broadening access to the employability benefits of higher education and learning abroad programs. Students who cannot spend a semester or year abroad can gain comparable career-related outcomes from two or more well-designed short-term programs. Post-COVID learning abroad advising should examine how students are being supported to fit more than one international experience into their degree plans.
Finally, academic and financial policies should be reviewed to consider how degree rules, as well as grants and scholarships, facilitate access to more than one international study program. This may be an opportune moment to review the rules for OS-Help. Many students will be studying abroad earlier in their degree as they take advantage of opportunities promoted by their institutions.
Other findings of the COLA study confirm the amplified impact of international internships and professional practical experiences on the career and employability outcomes of graduates. For example, if a student can undertake an international internship as one of their learning abroad experiences, this can lead to even better results.
Partnering with the excellent learning abroad program providers and consortiums (such as ACICIS) can support institutions to expand access to more diverse experiences. Providers create efficiency through pooling resources across the sector and can extend the return-on-investment of institutional resources in learning abroad. As we work together to reinvigorate the New Colombo Plan, they are critical to the infrastructure that supports international education in Australia.
We end this blog by thanking the IEAA Learning Abroad Network for their support of the COLA project – it truly could not have happened without the collaboration of the sector.
The article can be accessed here. (If you can’t access this journal article via your library, IEAA members are entitled to free JSIE access – details here.)