Abroad101 Advisors Newsletter – Summer 2016

Abroad101-reviews-logo-web

Now more than ever, we need the first-hand accounts of what goes on in study abroad.  Parents and families worry about health and safety in study abroad so we suggest (to use the old sports analogy) “the best defense is a good offense.”  Translated, this means we should flood the market with good news, and by news, we are referring to student reviews.  Each review tells a student’s story and becomes yet another testimonial as to the impact that an international education experience has on a young life.  If you are an existing user of Abroad101, this is your reminder to login and send review invitations out.  Below you’ll find some additional suggestions and recommendations from Abroad101, THE study abroad review website.

Lack of Reviews is Bad Practice

The word “transparency” is used more and more when it comes to education.  Despite some well-intended efforts, the field of education abroad has not conformed to the spirit of transparency and that is likely turning people away from participating.  We hear arguments that education is different, but consumer research is pretty clear, lack of reviews turns customers away.  Bad reviews draw more interest than good reviews AND random bad reviews don’t deter buyers.  A pattern of bad reviews does indicate trouble and would impact participation as it should.  A search for the negative is often what compels people to come to a review website and in an odd way, the negative provides reassurance to people skeptical of the rhetoric of other outlets.  We suggest you read the influence of reviews.

Your Best Option: Replace you Evaluation Process with a Review Process

We encourage you to take the leap as a number of universities have done, and become fully transparent by turning your private study abroad program evaluation process into a public review process.  When every student is required to complete a review in order to received credit, you get more candor, usable data and testimonials of the impact of study abroad.   We can’t help but think this transparent process positively impacts participation at these institutions. 

Take a look at our Best Practice Leaders:

Brandeis University

Middlebury College

Trinity University

Wellesley College

Another Option: Make a review a Re-entry Exercise

If your hands are tied by legacy systems and processes, perhaps you can approach the problem from the student’s point of view and incorporate a study abroad review as part of a re-entry exercise.  If a student can coherently state what happened to them in writing, they will be much more prepared to discuss their experiences with friends, family and as the student moves beyond college.  Showing they can express their emotions, in a published format is a big step forward and a reason to complete a review.  Having this review published demonstrates the student can express themselves in coherent ways and is a great writing sample and an expression of their new world view.  You will help your students better prepare for their future by making a review part of the study abroad process.

WhyAbroad101?  It is Re-Entry in a Box

The Abroad101 review is 38 questions in length and is designed to walk students through a reflection of who they were before they left, who they are now and what they hope for their future.  As part of this process, they will rate 9 different aspects of their program and provide some insight and tips for future students.  Taking 20-30 minutes to complete, the review can help students put their feelings into words and start the process of communicating their experiences.   They can add photos and turn their review into a point of pride, a capstone to their education abroad experience.  As a university, you get to control this process using Abroad101.

Other Uses of Reviews

In addition to giving you better data and providing marketing material to bring you future students, perhaps the most innovative use of reviews is to help set expectations.  Reviews and their insight can help students and parents have a better idea of what to expect making reviews ideal content for orientation.  We’ve heard of overseas staff who welcome students to a program by directing them to their program listing on Abroad101 and using this to start a conversation about the program.  A few create a Facebook group for the new students and the first posting is to review the reviews.  It’s a real fresh approach to orientation and harnesses the power of social media.  Please read: 10 reasons to use Abroad101 

It’s for Faculty-led and Exchange Programs Too

Abroad101 is happy to list your faculty-led programs in our system.  For your exchange partnerships we have a catch-all “Direct Enrollment & Exchange” listing for every foreign university.  You are welcome to use Abroad101 for each or all of types of education abroad and study away programs.  Remember, you can use Abroad101 to boost your home university enrollments.  There is a feature to turn off the inquiry option for programs not open to outside students.

Managed Services, Abroad201 and Other Ways We Can Help

Every university is provided with an account on Abroad101 and free access to manage your portal on Abroad101.  The software that operates our system is a fully functional program evaluation tool along with a host of utilities, provided free of charge.  Abroad101 has a support team here to help you understand and make the most of the tools.  We are quick to answer questions (support@abroad101.com or +1-212-321-0928) and in some cases we can help you with simple tasks like your approved programs list, sending out invitations, creating faculty-led program listings.

If you need more, we’re able to help.  With our Managed Services, we can tie Abroad101 to your enrollment management system.  We can extract lists of participating students from your enrollment system, oversee review collection, then tie reporting back or produce external reports.  We know data, and for a modest fee, we’d be happy help you get better data, manage it and generate effective reporting.

Our Abroad201 service offers a host of customization with options as to what to survey, who to survey plus what and where you might publish the data.  It is an industry-specific version of survey software, so if you are using SurveyMonkey or Qualtrics, think about using Abroad201.

We thank you for taking the time to explore abroad 101 and for your continued support.

Happy Summer!

 Mark Shay / Abroad101

Considering the Influence of Online Study Abroad Reviews:

Considering the Influence of Online Study Abroad Reviews:

A Reflection On “How Online Product Reviews Affect Retail Sales: A Meta-Analysis”

4 starsWhether we like it or not, the roles of traditional marketing and word-of-mouth promotion now share a large seat at the table with online product reviews. Many industries are already defined by the way their customers use online opportunities to “harangue, lecture, pontificate, and otherwise broadcast personal opinions” (Notess 2000), and for most of us it is increasingly rare to book a hotel, buy a camera, or select a movie without first consulting the opinion of hundreds of strangers. But the actual influence of online reviews on sales remains the center of an academic discussion that is still diverse in focus, method, and results. Professors Floyd, Freling, Alhoqail, Cho, and Freling (College of Business Administration, University of Texas at Arlington) set out to bring some uniformity to the topic with their meta-analysis of 26 studies that included 443 sales elasticities. Their conclusions pose interesting questions for a product that they do not include, namely study abroad programs, where publicly available participant reviews are still in initial stages of popularity but seem likely to follow the course of most other products and services, for reasons that will be seen.

An important note is that the authors of this paper found little variation in their findings despite differences in geography (US or non-US), prestige (elite journals verses lesser known) or method (simple verses sophisticated analysis), which “suggests that the conclusions we draw about online product reviews are relatively generalizable across a variety of contexts” (227). Still, there is likely to be some healthy skepticism towards applying these findings to study abroad. Clearly, more than any product included in the meta-analysis, study abroad programs vary widely in price, length, intent, and conditions, but most importantly in the motivation of participants. While some students might prioritize travel or social opportunities, others seek unique academic or linguistic boost to their education, and a negative review about lax academics might actually incentivize a prospective participant who reads it, for example. There is the divergence of interpretation between the parent who is often the (paying) customer and the student who is the (participating) consumer. Moreover, since most students accept the programs offered by their academic institution anyway, is there any need to look to reviews for a “competitive” advantage? Is it better for the provider to limit reviews to private evaluations to determine that the program meets the organization’s goals? All these are valid, and this reflection intends to do no more or less than consider the state of research on online reviews as presented in the meta-analysis by Floyd et al., to suggest the impact these findings could have on study abroad programs, and finally to highlight the need for further research into these and many other questions specific to study abroad.

The studies included in Floyd et al.’s analysis consider the impact of online reviews on the sale of hotel rooms, books, movies, digital cameras, craft beer, video games, music albums, audio and video players, DVDs, TV shows, and video game consoles (219). The key finding was that online reviews do have an influence on sales across the board. The impact was significantly greater than shelf space elasticity, personal selling elasticity, and both long-term and short-term sales elasticities. In fact, the only factor they measured that had a greater influence on sales was price (219). While not surprising it is meaningful to find such consistency across a wide range of studies and products. What is surprising is the indication that electronic word of mouth has actually overtaken more traditional sources of information. The authors reference a study made over five countries that asked shoppers to indicate the most important sources of information they use to make a purchase decision. Online ratings and reviews were number one (52%), above advice from family and friends (49%), and far beyond advice from store employees (12%) (Cisco 2013). This indicates a major shift in the way people make purchasing decisions, with increasing trust in people they’ve never met exceeding close personal relations.

Advice from friends and family has already been an imperfect solution for those considering study abroad. Because study abroad is experienced by around 10% of undergraduate student, and even less for the generation of their adult family members or friends (IIE, Open Doors Data, 2015), there is often little opportunity for a decision maker, whether student or parent, to find pertinent advice from a familiar source. This is even truer when seeking information about a specific program. The best option before the days of the internet was often to speak with someone who studied abroad, perhaps on an entirely different sort of program, and be told to either “go for it” or not. Thus, in the context of study abroad, online reviews seem likely to not simply overtake advice from friends and family, and rather to fill a void that was never adequately met by traditional word of mouth. This perspective is all the stronger when considering the importance of “product involvement” (discussed below) and the age group of study abroad participants being more reliant on online information (age of consumer was not a factor considered in the meta-analysis).

Beyond personal relationships, the obvious place to get information about specific study abroad programs is the study abroad office. Despite clear differences this is comparable to “advice from store employees,” which was a distant third with only 12% of shoppers mentioning it as a decision-making factor. Of course study abroad professionals are seen as being more knowledgeable and trustworthy than a commission-driven store employee, but these findings speak to the overall societal wariness of marketing or perceived ulterior motives, and encouragement to participate from a study abroad professional is not processed the same way as feedback from a former participant.

Similarly, looking at various types of online hosts for reviews, Floyd et al. found that “reviews appearing on a third-party website have significantly higher sales elasticities than those appearing on seller websites” (226). Especially when considering the products in question, this rings true, since few of us would give equal weight to praise splashed across a brand’s website compared to non-filtered reviews. Further research needs to be done to determine if this plays out differently when prospective participants visit the homepage of a study abroad office and interpret quotes from previous participants. Doubtless there is more trust between the university office and the “insider” student than between a traditional seller and buyer, but if a third-party source of reviews were found to be consistent with the information published by the study abroad office then trust would be bolstered.

Providing multiple sources for reviews and information is especially advisable in light of the final conclusion of the meta-analysis concerning “product involvement.” Product involvement is defined as “a consumer’s enduring perceptions of a product category’s importance,” especially regarding monetary investment but including factors such as time, importance, and risk (224). The authors found that “consumers engage in extensive (limited) online search for products that are more (less) involving, which they associate with higher (lower) perceived risk” (228). The authors use the example of the purchase of a digital camera as a high-involvement decision, but by their definition few “products” could be more involving then a study abroad program. Because of the unique nature of study abroad as a purchasing decision, more research is needed to confirm that consumer habits follow the same logic in this industry. The reliance on reviews might be specific to more price-sensitive decision-makers, or to those who are the first in their family to go abroad, etc. If it is shown that potential study abroad participants follow these general consumer trends then we can expect them to spend more time reading more reviews and to be more influenced by their content than for almost any other purchasing decision.

As consumers increasingly look to the internet for decision-making information and become more selective about where they place their trust, greater research needs to be done about the influence on the industry of study abroad. Do decision makers approach study abroad in a similar way as other purchasing decisions? Are certain demographics more likely to seek out online reviews, and how do they interpret what they read? Are reviews more impactful depending on program cost or length (greater “involvement”)? As college applicants increasingly look to online university ratings and even professor ratings, is there any sign that students are evaluating study abroad programs as part of their choice of university?

The temptation is to see study abroad as a less competitive environment and thus less impacted by reviews, but another perspective is to see competition between students participating in study abroad or not. With the goal of using as many tools as possible to increase lead conversion, there is much merit in considering how electronic word of mouth could tip the scales.

– Caleb House

About the Author:

Caleb House is Abroad101’s Social Media Editor.  Caleb grew up in Northern California and has lived in the Czech Republic, Japan, India, Tanzania, France, South Korea, Germany, and Côte d’Ivoire as a student, teacher, volunteer, backpacker, researcher, and administrator. He holds graduate degrees in Modern Global History from Jacobs University Bremen and in International Management from the Burgundy School of Business. He recently married his soulmate in her tiny village in France, and the two currently find themselves in Washington D.C. He is preparing the launch of his website, HowToGoAbroad.com, and in the meantime can be contacted with questions on his Facebook page “How to Go Abroad” or on Twitter @HowToGoAbroad.  

 

 

Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (2013), Catch and Keep Digital Shoppers, http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac79/docs/retail/Catch-and-

Keep-the-Digital-Shopper PoV.pdf

Floyd, Kristopher; Freling, Ryan; Alhoqail, Saad; Cho, Hyun Young; Freling, Traci; How Online Product Reviews Affect Retail Sales: A Meta-analysis, Journal of Retailing 90 (2, 2014) 217–232

Notess, Greg R. (2000), Consumers’ Revenge: Online Product Reviews and Ratings, Web Wanderings. http://notess.com/write/archive/200004ww.html

IIE (2015), Open Doors Data Highlights, http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data/Infographics#.VyFOGDArLIU

 

 

 

Abroad101 Advisors Newsletter – Spring 2016

Abroad101-reviews-logo-webWe appreciate you taking a few minutes from your busy day to catch up on the happenings at Abroad101, the first and largest study abroad review website.  As we wrap up another semester, we start by reminding you to send review invites to returning students through your account on Abroad101.  You can also guide your students to start their reviews here: http://www.StudyAbroad101.com/reviews/new

The Latest Study Abroad Rankings:

For the fifth year, Abroad101 has tallied student reviews and produced “The 2015 Study Abroad Rankings.”  The rankings recognize the study abroad programs and locations rated highest by American students who have studied abroad in the last year. The rankings also reflect the dynamic nature of study abroad and identify up-and-coming destinations and program types in addition to top programs and providers.  From this year’s data we found that big cities are in, programs are touring, and more American students are studying abroad on programs coordinated by their home universities.

You can read the press release or view the latest rankings

As advisors, you can help improve the study abroad rankings by encouraging your students to tell their story and submit a review.  Each review counts toward the rankings and contributes insight about the whole of study abroad: from academics to food and from cost to the friendliness of the destination.  Please remember, rankings are an indicator of quality, not a measure of quality, and it is in the spirit of transparency that we publish the rankings. 

Review and Parents: Helping Set Expectations:

About 25% of the visitors to Abroad101 are parents searching for more insight into their children’s options. It is no secret that parents are increasingly involved in their children’s college education, and study abroad is no exception.  Reviews are a good way to redirect parents’ inquiries about programs and also as tool to help set expectations about a particular host university, host country, or provider.  Each Abroad101 review has 38 questions including star ratings on 9 different program aspects.  Put a review in front of a family and you’ll see the eyes of the student got to the social (or food) ratings, the mother to the safety ratings and a father to cost ratings.  This is more than just a stereotype; it demonstrates that reviews serve multiple audiences and deliver multiple perspectives.  Abroad101’s reviews are designed to foster conversation around the options and build a better sense of awareness before making the final choice.  As the old adage goes “An educated consumer is the best customer.”  For mom and dad, they think of study abroad as a product and themselves as a consumer.  Considering everything else that is rated and ranked it is only natural for parents and students to consider study abroad reviews.

Reviews and Re-entry:

Often we hear that it is hard to get students to do anything, let alone spend 20-30 minutes on a review.  This is especially true when students feel that the activity has no benefit for them.  However, they are inclined to share their stories if the exercise gives them a chance to tell their story, and that is exactly what they do on social media for hours a day! 

If the student believes the review is good for them, they will generally participate.  That takes some groundwork before they go abroad and as they prepare to return.  One idea to get more engagement is to incorporate a review in your re-entry programming and use the review process as a step toward preparing the students to share their experience with others.  Just like career counselors who tell students to prepare a good resume for a job search, we hope that study abroad advisors will help their students prepare for their return home by guiding them to submitting a thorough and candid review.

If you have a formal re-entry process, you can tie that to your Abroad101 results in a number of ways.  Within your account dashboard you can export the reviews of your students.  Those reviews have an email address and a serial number.  You can enter that serial number in your enrollment or student information systems to fulfill a requirement, or you can create a process for the student to do so.  If you are using Terra Dotta for example, we encourage you to tie the returnee phase to a questionnaire with that serial number.  Read more about linking Abroad101 and Terra Dotta Software.

What can be Better than Abroad101’s Free Software?

Since 2007, Abroad101 has been suggesting that program evaluations and online reviews can be the same thing.  A number of colleges and universities have already adopted Abroad101 as their program evaluation platform.  Today Abroad101 is the largest publisher of these powerful study abroad testimonials, yet some institutions feel that the system isn’t right for their needs.

To serve the market better we created Abroad201, a combination of software and services that provides a full range of customization and publishing options for your program evaluations.  With Abroad201 you can take those paper-based forms and turn them into meaningful data.  You can manage the publication of some or all of the reviews to wherever you want them displayed and whomever you want them shared with.  You can take the results and turn them into reports, benchmark them as you choose, and greatly enhance your reporting capabilities.

Abroad201 is a cloud-based software program and service with fees that vary depending on the level of service.  Abroad101 is free software that will remain standard in function and purpose.  Pick whichever tools meet your budget and your goals.  If you’re interested in learning more about Abroad201, please visit the new product website and sign up for a presentation call or an online demo.

Talk to us:

For those of you attending NAFSA, please stop by and say hello.  We’ll be at Booth #1133.

Every university has an account on Abroad101.  If you’d like more details on accessing yours with the option of a private online web demo, please contact support@abroad101.com

 

Happy Spring!

Mark Shay

Abroad101  /  +1-610-357-4648  /  mark@abroad101.com

www.StudyAbroad101.com

WHO SHOULD STUDY ABROAD

India-Manipal-Manipal Univ

WHO SHOULD STUDY ABROAD

This is the third in a series of posts about “who-what-when-where-why-how to study abroad.” This post will address the “who” part of the question. This series is written for American students interested in studying abroad, but it provides useful information and thoughts for everyone.

Living in a foreign country is not for everyone, and that’s perfectly ok. The problem is that some students misunderstand what studying abroad is about, and end up in an environment that they didn’t expect and don’t enjoy. So before spending considerable time and money you should take a moment to consider if studying abroad is something that would suit and benefit you.

KNOW THYSELF

Studying abroad is an experience that would be extremely valuable for the majority of students, so it’s easier to talk about who should think twice before studying abroad. In my opinion, the most important issue is the popular confusion between living abroad and traveling abroad, because expectations (and ultimately the overall experience) hinges on initial motivations.

One of my pet peeves is being asked how I managed to travel for twelve years. This is the question I sometimes get when I tell people that I lived overseas for twelve years. It’s immediately clear that they see me as a kind of global Christopher McCandless, hitching rides from one place to another with a dusty backpack and not a care in the world. Living abroad is not like that. For whatever reason, American culture confuses being abroad with travel, and travel with vacation. Disappointing experiences abroad often stem from this confusion.

Close your eyes and picture yourself “studying abroad.” Do you see yourself sunbathing on a beach, taking selfies in front of the Eiffel Tower, or partying with exciting foreigners? Then you’ve probably fallen prey to this popular misconception. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being excited about those things and looking forward to them as part of your experience, but if they are your primary motivations then maybe you’re really looking for a vacation. A vacation is about getting away from reality and enjoying creature comforts, living abroad is about embracing an unknown reality and getting outside your comfort zone. If the latter sounds exciting to you (and it’s completely normal if that excitement is mingled with nervousness), then you probably have the right kind of personality for studying abroad.

Getting out of your comfort zone has become something of a cliché, so let’s look a little deeper. Do you enjoy meeting new people, trying unknown food, visiting unfamiliar cities, or starting new activities? These things define life as a foreigner and will be part of your daily experience, at least for the first few months. Everything is new, from figuring out where to do your grocery shopping to creating new social circles. This is intimidating to everyone at first, but if you already dislike change in your home country and a life of constant adjustment and unknowns sounds terrifying then you should seriously examine your motivations for studying abroad. Similar to this is homesickness, which is something everyone deals with to some degree, but if you’ve had recent experiences when being away from home for more than a couple weeks was nearly unbearable, then there’s no reason why being in another country would magically change this and there’s a good chance you’d have a very difficult time getting much enjoyment from living abroad.

To be fair, I have known people who went abroad because they were introverts, homebodies, or generally unadventurous, and they wanted to change those characteristics. In most cases they were quite successful in these goals, so clearly all personality types can benefit. I think the key is entering the experience knowing that it will be hard and wanting to grow and change as a result, so again the key is a willingness to step outside comfort zones and embrace the new and different. You can be even more sure of your readiness if you close your eyes and see yourself practicing a foreign language, experiencing how people live differently from you, and discovering new food, music, art, sports, hobbies, and passions that you never knew existed. These are the defining features of study abroad.

LET’S GET PRACTICAL

Moving on to more practical concerns, Matthew Karsten sums it up well when explaining why he never studied abroad: “Like many people, I assumed it was expensive, I’d fall behind in credits, would have difficulty with the language, and was nervous of the whole idea.” (http://expertvagabond.com/reasons-to-study-abroad/) He goes on to explain why all of these were misconceptions. If fact, because American tuition is higher than in much of the world, studying abroad can often be managed for the same cost (or even less! https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/10/29/7-countries-where-americans-can-study-at-universities-in-english-for-free-or-almost-free/ ) as a semester at your home university. Likewise for falling behind academically, there’s no reason why studying abroad should slow you down if you plan carefully. There are study abroad programs designed for practically every major imaginable (and studyabroad101.com is a great place to start with this list of study abroad programs by major: https://www.studyabroad101.com/subjects), and if you go early in your college career you will have considerable flexibility in taking courses for GE credit. Finally, foreign language is definitely a perk of studying abroad but not at all a prerequisite. You could study in one of many English speaking countries like Ireland, New Zealand, or South Africa, or a country where English is commonly spoken like Sweden, Singapore, or Ghana. There are also countless programs taught entirely in English all over the world, so don’t let a lack of foreign language skills slow you down. For better or worse, studying in a foreign country does not mean studying in a foreign language. So, none of these concerns should stop you from at least researching your options further.

However, there are other practical elements that should give you pause. If you do all the math, apply for scholarships, and realize that in the end you’ll go deeper into debt in order to study abroad, then you need to think carefully about what it will bring to you in terms of career opportunities and academic advancement. As valuable as it is I’m not going to tell you that studying abroad is worth any cost at all, especially when there’s the option to wait and plan for a tuition free graduate degree abroad, for example. Health is another factor, although I’ve met people who went abroad despite being blind or in a wheelchair, so there are ways to make it work with proper preparation. But in general living abroad means being ready for the unexpected, so if you have a condition that means an unexpected event could result in a life or death situation, then you need to be sure that the benefit to you is worth the higher level of risk that your situation entails. Being in a serious relationship is also a factor. Long distance relationships are not impossible to maintain, but it definitely adds a strain and requires discipline from you to invest time into the relationship despite being far away. Could the two of you study abroad together? Would you be able to visit each other every few months? In all these cases of financial, medical, or relationship concerns, consider short term study abroad program for two to four weeks. That would mitigate the risk, and if you absolutely love it then you’ll be able to plan for a longer program with the confidence that it’s worth it.

Some readers probably found this article because they’re wondering if they’re old enough to study abroad. I see this more as a question of maturity, since there are some 14-year-olds who are absolutely ready and others of any age who will well suited for the challenge. More and more high school students are studying abroad, whether for a few weeks or a year, but it’s more complex than for college students because it’s definitely not cheaper than studying in a public high school at home, the program needs more oversight and adult supervision, and it can be difficult to make sure that credits abroad fit into the standard high school curriculum. That said, as I will detail in the “When to Study Abroad” article next week, if there’s a will and a way then the sooner the better! As for maturity, it goes back to the first section of this article: If you’re ready to embrace change, accept differences in people without judgement, seek opportunities for personal growth, and the idea of being pushed out of of your comfort zone sounds like an adventure, then you’re probably mature enough!

READY FOR A BIGGER CHALLENGE?

There’s a final question about who should study abroad in a challenging country. There will be a lot more information about this in the “Where to Study Abroad” article, so don’t miss that. In that article I will explain why I strongly recommend studying in a less mainstream country (i.e. outside Europe). However, this means that everything I’ve said here about evaluating your flexibility and openness to change counts doubly. Living in Paris or Rome is already a challenge, even though the way of life is not dramatically different than in the US. Before considering a less-developed country you need to do some deeper self-examination. How would you respond to suddenly not having electricity for a day? How would you handle standing out as a foreigner everywhere you go? Could you cope with the presence of critters (bugs and small reptiles) in your home? Are you ready to eat something you can’t identify? These are just a few examples, so be sure to read about the experiences of students who lived there in study abroad reviews and blogs, and ask yourself honestly if the challenges they faced would prevent you from enjoying the overall experience. That being said, and as I’ll explain in a future article, greater challenge means greater reward!

SUMMING UP

Ultimately there is no solid checklist or personality test you that can clearly demonstrate how well suited you are to studying abroad, so I can only stress the importance of internal evaluation. If the idea of being immersed in an entirely different culture fills you with excitement rather than fear, if meeting a new circle of people sound like an adventure rather than hell, and if being pushed out of your comfort zone to do new things sounds like an opportunity for growth rather than senseless torture, then you’re probably the type of person who would thrive abroad. If that’s your case, then no logistical concerns should stop you from at least taking the next step in researching your opportunities. There are programs to advance every major, scholarships abound, and medical obstacles can be overcome. Talk to your academic advisor, do some more research, and pursue the goal!

You should be very cautious, however, if your list of primary motivations for studying abroad make it sound like a long vacation. Likewise, if you find yourself saying things like “I just need to get away,” or “I need a break from my problems here,” then you’ll probably be disappointed to discover the truth of the saying “wherever you go, there you are.” We have a way of taking our problems with us, and a new environment do not magically transform us unless we are first open to changing and growing irrespective of the environment. If your motivations are good, however, I truly believe that nothing will help you grow and learn faster than studying abroad.

Feel free to share this article with someone who’s considering studying abroad, and all comments or questions below will be answered. Next week we’ll discuss “When to Study Abroad,” so don’t miss it! Thanks for reading!

Caleb House –

Caleb House grew up in Northern California and has lived in the Czech Republic, Japan, India, Tanzania, France, South Korea, Germany, and Côte d’Ivoire as a student, teacher, volunteer, backpacker, researcher, and administrator. He holds graduate degrees in Modern Global History from Jacobs University Bremen and in International Management from the Burgundy School of Business. He recently married his soulmate in her tiny village in France, and the two currently find themselves in Washington D.C. He is preparing the launch of his website, HowToGoAbroad.com, and in the meantime can be contacted with questions on his Facebook page “How to Go Abroad” or on Twitter @HowToGoAbroad.  

 

Abroad101 Advisors Newsletter – Winter 2016

Abroad101-reviews-logo-web

Please take a moment to remember the last time you booked a hotel, chose a movie or show in a theater, picked a restaurant, or bought a product online.  Did a review guide your decision?  If these small decisions were influenced by reviews, then we’re sure you’ll be interested in how something as unknown as an education abroad experience needs reviews.  Since 2007, Abroad101 has been helping universities manage the demand for reviews by turning the old-style program evaluation into a dynamic online review platform.  We’ve processed over 3,000 new study abroad reviews from just the last semester with more coming every day.  Abroad101 has pioneered the responsible use of reviews to complement university goals and in this edition of our advisor’s newsletter we take a look at reviews in the bigger picture.

The Best Reviews are About the Student

For students, study abroad is hard, the rewards are personal and telling their story is a big part of the process. Abroad101 helps universities collect student accounts of their time abroad and publishes them as reviews and personal points of pride.  A study abroad review is different than a restaurant review or that of a retail transaction as the best reviews are ones that focus on the student.  A good study abroad review is reflective, heart-felt and tells about the student’s growth and discoveries, even states the student’s worldview and views for the future. 

The reward for a good study abroad review is a lasting testimonial, one the student will take pride in sharing with you the advisor, their friends and family.  Please don’t feel it is necessary to pay or otherwise entice reviews through rewards or a sweepstakes.  This mentality cheapens the value of the student’s work and can sway students to be less than honest in order to improve their chances of “winning.” When you direct students to submit a study abroad review through Abroad101, the essential messages that you are sending are to share their experience with the world and take pride in those accomplishments.

Re-Entry in a Box

The Abroad101 review is 37 questions in length and is designed to walk students through a reflection of who they were before they left, who they are now and what they hope for their future.  As part of this process, they will rate 9 different aspects of their program and provide some insight and tips for future students.  Taking 20-30 minutes to complete, the review can help students put their feelings into words and start the process of communicating their experiences in concise and coherent ways.  As an advisor, you can manage this process by using the Abroad101 tools and then tally those responses in reports.

Candor is Key

Reviews are very influential in today’s consumer market and study abroad is no exception.  People come to review sites looking for balance to the always-positive websites, brochures and in-person presentations.  They know things aren’t perfect and want to understand what may be imperfect about a given location, program or host.  Quite often the visitors to Abroad101 are coming to validate their earlier discoveries and because of this, we see a significant portion of our traffic from parents and other adults who support students.  Students may be drawn to the ratings and comments about food and social aspects of a program, while parents see value in ratings and comments about safety and cost.  The 37 questions in the Abroad101 review give everyone something to discuss with plenty of examples to engage in a meaningful dialog and hopefully break some stereotypes about other people and other parts the world.

The vast majority of students who study abroad have an overwhelmingly positive experience, which is reflected in the reviews.  Those that struggle and report negative things will actually help future students prepare and set their expectations.  We hope you’ll bring these reviews to the attention of future students so that they can put things in perspective.  Costs in London are high, academics at Oxford are hard, petty crime is rampant in Paris and the food in Ghana is, well, … different.  Knowing these things before a student goes away may make a big difference in how they prepare.  As advisors you discuss these issues over and over, but with reviews the students are learning from their peers and for the schools that require reviews of their students, the peer advising affect seems to really help.

Please encourage your students to read the reviews as part of their pre-departure preparation and push them to be candid in their reviews when they return.  Students can start their review at http://www.StudyAbroad101.com/reviews/new

Transparency vs. Exposure and Risk

The concept of transparency is another reason universities turn to Abroad101. They want every story to be told and they want to capture the student’s voice in their promotion of education abroad.  The publication of these evaluations does worry some, fearing that unpleasant experiences will chase away future students.  We have this discussion daily with university officials and Abroad101 strongly believes that the risk of non-disclosure and suppression of a student’s story is a greater risk than any possible adverse affects of a negative review.  Failure to publish these accounts in today’s review-focused world is more telling than publishing stories of unhappy participants.

There are organizations lobbying government to mandate transparency and accountability and we strongly believe that using Abroad101 as your platform puts you at the forefront of this issue.  Publishing shows integrity and may well mitigate your risk if complications arise in the future. As the old slogan goes, “an educated consumer is the best kind” and when it comes to education abroad, it is riskier not to prepare students for the unknowns they face.  Using the Abroad101 system is an effective way to better prepare students and their families for the experience and lessen your liability for not disclosing past details.

Data, Data, Data

When you use Abroad101, you also harvest a wealth of data from your students and can compare it to students from other universities.  With our reporting you can see graphs on how your students rate their experience in those 9 categories and you can compare, even benchmark this against your own students (semester by semester) and all other institutions.  Those that use Abroad101 for their faculty-led programs can even compare, program by program against other programs operating in the same country.  One Dean recently told us about his use of Abroad101 stats in his university’s regional accreditation review.  He is using Abroad101 to benchmark his students’ education abroad experiences against others with the graphs report from his Abroad101 dashboard.

Publish or Perish

Faculty members often say they have to publish to stay noticed and relevant in their field.  We suggest that same guiding principle is needed for your study abroad offices.  In today’s consumer-focused, review-driven economy, reviews are key and those universities that don’t subscribe to this practice risk alienating their core constituency.  You may be using some other way to collect your evaluations and assessments, but if you are not publishing them, you are missing a big opportunity.  The Abroad101 software can provide you with the tools to manage this process reliably and effectively and at a cost that can’t be beat.

The software is free, the training is free, the support is fast and the process is easy.  Custom solutions are available if you need more functionality.

You can use Abroad101 for third-party programs, exchanges, faculty-led programs plus service learning and internships for credit.  Programs can be overseas or can include “study away” domestic programs as well.

We hope you’ll call us for a no-obligation demo of the Abroad101 software and use it to advance education abroad at your institution.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

 

Mark Shay

Abroad101

+1-610-357-4648

mark@abroad101.com

http://www.StudyAbroad101.com

 

Follow Abroad101 on Social Media:

Facebook | Twitter |  Pinterest | Instagram | Linkedin

 

Sending Money Abroad: How To Cut Back On Costs

bankwireStudents, or their devoted parents, are bound to send substantial amounts of money abroad if they (or their children) decide to study in a different country. A year at a UK university would cost £12,000 (or $17,5000) per year, and a year in Australia would cost even slightly more (AU$24,000 / US $17,500), and that’s for tuition and university fees alone, not including other expenses.

If you include living costs into the equation, the total annual cost would be approximately doubled, and would amount to anywhere between $20,000 and $50,000. That means that taking even a single semester abroad would cost thousands of dollars to fund. As stated before, these are significant amounts of money that has to be transferred between countries and currencies, and most people, students and parents alike, are inexperienced with the process.

Fees On Money Wires

As overseas education is an expensive business by itself, students often do whatever is in their power to reduce costs. They apply for scholarships, turn to public transportation, use free international call providers, and try to stick to a tight budget. What they seem to disregard or ignore is the incredible amount of money being spent on the process of move funds from their home country.

When sending money abroad, 3 or more types of fees incur. The first one is the simple upfront fee of about $30 per transfer in the U.S (eq. to that in other countries). The second one is the recipient bank’s fee which could amount to 1% of the total trade volume. The third one, which is the most significant one also, is the cost of exchanging money between currencies, which is usually 2.5% or more of the entire transfer. There are additional fees that vary according to country, bank, and account type.

Tuition fees of $20,000 could easily cost an additional grand just in bank fees, and a year at Harvard could cost an additional $5,000 just in bank fees, when it is paid for from abroad. That seems fairly illogical, as these fees are nowhere near proportional to the effort and risk that bank has to partake in order to execute them.

There are specialized services for those who are seeking for cheaper alternatives: commercial foreign exchange firms. The way they work is by “mediating” between banks – you send them the money, they exchange it for their much lower rates, and send it as a wire transfer to its new destination. With a transfer of $10,000 or more you can expect 1.5% or less in total transfer costs, and bigger transfers can induce a fee of 0.7% or less (it depends on the currencies exchanged, volumes, and timing). You can view a full breakdown here.

Some of the big names in the industry include Moneycorp, World First, Travelex, FairFX, HiFX, and of course Western Union’s money transfer platform (to to be confused with its remittances cash to cash transfers through branches).

Living Expenses

Living expenses is a different story. While money transfer companies could be the most cost-effective mean of transferring funds to a student abroad, students who only go abroad to study for a single semester would have difficulties with opening a local bank account.

The second alternative is with companies that issue pre-paid currency debit cards (some of the money transfer companies like FairFX or Moneycorp, also provide that service). These pre-paid cards can be loaded with one or more of several different currencies, are reloadable, the cost of currency exchange is lower, and there are no fees on withdrawing money or paying with them abroad. It’s extremely simple to reload this card with any type of currency – the parent just has to log to the online site, input his debit or credit card details, and the card is instantly loaded.

Summary

The exchange and transfer of money abroad is an important aspect that should not be overlooked by overseas students and their parents. It is possible to save thousands of dollars in fees by sidestepping from banks and looking into alternative providers.

Guest blogger…

Alon-RajicAuthor Bio: Alon Rajic is the Managing Director of Finofin LTD which owns and operates MoneyTransferComparison.com. He loves to read and write about everything relating to business and finance.

Study Abroad Program Evaluation Software

10 Reasons to use the Abroad101 education abroad assessment system at your university.

Education Advisors, please direct your students to submit their study abroad program evaluation (review) through Abroad101 –

http://www.studyabroad101.com/reviews/new

A seldom seen section of the Great Wall of China

If your New Year’s Resolution is to advance education abroad on your campus, Abroad101 gives you 10 reasons why you should turn to us to manage your program evaluations:

1) Reviews are Rankings Nominations – Each review becomes a submission for the Study Abroad Rankings by Abroad101. The eight different star rated categories are compiled to recognize top providers and programs as well as highlight trends in the field like up-and-coming destinations and budget-friendly locations. This year, by popular demand, Top Academic Experience returns to the Study Abroad Rankings.

2) Reviews are Good for the Student – Abroad101 publishes each review as an individual web page and takes the student through 37-questions designed to summarize their experience and give them a point of pride to share with the world and jump start their career.

3) Program Evaluation Software – Abroad101’s systems works behind the scenes as software to manage program evaluations for third-party, exchanges, faculty-led and even internships and service programs for credit. In addition to the standard survey, universities can add custom questions, part of the free version of the software.

4) Reviews are Data – Unlike in-house evaluations, Abroad101’s standard set of questions allow for comparison among program types and against other institutions. By analyzing your trends over time, Abroad101 can help you report better on study abroad.

5) “Re-Entry in a Box” – By requesting or even requiring each student complete their program evaluation through Abroad101, you help students in their transition back to home campus life. The web-based survey takes the average student 20-30 minutes and gets them to focus on being reflective, taking responsibility for their actions, examining who they were before and what their worldview is now.

6) Be Transparent – Publishing the evaluations/reviews demonstrates you are compliant with all aspects of transparency and in today’s review driven economy it is better to put forward more information than less.

7) Set Expectations – Detailed reviews like those on Abroad101 can be used to help parents and advisors get insight into a particular program and destination. In aggregate, these are helpful in setting expectations and better preparing future students and their parents for what’s ahead.

8) Peer Influence – The Abroad101 reviews prompt returning students to give advise to future students on ways to better navigate their surroundings and also a specific question about money saving tips.

9) Integrate with Enrollment System – Abroad101 can be used as a complement to your enrollment management and student information systems. Using API’s, data can transfer between systems, or without much work, the systems can import/export data back and forth.

10) Fully supported – Abroad101 is web-based software that is fairly simple to use and user-friendly, but just in case, we have a team ready to support you. Free training through online demos and ongoing account support is there when you need it. Our founding slogan remains true today – Fast. Free. Easy.

 

Free Accounts are available for advisors and administrative staff at US colleges and universities. To get started using the Free Education Abroad Program Evaluation software that we call Abroad101, simply send an email to
support@abroad101.com or call us at +1-212-321-0928.

 

It is harder to study abroad than it is to get admitted to college

education and friendship concept - happy students giving high five at school

What’s wrong with this title?  Unfortunately it is state of study abroad in America today.  For all involved this is not an indictment to their intentions, rather the unfortunate state of the “industry.”  

If you are student, and you’ve encountered the maze of qualifications, pre-approvals and other barriers to study abroad, we feel your pain.  If you are feeling down, helpless there is hope – consider summer study abroad.

If you are an advisor, stuck behind a desk, wrangling with forms, clunky computer systems and byzantine procedures, we feel your pain.  We hope you will read Abroad101 CEO’s article on “How to Fix Study Abroad” and join efforts to make information simpler to navigate, more visible and easier to share.

If you are a study abroad administrator, or leader, we appeal to you to make study abroad more open, accessible and achievable.  In Europe, the Erasmus Program makes it very easy to attend a university in another country, and many do.  Mobility seems to be a key part of university administration and university life.  In the US, we are not making much progress and we hope you’ll take a few minutes, read “How to Fix Study Abroad” and work to make the little things simpler so that we can make the big things easier.

Abroad101 Advisors Newsletter – Fall 2015

Abroad101-reviews-logo-web

We know it’s a hectic time of year, so we thank you for taking a few minutes to think about broader issues like using Abroad101 to advance study abroad on your campus.  As we begin our 9th year of serving American college study abroad, we continue to enhance the features, improve the directory content and bring innovation to the field.  Here’s how:

Abroad101 is Free Software

The Abroad101 software is online, “cloud based”, so you never to worry about updates or backing up your data.  Abroad101 is program evaluation software that gives your students the means to tell their story and share it with the world.  Unlike websites that grab quick sound byte testimonials, Abroad101’s “re-entry in a box” is designed to draw an insightful student expose of their time abroad.  When students take the time and effort to produce good work it becomes a point of pride AND social media.  As its own webpage you have now given the student a lasting testimonial of their time away and the resulting transformation.  These evaluations are great for future advising and orientations and great for the returning students.  The service is offered free to American colleges and universities, supported by advertising from program providers and foreign universities eager to reach future students.

Got Graphs? – Study Abroad Reporting

Abroad101 provides each university pie chart graphs showing how their students compare to Abroad101 averages.  The graphs show overall satisfaction with the education abroad experience plus ratings on Academics, Program Administration, Housing, Food, Social Integration, Health Care, Safety, and Cost of Living.  Take a screen shot, copy and paste these into presentation slides and impress your Provost!

Re-entry in 37 Questions (or more)

The standard evaluation/review is 37 questions, some Yes/No answers, some ratings and some open-ended essay prompts. The questions are designed and sequenced to guide a student through the entirety of their experience away, helping them be reflective, offer constructive criticism, list accomplishments and offer forward thinking statements.  The standard set allows for an apples-to-apples comparison both on the front end (website for future students, parents) and back-end (data for downloading and analyzing).  If you need more data points, Abroad101 allows additional “University Added Questions.”  These custom questions are not displayed to the public and can help you justify the Abroad101 platform as your official program evaluation tool and help to consolidate your student surveying. 

Reviews of Exchange Programs

Abroad101’s evaluation tool works great with third-party providers, faculty-led and exchange programs.  Each foreign university has a catch-all “Direct Enrollment & Exchange” listing where students from all over the country will submit reviews of direct enrollment, consortia exchanges or bi-lateral exchange programs, all through this one listing.  It’s a great place for your students to see the benefits of these programs and for students to share those with the world when they return.

The Abroad101 Pre-approved/Recommended Programs Feature

For universities who use a pre-approved programs list or recommend programs to their students, Abroad101 offers an easy way to show those choices to students searching on the site.  When a student logs in to Abroad101, they will see your recommendations highlighted with an approved icon.  They also have the option to view only the pre-approved programs in any directory or only view programs that have been reviewed by students from their home university.  The pre-approved programs are easy to manage using your account dashboard.  If you’d prefer we maintain them for you, simply email support@abroad101.com and identify the source of your approved programs list (web links, spreadsheet or other document) and our team will take care of this for you.

Summer and Faculty-led Programs

Abroad101 has over 4,500 faculty-led/university-run programs listed. Some universities use Abroad101 to manage those program evaluations/reviews and to draw future students.  We welcome the submission of programs that are either open to outside students or restricted to your own.   Managing these requires a free “providers” account on Abroad101, which you can request from support@abroad101.com.   You’ll still get the benefit of the apples-to-apples comparison of the resulting reviews, plus be able to engage students from other institutions. 

Abroad101 is a Free Directory, now with “Search by Subject”

Released earlier in the year, the Abroad101 Search by Subject directories are filling out nicely as the program providers update their listings and add their course areas.  This is a great tool for advisors as students who are looking for courses outside their major can come to Abroad101 and search from the more than 350 subject areas to find a program just for them: semester, summer or even shorter term: http://www.studyabroad101.com/subjects

Free Software from AbroadOffice

If you are looking for a cloud-based study abroad enrollment management system, we would invite you to consider AbroadOffice, free software from our sister company.  You use Abroad101 for the program evaluations, and AbroadOffice for the rest!  Learn more about AbroadOffice and schedule a web demo by visiting The Global Learning Cloud

Don’t Worry, We’re Here to help

Our company slogan remains: Fast. Free. Easy. We like to think that the system is self-explanatory and our processes are intuitive, but just in case, we’re here to help.  If you’d like a demo of the system or assistance in setting it up, don’t hesitate to contact us.  Support is Free too.

For those that don’t connect with us online, we look forward to meeting you at these upcoming conferences later in the semester: IIE Generation Study Abroad Summit, NAFSA Region XI, VIII and V.

 

Happy Fall!

Mark Shay

CEO

Abroad101

+1-610-357-4648

mark@abroad101.com

http://www.StudyAbroad101.com

 

Providers Derby Results from Abroad101 – Summer 2015

ProviderReviews-Aug2015There are so many options for studying abroad, where do you turn? 

One of the most trusted methods for Americans to study abroad comes through third-party provider organizations who manage the entire experience.  At Abroad101 we collect program evaluation/reviews about these providers and publish them on our study abroad review website.  We also compile the ratings that students give the providers which you can use as an indicator of quality.  Review scores are one indicator, the number of reviews is another.

Organizations that encourage or even require their students to complete reviews understand the value of listening to their customers (students) and using that those testimonials to better inform future students as to what to expect in their programs.  Progressive providers also help students promote their own stories and success in education abroad by publishing their first hand accounts through a review.  As the old saying goes, “an educated consumer is the best kind” so we hope that you’ll use the reviews on Abroad101.com to better educate yourself on your options in education abroad.  

Twice a year we produce the Abroad101 Providers Derby – the index of published reviews on Abroad101 to give a sense as to who is making a difference in study abroad.  We encourage you to use this information to help you to make an educated choice for your education abroad.

Providers

  1. IES Abroad
  2. International Studies Abroad/ISA
  3. CIEE
  4. CEA
  5. Arcadia
  6. SIT Study Abroad
  7. IFSA-Butler
  8. DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia
  9. USAC
  10. API/Academic Programs International
  11. AIFS
  12. The Education Abroad Network (TEAN)
  13. Boston University
  14. SOL Education Abroad
  15. CAPA The Global Education Network
  16. ISEP Exchange
  17. CET Academic Programs
  18. CISabroad/Center for International Studies
  19. Fairfield University
  20. The School for Field Studies/SFS
  21. AMIDEAST