Elizabeth Redden, Inside Higher Ed, July 10, 2012
"Many of the efforts to quantify study abroad’s impact focus on international learning outcomes: intercultural competency, “global-mindedness,” or foreign language acquisition. Increasingly, international educators are researching the link between study abroad and retention and graduation rates, busting the myth that study abroad delays time to graduation and raising questions about whether it can be used as a strategy to increase rates of student persistence and success.
...
"At UT Austin, a recent task force on graduation rates identified study abroad as an “academic enrichment” experience, along with undergraduate research and service learning, that should be expanded. The University of San Diego has also made study abroad a key focus of its retention strategy. As part of its efforts to strengthen the first- and second-year experience, the private, Roman Catholic institution created the “Second Year Experience Abroad Program” with the idea that it would serve as a signature experience for sophomores."