Research & Reports
Coming to America: Reopening the United States to International Students
In a white paper published by the Data Catalyst Institute, the Biden Administration is called upon to take immediate action to “develop procedures to ensure that every bona fide and qualified international student who wishes to study in the US in fall of 2021 can do so.”
Source: Stephanie K. Kim – Georgetown University April 2021
create wealth
As of 2018, immigrants had founded more than half of the privately-held billion-dollar startup companies in the U.s., and 21 of these 91 companies had a founder who first came to the United States as an international student.
Source: How International Students and Researchers Benefit the United States, the American Physical Society, 2020
long term impact
High school exchange program alumni show significant advantages in language fluency and cultural competence that lasted far beyond the duration of the experience abroad.
Source: AFS Long Term Impact Study, 2006
international culture
96% of summer camps hosting J-1 International Camp Counselors said that exposing American campers and counselors to international culture is a top motivator for participating in the program.
Source: EurekaFacts Study: Impact of Camp Counselor Program
458,290 American Jobs
During the 2018 – 2019 academic year, international students created or supported more than 458,290 jobs across the United States. Spending created direct jobs in the following sectors: higher education, accommodation, dining, retail, transportation, telecommunications and health insurance.
Source: Economic Value Statistics, NAFSA, 2019
Categories of Capital
Sustaining and growing local economies requires that we provide them with the resources they need to compete in a global marketplace. Cultural exchange programs benefit local communities in five categories of capital: Knowledge Capital, Cultural Capital, Social Capital, Civic Capital, and Economic Capital.
Source: Reimagining Exchange: the Local Impact of Cultural Exchanges, USC Center for Public Diplomacy, 2018
$242 Million
A recent report of Covec and Infometrics, estimated New Zealand offshore education industry's total contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at $242 million.
Source: Development and Implementation of a new Valuation Methodology for New Zealand’s Education Services, Education New Zealand, 2016
language fluency
Education abroad is good for learning aspects of language and language use that are hard to simulate in a classroom environment, like social interactions and appropriateness.
Source: “Language learning and study abroad: a critical reading of research.” Language Teaching, 2009.
Build trust
Countries investing in more cultural and educational ties around the world can help to build international trust and understanding, support mutual respect and mutually beneficial ties between states, and help to foster international peace, security and prosperity.
Source: Soft power superpowers: Global trends in cultural engagement and influence, the British Council, 2018
intercultural Networks
Returning high school exchange students –in contrast to students with an ordinary educational experience in their home countries– show increased intercultural competence, less anxiety in interacting with people from different cultures, and greater intercultural networks.
Source: The Assessment of the Impact of the AFS Study Abroad Experience, 2005
Boost Graduation Rates
Students who study abroad are twice as likely to persist to graduation than students who do not.
Source: “The Impact of Study Abroad on Academic Success”, Frontiers: The International Journal of Study Abroad, 2013.
cultural exchange
91% of J-1 Summer Work Travel participants report cultural exchange as their top reason for participating in the program. Very few said that learning specific work skills, gaining experience for a degree program, or earning money were their top reasons for participation.
Source: EurekaFacts Study: Impact of Summer Work Travel
Cultural Identity
Latinx students who study abroad report feeling a deeper connection to their cultural identities and a strengthened resistance to injustice.
Source: First Generation Latinx College Students Leveraging and Increasing Community Cultural Wealth in Costa Rica, Frontiers: the International Journal of Study Abroad, 2019.
Build global competence
While we may not know when the pandemic will end, we do know that young people continue to have a basic human need for connection. More than ever, it is important that our youth— as agents of change—are globally competent, able to navigate the world’s events and make sense of the implications for their communities.
Source: The Stevens Initiative Virtual Exchange Impact and Learning Report, 2020
Study abroad helps foster new generations of globally minded U.S. citizens and leaders
Source: “Go Abroad Young American” ForeignAffairs.com, 2021.
soft power
The U.S. hosts more international students than the next two closest countries combined and leads the way in tech-based innovation, as well as digital diplomacy.
Source: SoftPower30, 2019
$41 Billion
International students contributed more than $41 billion to the U.S. economy in 2019, but competitors like Canada, China, and Australia are recruiting and attracting more international students and scholars and benefiting at the expense of the United States.
Source: Losing Talent: An Economic and Foreign Policy Risk America Can’t Ignore, NAFSA, 2020
self confidence
Virtual exchange programs yielded improvements in at least one secondary outcome — and usually in at least two. In the MENA region, the most frequently cited secondary outcomes were improved self-confidence and better presentation skills. In the U.S., participants credited virtual exchange for changing their behavior or inspiring them to take action in their communities.
Source: Virtual Exchange Impact Report, Stevens Initiative, 2019
96%
96% of J-1 Au Pair participants say that they are applying the skills and experience they acquired through the program to their chosen professions: 68% to the education sector, 50% to childcare, 42% to business, and another 20% to careers in cultural exchange.
Source: EurekaFacts Impact of Au Pair Program, 2020
language education
“A national strategy to broaden access to language education for every student in the United States, as preparation for life and work in a global twenty-first century, must also promote opportunities for students to travel, experience other cultures, and immerse themselves in languages as they are used in everyday interactions and across all segments of society.”
Source: America’s Languages: Investing in Language Education for the 21st Century, American Academy of Arts & Sciences, 2017
Multiple Perspectives
With intentional, high-quality global learning, students are prepared to engage multiple perspectives as they explore the seemingly unanswerable, contested questions of our times.
Source: Models of Global Learning, Association of American Colleges & Universities, 2017
Graduate on Time
Time to graduation and GPA for Pell eligible students is not negatively impacted by education abroad participation.
“Taking Longer, but Finishing Just as Strong: A Comparison of Pell and Non-Pell Study Abroad Participants’ GPA and Time-to-Graduation.” Frontiers: the Interdisciplinary Journal of Study abroad, 2019.
counter violent extremism
Investing time and funding in upstream and soft power interventions that focus on preventing violent extremism at its roots is afar more cost-effective way to achieve the desired outcomes.
Source: Building Young Peoples Resilience to Violent Extremism in the Middle East and North Africa, All-Party Parliamentary Group for the British Council, 2017
business diplomacy
70% of J-1 Intern and Trainee participants report a more positive opinion about the American way of doing business and about American companies. 75% developed a more positive opinion of the American people after their experience.
Source: EurekaFacts Study: Impact of Intern and Trainee Programs
85%
85% of study abroad participants whose programs were interrupted by COVID during the spring 2020 semester reported they are still looking forward to traveling abroad in the future.
Source: Diversity Abroad 2020 Snapshot Survey: Student Study Abroad Experiences During COVID-19
10%
Only 10% of U.S. college graduates have studied abroad. According to a NAFSA whitepaper, “without a globally competent workforce [U.S.] businesses risk being unable to adapt to new markets and new demands.”
Source: The Economic Imperative of a Global Education, NAFSA 2018
Soft Skills
Learning while entirely immersed in another culture has a profound effect on developing the soft skills that are most sought after in today’s workplaces. Study abroad also opens the mind to embrace new and different ways of doing things in a world where disruption is driving how we live and work.
Source: Career Integration: Reviewing the Impact of Experience Abroad on Employment, CAPA: the Global Education Network, 2020
More than 200 Countries
Participants from more than 200 countries and territories visit the United States on the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program each year, many from countries critical to U.S. foreign policy, such as: Brazil, China, India, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine
Source: The Impact of International Exchange Programs, The Alliance for International Exchange, 2020
$11 Billion
International students at colleges and universities contributed an estimated of $11 billion to California, New York and Texas economies –US states with the largest international student populations– in the 2015-2016 academic year
Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, 2017