Sometimes, solutions come easily. After the University of Texas at Austin started holding study abroad-focused receptions for sophomores receiving Pell Grants, the number of students receiving federally funded Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships -- which are only available to students on Pell Grants -- "shot up," said Heather Barclay Hamir, the former director of study abroad at UT Austin and now the president-elect at the Institute for Study Abroad, Butler University. "It was that simple."
Hamir spoke during a session here at the annual NAFSA: Association of International Educators conference focused on increasing the diversity of American students studying abroad. As study abroad participation has increased nationally, the proportion of underrepresented minorities participating has also grown, but slowly -- still, more than three-quarters of Americans studying abroad (76.3 percent) are white, according to the latest data from the Institute of International Education's annual Open Doors survey. Open Doors does not collect data on study abroad participation by family income.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/05/28/international-education-conference-panelists-focus-diversifying-study-abroad