| The rapid growth in the number of students going abroad has prompted a recent endeavor among international educators to begin the cumbersome undertaking of evaluating the quality of study abroad programs being offered at U.S. colleges and universities. In response to this increased participation in study abroad programs, the Office of International Affairs at Clemson University initiated an internal program evaluation in the spring of 2007. In collaboration with the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment, an evaluation team assessed the components of these programs from the viewpoint of the participants. This study explored the following question: When it comes to study abroad program evaluation, what can be learned from student satisfaction surveys? In particular, this analysis will look for observable differences in program quality as measured by the responses of participants according to the type of program in which s/he participated. More specifically this study attempted to answer the question: Do certain components of the student's study abroad experience vary according to the program in which s/he participates?;The results of this study suggest that different program types do indeed have different outcomes. The Office of International Affairs will use these results to improve the programs and services being offered to students. The implications of these results could be a significant starting point for the development of University international program planning, policy and quality assurance. |
