The Impact of Study Abroad on Retention and
Success in College: CCC SOAR Project
Gary Rhodes, Ph.D., Director
Center for Global Education
UCLA Graduate School of Education and
Information Studies
Don Rubin, Ph.D., Professor
University of Georgia
Washington DC
September 2013
About the Center for Global Ed.
The Center for Global Education promotes international education
to foster cross-cultural awareness, cooperation and understanding.
Living and working effectively in a global society requires learning
with an international perspective.
Established in 1998 at USC, moved to LMU to 2004. Previous
funding from FIPSE Comprehensive Program – U.S. Department of
Education (USEd). Moved to UCLA in 2010 with International
Research and Studies Program Grant (USEd). Funded through
grants, donations, sponsorships, and institutional support.
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SAFETI Clearinghouse
Student Study Abroad Safety Handbooks
PLATO Project (Study Abroad)
PLUS Project (International Students)
CCC SOAR (Community College)
Other Resource and Research Resources
Importance of Study Abroad
US Secretary of State
“I can think of no more valuable asset to our country than the friendship of future world leaders
who were educated here…International education prepares our citizens to live, work, and compete
in the global economy, and promotes tolerance and the reduction of conflict.”
US Secretary of Education
“Complex Global Interactions, once reserved for the diplomatic corps, are today the stuff of
everyday business deals and cultural exchanges. If we expect students to navigate international
waters, we need to give them an international education that meets the highest standards.”
US President
“…We must also reaffirm our commitment to promote educational opportunities that enable
American students to study abroad, and to encourage international students to take part in our
educational system.”
(statements from US International Education Week)
US Congress: 2006: The Year of Study Abroad
Lincoln Commission – Simon Study Abroad Act Funding to Have 1 Million Students Abroad
(by 2017)
IIE Open Doors US Study Abroad Data
Growth – 1996/7 – 2010/11
2010/11
273,996
2009/10
270,604
2008/09
260,327
2007/08
262,416
2006/07
241,791
2005/06
223,534
2004/05
205,983
2000/01
154,618
1998/99
129,770
1996/97
99,448
Comparative Data on Race and Ethnicity in Education Abroad
(by David Comp, Modified from Presentation)
Study Abroad Outcomes Research
Various Instruments
• IDI (the Intercultural Development Inventory)
• GPI (Global Perspectives Inventory)
• CCAI (the Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory)
• OPI (the oral proficiency interview)
• SOPI (the simulated oral proficiency interview),
• BEVI (the Beliefs, Events and Values Inventory)
• SAGE: The Beyond Immediate Impact: Study Abroad
for Global Engagement (SAGE) project, based at the
University of Minnesota Twin Cities, uses an instrument
called the Global Engagement Survey
•GLOSSARI - International Learning Outcomes (ILO)
GlobaledResearch.com
University of Minnesota
(systemwide)
•In a study recently completed by the University of
Minnesota, data showed that of the Fall 1999 and Fall 2000
freshmen, only about 50% of those who did not study
abroad graduated in five years, where over 85% of those
who studied abroad graduated in five years. Significant
differences were apparent in both the four and six year
graduation rates as well.
University of Minnesota
(Twin Cities)
Of Fall 2003 freshmen, 64.5% of those who
studied abroad graduated by their 4th year,
compared to 41.0% among non-study abroad
students.
33.3% of this cohort dropped out by the 4th
year compared to only 6.0% of those who
studied abroad.
Indiana University
•Kathleen Sideli, Associate VP for Overseas Study at
Indiana University:
•The IU data show 95.3% of students who study abroad
(using the entering cohort from 1999) graduated within 6
years as compared to 68.5 % for the students who did not
study abroad.
• Students who participate in one or more overseas study
courses by the end of their fourth year of college have
significantly higher cumulative grade point averages than
non-participants, even after accounting for prior academic
achievement and college major.
Kuh Research
Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has
Access to Them, and Why They Matter. Washington, DC: American Association of
Colleges and Universities.
Univ.of Connecticut 2012
6 Year Graduation Rates
UT Austin
Supporting four-year graduation rates
UT study abroad participants are more likely to
graduate and experience a shorter than average
time-to-degree than non-participants (Hamir, 2011)
Influencing Retention
Empirical research on the UT Austin student
population demonstrates academically at-risk
students stand to benefit the most from study abroad
Study abroad representative on campus-wide
retention committee
Don Rubin Intro
California Community College Student
Outcomes Abroad Research Project:
CCC SOAR
•To research the impact of study abroad on students
at California Community Colleges, including student
international learning outcomes and impact on
retention, success, transfer, and success after
community college study, with a special focus on
Hispanic students
• Community colleges give access to
minority groups and non-traditional
students, who often are first-generation
college attendees, with 25% or more of
all high school graduates of color
enrolling in community colleges as a
way to begin their foray into higher
education (Edsource, 2008)
CCC SOAR
Focus Group in London, United Kingdom
California Community College Students responses about
this being the first opportunity for them to:
• Interact Outside Class with Students
• Interact Outside Class with Faculty
• Be in a Living/Learning Community
• Go Regularly to Class
• Plan for Finishing CC Classes to Transfer
Our Partners
• We have a diverse California community
college base we will be working with to collect
data, Research Support by RP Group
• Also collaborating with national and regional
partners, including HACU, NAFEO, COE,
AACC, UC EAP, CSU IP
• We are working with the developers of the
GLOSSARI Project, which includes the
International Learning Outcomes (ILO)
Survey Instrument created by our partners at
the Georgia’s Public Higher Education
System
Quantitative Data
• This data includes 2,742 study abroad
programs for students from 19
California colleges (17 Districts) with
over 15,216 enrollments by over 14,216
individual students. Some students had
multiple enrollments in study abroad
programs.
Student Characteristics
• Gender
– 69% Female
– 31% Male
• Ethnicity
– 60% White
– 16% Latino
– 7% Asian
– 17% Other
Student Characteristics
• Education Goal
– 60% Transfer or Degree
– 21% Undecided
– 11% Personal Development
– 7% Career Related
– 3% Remediation
Student Characteristics
• Education Level
– 78% High school graduates
– 15% College graduates
– 7% Still in high school or unknown
• Age
– Average (mean) is 27 years old
- Median Age is 20 years old (half 20 or
younger, half over 20)
– 3% are under 18
– 4% are 65 or older
Preliminary Findings
• Unadjusted comparison of outcomes show study
abroad students have higher outcomes on:
– retention, unit attainment, and GPA
– degree earning
– transfer level English and math completion and
transfer
• Preliminary regressions controlling for some of
these differences are showing:
– Study abroad students still have higher
outcomes, but
– Outcome differences using regression adjusted
outcomes (marginal means) are not as great as
with unadjusted outcomes
Preliminary Control Variables
1. Ethnicity
2. Gender
3. Age at term
4. Flag for high school graduate
5. Flag for learning disability
6. Flag for Extended Opportunities Programs and Services (EOPS)
7. Flag for received Board of Governor’s Grant (low income)
8. Degree applicable units attempted in first term
9. GPA in first term
10. Flag for transfer/award related goal in first term
11. Level of first college English level ( no English, remedial English, transfer English)
12. Level of first college math level ( no math, remedial math, transfer math)
13. Mean unit load in primary terms
14. Year of enrollment (cohort effect)
15. College area income-education index, higher values indicate higher ed levels and/or
income
16. Percent of community over the age of 30
17. Student average academic performance index based on K-12 test scores
18. Distance to nearest University of California
19. Distance to nearest California State University
Regression Marginal Means
• Used to examine relative effect of a treatment
variable such as participation in study abroad
• Outcome estimates are made using the mean
value for each control variable
• The value of each marginal mean should not be
interpreted directly e.g. they are not transfer or
graduation rates
• The differences between marginal means
suggest whether or not the treatment variable
may be contributing to these differences
Domestic Comparison
• A set of 476,708 first-time college students who had
the same characteristics and who showed a credit
enrollment that was not concurrent with high school
enrollment but did not have a record of an earned
college-level degree or certificate were tracked from
Fall 2004 to Fall 2009 in three-year sequences.
• An attempt was made to statistically control for
differences in student background characteristics
using Poisson regression and multiple regression.
• Regression techniques compared the cohort on key
outcomes such as year-to-year retention, curricular
progression, completion of transfer level English and
math, degree and certificate attainment, and transfer.
• Based on this methodology, we found that many
results were statistically significant.
* Poisson regression (McFadden’s Adj. R2 ) † linear
* Poisson regression (McFadden’s Adj. R2 ) † linear
One Year Retention
Study Abroad
100%
89%
80%
60%
non-Study Abroad
58%
62%
56%
40%
20%
0%
Unadjusted
Regression Marginal Means
Two Year Retention
Study Abroad
non-Study Abroad
100%
80%
72%
60%
40%
40%
45%
36%
20%
0%
Unadjusted
Regression Marginal Means
Transfer English Success in 3 Years
Study Abroad
non-Study Abroad
100%
80%
77%
60%
40%
30%
17%
20%
15%
0%
Unadjusted
Regression Marginal Means
Transfer Math Success in 3 Years
Study Abroad
non-Study Abroad
100%
80%
60%
47%
40%
20%
18%
8%
6%
0%
Unadjusted
Regression Marginal Means
Mean Transferable Units Completed
in 3 Years
Study Abroad
60.0
50.0
48.6
37.6
40.0
30.0
non-Study Abroad
24.0
25.1
20.0
10.0
0.0
Unadjusted
Regression Marginal Means
Transferable GPA in 3 Years
Study Abroad
4.00
3.50
3.00
2.50
2.00
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00
non-Study Abroad
2.88
2.27
Unadjusted
2.42 2.25
Regression Marginal Means
Completing Certificate or Degree
(Award) in 3 Years
Study Abroad
20%
non-Study Abroad
17%
15%
10%
5%
5%
4%
3%
0%
Unadjusted
Regression Marginal Means
Transferring within 3 Years
Study Abroad
non-Study Abroad
50%
40%
40%
30%
20%
14%
10%
12%
8%
0%
Unadjusted
Regression Marginal Means
Hispanic Student Outcomes
One Year Retention
Study Abroad
100%
93%
71%
80%
60%
non-Study Abroad
57%
64%
40%
20%
0%
Hispanic Unadjusted
Hispanic Regression
Marginal Means
Hispanic Student Outcomes
Two Year Retention
Study Abroad
100%
non-Study Abroad
82%
80%
54%
60%
40%
39%
44%
20%
0%
Hispanic Unadjusted
Hispanic Regression
Marginal Means
Hispanic Student Outcomes
Transfer English Success in 3 Years
Study Abroad
100%
non-Study Abroad
81%
80%
60%
40%
24%
35%
32%
20%
0%
Hispanic Unadjusted
Hispanic Regression
Marginal Means
Hispanic Student Outcomes
Transfer Math Success in 3 Years
Study Abroad
non-Study Abroad
100%
80%
60%
42%
40%
20%
11%
20%
17%
0%
Hispanic Unadjusted
Hispanic Regression
Marginal Means
Hispanic Student Outcomes
Mean Transferable Units Completed
in 3 Years
Study Abroad
60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
non-Study Abroad
49.1
36.7
19.8
Hispanic Unadjusted
24.2
Hispanic Regression
Marginal Means
Hispanic Student Outcomes
Transferable GPA in 3 Years
Study Abroad
4.00
3.50
3.00
2.50
2.00
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00
2.68
2.04
Hispanic Unadjusted
non-Study Abroad
2.41 2.23
Hispanic Regression
Marginal Means
Hispanic Student Outcomes
Completing Certificate or Degree
(Award) in 3 Years
Study Abroad
20%
non-Study Abroad
16%
15%
8%
10%
5%
4%
6%
0%
Hispanic Unadjusted
Hispanic Regression
Marginal Means
Hispanic Student Outcomes
Transferring within 3 Years
Study Abroad
non-Study Abroad
50%
40%
31%
30%
17%
20%
10%
9%
11%
0%
Hispanic Unadjusted
Hispanic Regression
Marginal Means
Survey Feedback
Don Rubin
GLOSSARI
Intentional Programs
AllAbroad.us Outreach
We want to hear from you!
Contact Information:
- - Gary Rhodes, Ph.D., Director
Center for Global Education
University of California at Los Angeles
E-Mail: rhodes@gseis.ucla.edu
Phone: (310) 206-5376
URL: http://www.globaled.us
www.globaled.us/CCCSOAR