Beyond Immediate Impact: Study Abroad for Global Engagement (SAGE)
Apply for participation in a research project to document the long-term impact of study abroad on global engagement
Download the institutional partner application [.doc]
The SAGE opportunity
Through a special collaboration between the Forum on Education Abroad and a research team at the University of Minnesota led by R. Michael Paige and Gerald W. Fry, selected institutions will be able to participate in a research project that will document the long-term impact of the study abroad experience. The project, Beyond immediate impact: Study abroad for global engagement (SAGE), will examine personal, professional, and civic engagement outcomes associated with study abroad experiences that occur during the college years. The researchers define ‘global engagement’ as the contributions a person makes to the common good by means of civic engagement, knowledge production, social entrepreneurship, and philanthropy. The Minnesota research team will collect data by surveying and interviewing study abroad alumni from participating institutions. These alumni are from 10 distinct graduation years: 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2005.
Which institutions are eligible for participation?
The SAGE study will enroll 16 institutions that are classified as doctoral-granting, masters-granting, bachelors-granting, or HBCU. Since the SAGE project explores the long-term impact of study abroad, institutional eligibility will be determined by the number of years for which contact information of study abroad alumni can be obtained. Institutions that can obtain alumni contact information for at least 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2005 are eligible for selection. However, preference will go to institutions that can obtain the contact information of study abroad alumni for all of the 10 graduation years of interest.
What is required of participating institutions?
There are two main responsibilities: 1. search institutional records for study abroad alumni and their contact information; 2. once the SAGE team has completed the sampling, make the first contact by sending an e-mail to the sampled alumni. These tasks are described below.
1.a. Participating institutions will be asked to determine the number of alumni who are potential respondents to the SAGE survey. This step is completed by identifying and maintaining a list of the alumni who have studied abroad for whom you have contact information. Since the SAGE project explores the long-term impact of study abroad, participating institutions will determine the number of study abroad alumni for the ten graduation years of interest (see above). Participating institutions will likely collaborate with their Alumni Office and/or Office of Institutional Research to derive these estimates.
1.b. After the number of potential respondents to the SAGE survey has been determined, participating institutions will assign a number to each potential respondent. The SAGE research team will then specify a sample of alumni for each graduation year for inclusion in the study.
2.a. Participating institutions will send an e-mail message to alumni within the specified sample. The e-mail informs alumni that they will receive a SAGE survey from the survey provider (WebSurveyor) contracted by the SAGE research team.
2.b. Institutions will then upload an e-mail list for sampled alumni to WebSurveyor.
Are institutions compensated for participation in the SAGE study?
A small amount of funding in the range of $3,000 - $5,000 will be available for each participating institution to help defray some of the cost associated with participation.
How will participating institutions benefit from the study?
At the completion of the study, participating institutions will receive their project data, which we welcome them to use, for example, to demonstrate the impact of study abroad at their institution. In addition, participation in this study will contribute to a greater understanding of the value and meaning of the impact of education abroad on global engagement, which will benefit the entire field.
What is the project timeline?
April 15, 2007: Application deadline for participating in the SAGE study.
Early summer, 2007: Participating institutions provide SAGE research team with estimates of potential survey respondents.
Mid-summer, 2007: SAGE survey is launched.
How can my institution apply to participate?
To find out more about the project, and to apply to participate, contact R. Michael Paige: r-paig@umn.edu. Applications should include the name of your institution, your contact information, and a list of the graduation years (1960-2005) for which you estimate that you can obtain the contact information of alumni who studied abroad.
SAGE principal investigators
The project, based at the University of Minnesota and funded by the U.S. Department of Education, is being overseen by R. Michael Paige and Gerald W. Fry. Paige, widely known and highly regarded for his research and writing in international education, is professor of international and intercultural education, and chair of the Department of Educational Policy and Administration, in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota. In his distinguished career, Fry has also focused on international education in his teaching and research; he is acknowledged as an expert on Southeast Asia. Fry is professor of international and intercultural education in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota.