Austin Community College District (ACC) has been selected to receive funding support from the U.S. Department of State’s Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for U.S. Students (IDEAS) Program. ACC is one of 44 colleges and universities across the United States that will use the IDEAS grants.
“Study abroad programs are a wonderful opportunity to learn about a new culture and country while enhancing your educational experience,” says William Hayden, ACC International Programs director. “After suspending our study abroad program for the past two years because of the pandemic, I am excited we will be able to resume in Summer 2023. This grant will help strengthen our program and is a wonderful opportunity for our students.”
ACC will receive $35,000 to create, expand, and/or diversify American student mobility overseas in support of U.S. foreign policy goals. The grant provides the college with the resources to develop and implement collaborative online international learning (COIL) content. The grant project will be a collaboration between International Programs, Professional Nursing, and Peace and Conflict Studies. COIL content will open up additional opportunities beyond traditional study abroad programs for ACC students to have a global education experience.
This U.S. Government program is funded by the U.S. Department of State and supported in its implementation by World Learning.
“The U.S. Department of State is committed to supporting U.S. colleges and universities as they continue to rebuild study abroad capacity impacted by the global pandemic. That is why ECA is proud to award double the number of IDEAS grants this year so that we can support more institutions as they work to provide important international educational opportunities to their students,” says Heidi Manley, USA Study Abroad Chief, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. “Our IDEAS grant recipients reflect the full diversity of the U.S. higher education system – including community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), rural institutions, and more – and we are committed to working with them to build study abroad programs that are accessible for Americans of all backgrounds and that provide more opportunities for American students to engage with people in more diverse destinations around the world.”
To learn more about ACC’s study abroad program, visit austincc.edu/studyabroad.
About IDEAS
Since 2016, the IDEAS Program has awarded 145 grants to 139 institutions in 48 states and territories to create, expand, and diversify their U.S. study abroad programs in 71 countries across all world regions. In addition to the IDEAS grant competition, the program also offers opportunities for faculty, staff, and administrators at U.S. colleges and universities to participate in a series of free virtual and in-person study abroad capacity-building activities.
For a full list of 2022 IDEAS grant recipients, as well as information on a free IDEAS webinar series on building study abroad resources for U.S. campuses, please visit the IDEAS Program website at studyabroadcapacitybuilding.org. Funded projects are supporting such activities as developing new international partnerships and programs, training faculty and staff, internationalizing curriculum, creating resources to engage diverse student groups in study abroad, and creating virtual and hybrid exchanges.
For more study abroad resources and to learn about other exchange programs offered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, visit https://studyabroad.state.gov/.
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