Penn students challenged by the task of completing a demanding curriculum within four years often choose not to study abroad - but within the next 10 years, they may have more opportunities to do so.
U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) introduced the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act to Congress on Feb. 25, which would dramatically expand study-abroad opportunities for U.S. college students.
The program created by the act would provide direct scholarships to students across America and create incentives for universities to address their current barriers to study abroad such as limiting curriculum requirements.
"The ultimate goal is to ensure that study abroad and international learning become an integral part of the college education of American students," said Ursula Oaks, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Foreign Student Advisers.
The program aims to have a million U.S. college students studying abroad annually within the next 10 years, with a large portion of those students studying in the developing world.
Currently, about 220,000 American students study abroad for credit each year.
The Simon Act stresses the importance of teaching students to work in an international context.
"We are educating a citizenry for a global economy and to have the capacity to deal with the global challenges our country faces," Oaks said.
She added that the program would remove many of the barriers that prevent students from studying abroad.
"By leveraging the grant process to encourage change at the institutional level, it raises opportunities across the board for all students to study abroad," she said.
According to Geoffrey Gee, director of Penn Abroad, Penn sends about 600 to 650 students on study abroad programs each year, with the largest percentage of those students coming from the College.
Gee added that fewer Engineering students study abroad because of the difficulty of "figuring out where a period of study abroad fits comfortably with all the requirements students have to meet for certification."
The Simon Act would dramatically expand the study-abroad opportunities available for these students.
"Funding will make available the opportunity for more innovative programming that is directed from a given campus," Gee said.
