Study Abroad and International Exchanges

International educational exchange was a field of major concern to the President's Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies because of its contribu tion to research and scholarship on other countries, to foreign language learning, and to the international education of our citizens. Despite their importance, exchanges involving high school students and teachers remain distressingly limited and should be expanded. Although major federal funding of study abroad by American undergraduates is not likely, this field should be strongly encouraged; study abroad can have a lifelong impact on students' values and understanding of other cultures. The more than one-quarter million foreign students in American colleges and universities should be tapped much more as a resource for intercultural learning. Teaching and especially research abroad for faculty is essential to U.S. competence in international studies; federal funding for it through the Fulbright and other programs has seriously eroded and should be significantly increased. Scholarly ex changes should in the future be more collaborative, based on reciprocity and on the principle of equality between U.S. and foreign higher education institutions.