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This special volume of Advances in International Marketingis guest-edited by Professors G. Tomas M. Hult and Elvin C. Lashbrooke, Jr. of Michigan State University. The entire volume addresses a variety of topics relating to study abroad programs in business schools. This volume grew out of the Third Roundtable on Internationalizing Business Education hosted by the Center for International Business Education and Research at Michigan State University (MSU-CIBER). Serving as co-sponsors for this event were CIBERs at Duke University, Purdue University, San Diego State University, Texas A&M University, University of Memphis, University of Connecticut, University of Kansas, University of Illinois, University of Pittsburgh, University of South Carolina, University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Wisconsin. The contributions selected for this volume represent some of the best thinking and empirical findings on business-focused study abroad concepts.

With the advent of the global economy and marketplace, cultural sensitivity and language proficiency have assumed new, higher levels of importance in business education. Consequently, business schools need to acclimate both faculty and students to the global environment. Study abroad is an effective way to accomplish internationalization of faculty and students; however, there are many challenges relating to study abroad that need to be resolved. The underlying rationale for study abroad is evolving, as are the anticipated outcomes for students studying abroad. Moreover, there is no single source of information about study abroad and best practices relating to study abroad. Formal assessment of study abroad programs is rarely undertaken in the belief that the value of study abroad is self-evident; therefore, assessment is not critical. Consequently, study abroad is a topic on which much more research is needed. There are great opportunities for scholars and practitioners in the field of study abroad to do research in the different aspects of study abroad and disseminate and publish the results. The educational opportunities are virtually unlimited, as the importance of study abroad as a response to training business and other students to be able to function effectively in the global economy increases.

The International Education and Graduate Programs Office of the U.S. Department of Education (IEGPS) is pleased to bring you this publication produced from the Roundtable on Study Abroad Programs in Business Schools that took place in East Lansing, Michigan, September 2001. This publication reports on the results of a three-day, invitational conference of national and international experts on study abroad. The conference was hosted by the Center for International Business Education and Research in The Eli Broad Graduate School of Management at Michigan State University (MSU-CIBER), which is funded under Title VI of the Higher Education Act.

The adage, “Think globally but act locally,” defines success for study abroad. As we examine this from the broad university perspective, this means placing educational and research activities in an international rather than a national or local dimension. To accomplish these objectives requires special handling of many of the institutional policies and procedures. Presidential priorities, institutional mission, and strategic plans must encourage collaboration within the campus community, the state and around the globe. These are some of the conditions necessary for the development of international opportunities. Other papers presented during this “International Roundtable on Study Abroad Programs in Schools of Business” address special issues that concern specific study abroad developments. They will address administrative arrangements from the program perspective. In this section, we will discuss the administrative matters from the institutional side which create the environment that allows faculty to develop study abroad programs for their students.

Why is there a need for initiatives such as the one which will be described in the following pages, designed to increase the participation of minority and low income students in study abroad?

Consequently, a key success factor in the globalization of business is the development of international experience and related to this, intercultural skills. Thus, a question of crucial importance in a globalized world is: How can people be prepared for globalization? How can international experience and intercultural skills be developed?

The purpose of this paper is to describe the study abroad impact assessment project that has been undertaken during the past year by Michigan State University and to present some preliminary (and tentative) conclusions. It should be emphasized that this is a progress report, vulnerable to the uncertainties that time will remove as the project matures.

Certain administrative structures and processes need to be in place on the home campus to provide high quality study abroad experiences for students. They provide the support needed to make study abroad programs successful and effective. To this end, they need to be based on criteria that ensure the best possible quality in these arrangements as they relate to stated program outcomes.

The U.S. faces unprecedented challenges to its economic, political, and military pre-eminence as it proceeds into the initial years of the 21st century. During the Cold War era, the superpowers viewed countries as either enemies or friends. The era of globalization, however, has transformed friends and enemies alike into competitors (Friedman, 2000). The U.S., the chess master of the Cold War era, has encountered great difficulty in adapting to the new geo-political and socio-economic realities brought about by the era of globalization. As this new era celebrated its coming out party in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the U.S. has witnessed its own economic decline. In 1945, the U.S. accounted for over 70% of the World’s GDP. Today, that figure has shrunk to 19% (cited in Kedia, 2001).

Throughout the early 1980s, schools of business struggled with ways to internationalize their faculty, students and curriculum. In the face of an increasingly global economy, it was necessary for schools to meet this challenge. Various strategies were employed: infusion of global topics into the classes, creation of International Business departments, the implementation of the CIBER program (Center for International Business Education and Research) and faculty exchanges. Although the Kelley School of Business tried all of these, our most successful efforts to internationalize students has been by facilitating overseas experiences through organized study abroad programs.