Abroad101 joins the Institute of International Education’s Generation Study Abroad initiative

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First and largest study abroad review website commits to increase study abroad participation by doubling it’s tuition crowd funding initiative

February 25, 2015 – Abroad101 has joined the Institute of International Education’s Generation Study Abroad initiative to help more Americans to gain international experience through study abroad programs. This is one of more than 450 new commitments announced by IIE.

IIE’s Generation Study Abroad seeks to mobilize resources and commitments with the goal of doubling the number of U.S. students studying abroad by the end of the decade. Abroad101 has been helping advance study abroad since 2007 through the publishing of study abroad program reviews, detailed first-hand accounts of students experiences abroad. Since that time, more than 23,000 reviews have been published on StudyAbroad101.com, the field’s most comprehensive directory of study abroad programs.

Under the new partnership, Abroad101 will take concrete, action-oriented steps to expand opportunities for study abroad by doubling its financial commitment to the Abroad101 Student of the Week enterprise. Started less than a year ago, this study abroad tuition crowd funding initiative helps an ambitious and deserving students boost their fundraising efforts by contributing cash, endorsement, and a social networking push. By linking the student’s fundraising campaign to reviews, the Abroad101 Student of the Week uses the success reported by previous students to help the aspiring students draw support from their friends and family.

Abroad101’s CEO Mark Shay points out that many parents and family members who may not have gone to college or studied abroad themselves have a hard time understanding the benefits of an international experience. According to Shay, “Every day, dozens of reviews are added to Abroad101, and each tells a story of a young person’s individual triumphs and set-backs; testimonials to their learning and self-improvement. Abroad101 is committed to helping bring study abroad into the mainstream, one student at a time. We strive to not only help them find the best fit program, but also take those experiences and help them jump-start their careers.”

As of November 2014, Generation Study Abroad partners to date include over 300 colleges and universities of all sizes and types across the country and around the world, as well as 13 governments, 16 education associations, 67 international partners, and 56 study abroad, K-12, and social network organizations who have committed to specific goals to increase the number of U.S. students studying abroad. Commitments include actions to diversity the population of students who participate in study abroad and provide additional financial resources to make this possible.

IIE launched Generation Study Abroad early this year in the belief that the number and proportion of today’s students who graduate with an educational experience abroad is far too low. Currently, fewer than 10 percent of all U.S. college students study abroad at some point in their academic career, according to the Open Doors Report on International and Educational Exchange published by IIE with support from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Generation Study Abroad aims to grow participation in study abroad so that the annual total reported will reach 600,000 by the end of the decade.

“Globalization has changed the way the world works, and employers are increasingly looking for workers who have international skills and expertise,” says Dr. Allan Goodman, President of IIE. “Studying abroad must be viewed as an essential component of a college degree and critical to preparing future leaders.”

 

About Generation Study Abroad

IIE’s Generation Study Abroad seeks to significantly increase study abroad participation by bringing employers, governments, associations, and others together to build on current best practices and find new ways to extend study abroad opportunities and resources to tens of thousands of college students whose needs are not currently served by existing programs. Generation Study Abroad will sustain an ongoing dialogue about the need for more students from all backgrounds and in all fields to gain international experience. This will include research to identify and break down barriers hindering students from studying abroad, communications to share strategies and best practices to increase study abroad, and fundraising to mobilize additional financial resources. IIE will also hold a Summit on Generation Study Abroad on October 1-2, 2015 to engage stakeholders in higher education and all commitment partners.

 

About Abroad101

Founded in 2007, Abroad101 is the first and largest study abroad review website. Focusing on American college students looking for a semester or term abroad, this innovative platform connects past and future students, parents and advisors and program providers through its market-leading online evaluation tool. Abroad101 grew from one partnership at Tufts University in 2007 to over 215 college partnerships today. The Abroad101 directory of study abroad programs is the most comprehensive database in the field today. To learn more, visit: http://www.studyabroad101.com

 

About the Institute of International Education

The Institute of International Education is a world leader in the international exchange of people and ideas. An independent, not-for-profit organization founded in 1919, IIE has a network of 19 offices and affiliates worldwide and over 1,200 member institutions. IIE designs and implements programs of study and training for students, educators, young professionals and trainees from all sectors with funding from government agencies, foundations, and corporations. IIE also conducts policy research and program evaluations, and provides advising and counseling on international education and opportunities abroad.

 

Winter 2014-2014 Advisor Newsletter

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Advisors Update from Abroad101 – Winter 2014-15

Greetings from Abroad101,

It’s the first anniversary of the new management team at Abroad101 and we want to sincerely thank you for your confidence and support.  We’d like to take a few minutes of your time and remind you of the various features of Abroad101, and hope that as the semester ends you will find ways to use it in your work in advancing study abroad.

Abroad101 is all about reviews and ratings, so we thought we’d put you to the test.  Please rate yourself on what kind of Abroad101 advisor you are, and don’t worry we’re not going to publish the results; this is just an exercise to help you understand the full power of our systems and the potential opportunities for you.

The What Kind of Abroad101 Advisor Are You Quiz:

1-Star User:

  • Subscribe to Advisors Newsletter
  • Aware of directories, occasionally refer prospective students to validate their choices

 2-Star User (all of the above, plus):

  • Reference Abroad101 reviews in pre-departure orientation sessions, especially for health and safety and travel tips
  • Refer prospective students to peer reviews in info sessions and campus presentations
  • Have an Abroad101 Advisors account and have logged into your dashboard
  • Encourage students to submit reviews to any review website on their return
  • Include Abroad101 postcards in resource library
  • Follow Abroad101 in Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Pintrest, Instagram, etc.)

 3-Star User (all of the above, plus):

  • Updated your university profile on Abroad101 though your Advisors account dashboard
  • Use the Invite Tool to encourage some or all of your returning students to submit reviews on Abroad101
  • Encourage students to join “The Study Abroad Advantage” and promote reviews through student’s Linkedin and social media
  • Link to Abroad101 from your department’s web page
  • Include reference and links to Abroad101 in email newsletters to students and parents
  • Re-tweet and Like any of your university’s activity on Abroad101’s social media

 4-Star User (all of the above, plus):

  • Create pre-approved/recommended programs lists through your advisor account dashboard
  • Read and approve/disapprove reviews
  • Encourage students to submit crowd funding initiatives through GoEnnounce the partner in Abroad101 Student of the Week
  • Use Abroad101 University Widget on your department’s web pages
  • Highlight The Study Abroad Advantage in your department’s collaboration with Career Planning and Placement Services
  • Let faculty-led and summer program administrators know about Abroad101, help them secure Provider accounts on Abroad101

 5-Star User (all of the above, plus):

  • Install Abroad101 Program Widget in your department’s own program pages, including Terra Dotta, Horizons and AbroadOffice directories.
  • Use Invite Tool to require reviews of all students making Abroad101 the official program evaluation tool at your institution
  • Submit faculty-led and “in-house” home student only programs to Abroad101 directories for review
  • Export review reports each semester and build statistical archive of student performance
  • Utilize comparison graphs for university accountability and share Abroad101 generated statistics with university’s senior leadership

 5-Star PLUS User (all of the above, plus):

  • Integrate the Abroad101 API tools into your student information system to collect reviews automatically
  • Publish Abroad101 reviews on your website
  • Use Abroad101 data and case studies in presentations at Academic Conferences and include Abroad101 in those sessions

The above exercise was designed to show you that Abroad101 is more than just a pretty website, it is a platform to capture and share the study abroad experience.  It takes a concept as simple as a review, and turns it into something very powerful by taking advantage of a standard set of questions, a sophisticated publishing system and a set of tools built specifically for advisors.  You will get a lot from Abroad101 if you invest some time and effort into harnessing its great potential.  The system is designed to be Fast – Free – Easy.  The rest is up to you.

Now is the time to Send Review Invites
As students from the fall semester return home, now is the perfect time to send the invitation to submit reviews.  It is our experience that students will submit reviews when invited, but rarely on their own.  Over 70% of all reviews on Abroad101 come from the invitation of advisors, so please login to your account, use the Invite Tool and get those reviews flowing.

Remember, it’s never too late to draw a review so if you’ve not sent an invitation in a while, or you tried other means than the Abroad101 Invite Tool, please come back and use the Invite Tool for summer and even spring of 2014 participants.  The Invite Tool is smart enough not to send invites to student who have already been invited and won’t send a reminder to those who have already completed a review.

Also note that reviews collected in 2014 or the result of an invitation issued from Abroad101 in 2014 will be considered for our annual rankings.  Send your invitations by December 31 and those reviews will automatically be entered into the rankings process.

Improving Review Participation
A few key words will impact participation.  Request/Require is the big one, indicating that you require reviews will likely drive more students to submit reviews.  To help improve the quality of those reviews, your message might also include the idea that submitting a review is good for the student.  Feel free to use or paraphrase this text:

  • Your review will be published on the Abroad101 website and will become its own webpage.  This creates a great place to showcase your experience and use it to open doors to your career.  Employers are looking for people with an international background and your review on Abroad101 is a perfect place to jump-start your career.  We suggest you view the review as a writing sample and a chance to show the real you.  Show future employers and recruiters that you can be constructive in your criticism, take responsibility for your outcomes, be reflective and be forward thinking.  State your new worldview and use the review as your place to shine.

Our experience shows that invites issued directly through our tool have a higher yield rate, perhaps it is the reminders or perhaps it is the link specifically to the submit review form (as opposed to finding the program, then clicking the “review” icon).  When invitations go out from our system, they average 15% completion rates when the request reviews button is selected, much higher if the “require reviews” button is selected.

If using your own means to draw reviews has response rates that are much lower, perhaps you might consider running one set of names through our system and another set through your direct list and do analysis on their conversions; A/B Testing as we like to call this process.  It may also help conversions if, in your external message, you provide a link directly to the page to start submitting a review:
http://www.studyabroad101.com/reviews/new

Reviews Are Social Media:
Like other forms of Social Media, Abroad101 is designed for sharing.  Reviews on Abroad101 are given a unique and permanent web address, provide comment sections and are distributed through a number of outlets.  On Abroad101, reviews are summarized by program, by provider, by home institution and by host institution (if applicable), each with their own fixed web page address.  Reviews are streamed to third parties through electronic feeds, software widgets and our associated community pages on Facebook and Twitter.

As you manage your own marketing and promotion efforts on campus, we hope you will utilize the Abroad101 content as much as possible.  As our “What Kind of Abroad101 Advisor Are You Quiz” highlights, there are ample ways to take data from Abroad101 and filter it to your student audience (web links to your university portal on Abroad101, web links to specific program pages, widgets, RSS feeds and APIs.)  Turning these into Social Media posts of your own is one way to utilize Abroad101 as Social Media content for your office; featuring programs and reviews are others.

Each day Abroad101 pushes several programs and up to half a dozen reviews into our Social Media networks.  The Cool Program of the Week and Student of the Week are two popular items to share with your social media followers.  We also put programs from our advertisers out as Social Media content, we hope that you will share some of these as well.  Reviews with their catchy titles and photos can themselves be fantastic content for your Social Media.  If you aren’t following us, please do.  Then when good material comes across your account, please like it, share it and use it to keep your followers engaged.  Reviews are Social Media and are most beneficial when shared.

Facebook.com/Abroad101
Twitter.com/StudyAbroad101
Pinterest.com/StudyAbroad101
Instagram.com/StudyAbroad101
The Study Abroad Advantage on Linkedin

Check Out Our sessions:
Abroad101’s CEO, Mark Shay presented sessions that outline these topics in further depth.  You can download the session slides from our blog:
ISEP Conference: “Social Media & Web Marketing Tools for Marketing and Advising”
NAFSA Region X/XI: “Why Require Student Reviews”

Working Closer with Abroad101:
We are eager to help you advance study abroad on your campus.  We want to see more students abroad and we want those that go be better informed beforehand and help them turn that experience into a career building stepping stone afterward.  We are delighted to help you do the same and are available to answer any of your questions by email or phone.  We also welcome the opportunity to walk you, and members of your staff though the system with an online demo of the back-end features Abroad101.  Please send an email to support@abroad101.com to take the next step.  Also feel free to use this account to nominate colleagues for our newsletter or offer them a free Advisor account with Abroad101.

And, as always, your comments, questions and feedback are welcome.  Thanks for a great year; the best is yet to come!

Thanks!

Mark Shay
CEO, Abroad101
mark@abroad101.com
+1-212-321-0928

Abroad101 Announces “The Study Abroad Advantage”

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Join the Study Abroad Advantage on LinkedIn

Putting the Ideals of Study Abroad into Practice, Abroad101 Announces “The Study Abroad Advantage”

International education software company extends its platform to help students advance their careers.

LinkedIn GroupJoin

New York, NY (PRWEB) October 06, 2014

Abroad101 has launched an initiative called “The Study Abroad Advantage.” Designed to help college students gain an edge in the job market after graduation, this collaborative effort involves students, college advisors and prospective employers. Students start their Advantage with a capstone summary of their education abroad published on Abroad101. This review is logo_prwebthen shared via social networks and other outlets with prospective employers who are looking for students with international experience, foreign language skills and the maturity that comes from being overseas.

Study Abroad is widely considered advantageous in the job market. Mark Shay, CEO of Abroad101.com stated, “The goal of The Study Abroad Advantage is to put this theory into practice by providing a platform for students to showcase how they have grown and matured while overseas. For employers, The Study Abroad Advantage is a place for HR departments, hiring managers and recruiters to get a glimpse into the personality and character of the student as a prospective employee.”

Connecting the two is a group on Linkedin called “The Study Abroad Advantage.” The group was created on August 30 and was joined by over 250 students in the first 5 days. Students in the group link to their study abroad review from their Linkedin profile as a reference point, while employers and job recruiters use the group to connect and network with these stand-out students.

Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, is an early supporter of The Study Abroad Advantage. Trinity has a vibrant study abroad program and requires returning students to complete a program evaluation through Abroad 101. Nancy Ericksen, Assistant Director for Study Abroad in the International Programs Office at Trinity, says, “The future is here. With the reality of technological advances and a growing global economy, I believe that the student with international experience has an advantage in preparing for the world of tomorrow. Using The Study Abroad Advantage, our students can showcase their experience and use it in opening contact with employers – leveraging that to start their career.”

Employers are increasingly turning to the web to investigate candidates, discover how well they communicate and present themselves added Martin Tillman, President of Global Career Compass, an international consulting practice focusing on the impact of study abroad on student career development: “There is much evidence (in research conducted by both academics, private companies and research organizations) that the value-added of international education experience to a students’ career development is diminished if students cannot clearly articulate the impact of that experience. The Study Abroad Advantage is a nice way for education abroad advisors and career service counselors to harmonize their professional skills with technology to enhance the value of study abroad for their students.”

The Linkedin group is just the beginning according to Abroad101’s Shay: “We are looking forward to working with university career centers and placement offices as well as large employers to find innovative ways to help these creative, ambitious and now mature students turn their real-world experiences to leap forward in their career development. The core philosophy of The Study Abroad Advantage is to provide a platform to channel the energy and idealism fostered by international education into organizations in need of talent.”

About Abroad101
Founded in 2007, Abroad101 is the first and largest study abroad review website that also gives universities a software tool for evaluating their exchange, faculty-led, third-party provider, volunteer and internship programs. Focusing on American college students looking for a semester or term abroad, this innovative system connects past and future students, parents, advisors and program providers. As part of the platform, the Abroad101 directory of study abroad programs is the most comprehensive database in the field today.

Read this Press Release on PR Web

Social Media & Web Tools for Marketing and Advising

2014 ISEP Conference Hero Image

ISEP Conference

Thursday, November 13, 2:15 – 3:30

Potomac Ballroom D

As International Offices we are dedicated to advancing and internationalization plan because we believe in the transformative nature of global experience for students.  How much of that plan is influenced by our students and how often are we willing to meet our students on their own terms?  This session will explore the importance of leveraging student feedback in planning.  It will also challenge the traditional office-based approach to advising and demonstrate web-based platforms for engagement.

Presenters:

Joseph Burrow, ISEP

Duleep Deosthale, Admissions Table

Mark Shay, Abroad101  – Download presentation:  ISEP Session – Social Media

http://isepconference.wordpress.com/

Most Desired Places to Study Abroad

Web traffic is a great indicator of where students are wanting to study abroad and in this year’s Abroad101 back-to-school where students want to study abroad index, Asia and the Pacific nations are at the top, Europe still popular.

Four of the top 5 countries were in Asia / Pacific, 7 in the top 20.  These include Australia at #1 with a 22% increase in traffic, South Korea at #3 with a 30% increase in traffic and New Zealand at #5 with a 37% increase in traffic .  Japan saw a modest decline and China saw a pretty significant decline (-35%).

As for the always popular destinations in Europe, where 8 of the Top 20 countries are found, traffic was down 3%, fueled by #7 United Kingdom’s 33% drop and #14 France’s 27% decline.  Central Europe was a bright side for Europe with the Czech Republic showing a huge 74% growth and Switzerland growing at 22%.

Abroad101 offers these statistics as an indicator of what’s new in college study abroad and where trends in enrollment may go.  Where students actually do go may differ greatly from this list, which we recognize is a very different topic of conversation.  What drives these trends, is something we only wish we knew!  Do you have any ideas?  Please feel free to comment on trends in study abroad.

The Study Abroad Advantage

 

studyAbroadAdvantage-luggageTag

Putting the Ideals of Study Abroad into Practice,
Abroad101 Announces “The Study Abroad Advantage”

International education software company extends its platform to help students advance their careers.

 

Abroad101 has launched an initiative called “The Study Abroad Advantage.” Designed to help college students gain an edge in the job market after graduation, this collaborative effort involves students, college advisors and prospective employers. Students start their Advantage with a capstone summary of their education abroad published on Abroad101. This review is then shared via social networks and other outlets with prospective employers who are looking for students with international experience, foreign language skills and the maturity that comes from being overseas.

Study Abroad is widely considered advantageous in the job market. Mark Shay, CEO of Abroad101.com stated “the goal of The Study Abroad Advantage is to put this theory into practice by providing a platform for students to showcase how they have grown and matured while overseas. For employers, The Study Abroad Advantage is a place for HR departments, hiring managers and recruiters to get a glimpse into the personality and character of the student as a prospective employee.” Connecting the two is a group on LinkedIn called “The Study Abroad Advantage.” The group was created on August 30 and was joined by over 250 students in the first 5 days. Students in the group link to their study abroad review from their Linkedin profile as a reference point, while employers and job recruiters use the group to connect and network with these stand-out students.

Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, is an early supporter of The Study Abroad Advantage. Trinity has a vibrant study abroad program and requires returning students to complete a program evaluation through Abroad 101. Nancy Ericksen, Assistant Director for Study Abroad in the International Programs Office at Trinity, says, “The future is here. With the reality of technological advances and a growing global economy, I believe that the student with international experience has an advantage in preparing for the world of tomorrow. Using The Study Abroad Advantage, our students can showcase their experience and use it in opening contact with employers – leveraging that to start their career.”

Employers are increasingly turning to the web to investigate candidates, discover how well they communicate and present themselves added Martin Tillman, President of Global Career Compass, an international consulting practice focusing on the impact of study abroad on student career development. “There is much evidence (in research conducted by both academics, private companies and research organizations) that the value-added of international education experience to a students’ career development is diminished if students cannot clearly articulate the impact of that experience. The Study Abroad Advantage is a nice way for education abroad advisors and career service counselors to harmonize their professional skills with technology to enhance the value of study abroad for their students.”

The Linkedin group is just the beginning according to Abroad101’s Shay. “We are looking forward to working with university career centers and placement offices as well as large employers to find innovative ways to help these creative, ambitious and now mature students turn their real-world experiences to leap forward in their career development. The core philosophy of The Study Abroad Advantage is to provide a platform to channel the energy and idealism fostered by international education into organizations in need of talent.”

About Abroad101

Founded in 2007, Abroad101 is the first and largest study abroad review website that also gives universities a software tool for evaluating their exchange, faculty-led, third-party provider, volunteer and internship programs. Focusing on American college students looking for a semester or term abroad, this innovative system connects past and future students, parents, advisors and program providers. As part of the platform, the Abroad101 directory of study abroad programs is the most comprehensive database in the field today. Click to learn more about Abroad101′s Study Abroad Programs, Rankings, Ratings and Reviews

 

Abroad101 Advisors Newsletter – Back to School, Fall 2014

Abroad101-reviews-logo-webNow Live: Abroad101’s Search by Subject

Abroad101 is pleased to announce its latest enhancement, the ability to search for programs by academic subject area. Originating from advisor and student feedback, we pushed providers to update their listings to include subject area and we have now released “search by subject” in our Advanced Search option: http://www.studyabroad101.com/programs Students can now search 238 different fields of study, then select other criteria such as program length, country and city. As we soft-launch this new feature, look for the functionality to expand to other areas of the site in the coming months.

Abroad101 is More than a Pretty Website, it is an Education Abroad Program Evaluation Platform
Abroad101 is promoted publicly as the first and largest study abroad review website; but behind the scenes, more than 30 colleges and universities require their students to complete evaluations in order to receive credit for their education abroad experience. Think of Abroad101 as software, to manage all your international program evaluation needs, an add-on to your enrollment management system and a gateway to your university course evaluation system. In addition to the comprehensive directory of third-party programs, Abroad101 is also an effective platform for evaluating exchanges, faculty-led and consortia programs, along with service learning/volunteer and internship-for-credit programs.

Abroad101 works off a standard 37-question set survey that draws a student through a series of questions to get them to think critically, be reflective and then be forward thinking as they step through the review. Each review is then published with its own unique web page to showcase this experience to the world. Using Abroad101 gives advisors a tool to compile the ratings by program, provider, and city then compare the results to other universities. University administrators can have a single place for all education abroad data and reporting.

It is important for universities in this age of transparency to be forthcoming in the reporting of education abroad experiences. Publishing reviews is a big step in this direction. As the field’s first and largest review platform, using Abroad101 can quickly and effectively align your institution to these expectations. The software is cloud-based and is provided free of charge thanks to the support of leading program providers who advertise on Abroad101.

To request a free account with Abroad101, simply email your name, department and job title to support@Abroad101.com We’ll create an account for you and then work with you to make sure all your endorsed programs are in our directory and provide you with ongoing support in using the system. In addition to the existing third-party programs already in Abroad101, we can also include your faculty-led and home student only programs as well as tie your exchange partners to your account on Abroad101.

Not ready to jump in, but want to learn more? Contact us to schedule an online demo of the back-end tools for our program evaluation and review platform. Send preferred times to: sales@abroad101.com

Give Your Students “The Study Abroad Advantage”
Abroad101 has launched an initiative called “The Study Abroad Advantage.” Designed to help study abroad alumni gain an edge in the job market, the project aims to connect students and employers. Students start their advantage with a capstone summary of their education abroad published on Abroad101, which will then be shared with prospective employers who have indicated a bias toward those with an international education experience.

The core of the project is a group on Linkedin called “The Study Abroad Advantage.” The group was created at the beginning of September and was joined by over 250 students in the first 5 days. Students in the group link their study abroad review from their Linkedin profile. Employers and job recruiters are invited to join the group and to network with these globally minded students. Discussions and announcements further help students with their search and showcase their talents and abilities.

We encourage education abroad and career advisors to highlight “The Study Abroad Advantage” as yet another benefit of completing a well-crafted, thoughtful review on Abroad101. For students, the review should be a point-of-pride and a showcase of what they experienced and how they were affected and how they matured. More and more, employers are checking backgrounds on students and a linked, published education abroad review is a positive way to demonstrate the benefits of study abroad and to help jump start a student’s career.

Abroad101 on the Road
Abroad101 will attend, exhibit and present sessions at a number of conferences this fall. We hope to see you at:

NAFSA X-XI in Albany, NY
NAFSA III in Fort Worth, TX
NAFSA VI in Lexington, KY
ISEP Conference in Arlington VA
CIEE Conference in Baltimore, MD.

Postcards for your On-Campus Fairs
For those of you having study abroad fairs and workshops, we hope you will include Abroad101 in your plans. We have postcards and brochures available as handouts for your events and reference libraries, please email support@abroad101.com and let us know how many to send and a mailing address.

Don’t forget the Abroad101 Blog:
If you hadn’t noticed, the Abroad101 blog has come back to life. There you will see guest postings from professionals in the field, our crowd funding initiative called “the Abroad101 Student of the Week” plus additional news and numbers from Abroad101. Where else can you find news like this?

• Emily is the most common first name of students who study abroad
• University College London is the 2nd most popular direct enrollment institution
• CEA is the 4th most popular provider.

With 2-3 postings in an average week, its worth a visit to http://oldblog.studyabroad101.com for some engaging reading.

Here are some of our more popular blog posts (some remain timeless):
Using your study abroad experience beyond college
Finding the perfect Host Family gift
Parents: What to do before your son or daughter leaves to study abroad

Abroad101 on Social Media:
Abroad101 is syndicating content now more than ever. 4-8 times per day we are feeding a recently reviewed program, notable review, blog post or popular directory page into our social media networks. Our campaigns for “Cool Program of the Week” and the “Jump Into Study Abroad” photo gallery help spread the word of the positive aspects of study abroad to a growing audience of parents, students and advisors. Our Pinterest boards are picking up some of the best photos and sharing them and now we’re also on Instagram. For alumni we’re using social media to help foster positive outcomes through initiatives like “The Study Abroad Advantage” and we need you to help spread the word. To make the Social in Social Media work, we ask that you bring our initiatives to the attention of your student office workers and student ambassadors and have them connect to us to help us share the good news about education abroad. Please connect to:

http://www.Facebook.com/abroad101
https://twitter.com/studyabroad101
http://www.pinterest.com/studyabroad101/
http://instagram.com/studyabroad101
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Study-Abroad-Advantage-8159424/about

And of course, please don’t forget to add a good old fashion link to StudyAbroad101.com from your advising web page.

As always, we’re here to help. Please feel free to send comments, suggestions and your general feedback direct to me:

Mark Shay, CEO
Abroad101
mark@abroad101.com
+1-212-321-0928

 

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Summer 2014 Abroad101 Advisors Newsletter:

Abroad101-reviews-logo-web

Ah Summer, the time to…
…invite recently returned students to submit their program reviews!  Last week alone, the Abroad101 system sent 1065 invites to students, coming from providers, advisors and host institutions.  Now is the ideal time for advisors and students to catch up on “paperwork” and reflecting on their recent education abroad experience is a perfect summer task.

Nearly 90% of the reviews on Abroad101 originate from an invite, making this a vital part of the process.  FYI – 70% of the reviews come from advisor invites, 20% from provider invites and the remaining reviews come from students who discover us on their own.

As a reminder, the most effective way to generate reviews is to use the “invite tool” in your account with Abroad101.  Using the invite tool not only makes it easy, it sends reminders to those that don’t complete a review and it doesn’t send reminders to those that do.  If your institution does not require reviews, you should expect that 15% of students you invite would complete a review.

Requiring reviews provides you with a wealth of data and tools to compare your students to the others that use Abroad101.  You can also add custom review questions to our standard set of 37.  You can see the review questions here: http://oldblog.studyabroad101.com/2014/05/advisors-and-providers-the-abroad101-study-abroad-review-questions/

Our latest guest blog posting identifies five reasons a students should complete a review.  We offer this to you as content to help students understand that completing a review is also good for the student, please read: http://oldblog.studyabroad101.com/2014/07/top-5-reasons-to-write-an-education-abroad-review/
Also, tips on writing a good review:
http://oldblog.studyabroad101.com/2014/02/tips-for-writing-a-review-of-your-time-abroad/

New: Home Students Only Programs
For all programs listed on the Abroad101, we have a data field known as Program Management to help guide placement in the directories.  It has values of “Outside Provider”, “Direct Exchange” and “Faculty Led.” In response to feedback from advisors, we have added a new “Home Students Only” category that allows for a program to be listed and designated as available to only students at the home university.  Programs labeled as Home Students Only will still be listed in the directories for reviews, but they will not be open to inquiries from outside students.  This removes a big barrier for listing university programs that are not open to students from other universities and was added to support the growing number of universities that require evaluations through Abroad101.  If you would like your in-house or home students only programs added to Abroad101, please send them in a spreadsheet to: support@abroad101.com

Sharing Reviews – Part 1: THE WIDGET:
Abroad101 now has 2 widgets to bring our data to your web site. A widget is small block of computer code that when placed on your web page(s) easily displays review summaries on your page.

University Widget brings a list of the top reviewed pre-approved programs to your web site.  A box with up to 7 programs can be placed on your study abroad web home page or testimonials page that shows a sampling of the programs you designate as recommended or pre-approved.  Installing the widget is fairly simple:

  1. Visit: http://www.studyabroad101.com/university_widget
  2. Choose your university, the width and the number of programs to display, click “generate code”
  3. Copy that code to your web page and insert in a way similar to putting in a photo or graphic

Program Widget is designed as a badge and creates a small sized icon that highlights an individual program’s star rating and number of reviews.  It is an ideal addition to your directory of programs and can feature a provider’s program or one of your own.  Installing the widget is even simpler than the university widget:

  1. Visit: http://www.studyabroad101.com/program_widget
  2. Choose the width and the program to display, click “generate code”
  3. Copy that code to your web page and insert in a way similar to putting in a photo or graphic

Pre-Approved Lists:

To use the University Widget, you must also have created a pre-approved or recommended programs list.  To create a list:

  1. Login to your advisor account on Abroad101
  2. From your Administration Dashboard, under Program Listings, select Approve More Programs
  3. Search for programs using region, country, organizer (provider) and Load Programs
  4. Check the desired programs and click the Approve Selected button

For those of you that would like us to create this list for you, please provide us with a spreadsheet of recommended or pre-approved programs and email them to: support@Abroad101.com

The pre-approved programs list is published on the Abroad101 home page for your university and is housed on the tab next to the summary of your student reviews.  Also, when your students visit the site and login, they will see these pre-approved programs highlighted as they browse the site, another benefit of using the pre-approved/recommended programs option.

Sharing Data – Part 2: THE API:
If the badges or content boxes aren’t enough, Abroad101 is delighted to announce its new API gateway.  We have created an advanced interface to automatically pass data (reviews and student inquiries) from our system to that of providers and universities.  API code and routines on your computer systems pull data from ours and post it where you’d like.  The data can go to your student information system, CRM system or back to your web site.  Documentation and your unique API Key can be found at the bottom left of your Abroad101 account dashboard, or here: http://www.studyabroad101.com/help/api-docs#reviews-getting-a-list-of-reviews

Training, Staff Development and private Webinars:
Your account on Abroad101 has basic information about using the system and suggestions for you to follow, but if you’d prefer a more personal touch, we’re available for training sessions either by phone or through a private Webinar.  Sessions take about an hour and can be scheduled at your convenience.  For more details, please contact: mark@Abroad101.com

Coming Soon: Search by subject!
Today the directories of programs on Abroad101 are organized by city and country.  By the time the Fall Semester begins, we will have a search by subject option and directories of programs by their subject area.  We have been working with providers to collect subject area data on programs and will reorganize the subject list in conjunction with the upgrade.  Look for details in our next newsletter.

Thanks to the Providers:
Abroad101 continues to offer its directory and publishing tools free of charge to advisors and students due to the support of our advertisers, the best of the study abroad providers.  The money they invest in advertising is the money we use to operate and further develop our industry leading program review and evaluation platform.  You will notice their support on the site through the Featured Programs listings.  Please encourage your students to use this part of the site and thank those providers; it’s because of them Abroad101 remains: Fast. Free. Easy.

Please don’t forget to follow and join our activity on Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/Abroad101
https://twitter.com/StudyAbroad101
http://www.pinterest.com/studyabroad101/

Enjoy!

Mark Shay
Mark@Abroad101.com
+1-610-357-4648

Abroad101 Advertising Guide

Abroad101 is the first and largest study abroad review website.  Founded in 2007, our target audience is American university students looking for a semester or short-term abroad.  Much of our traffic and a majority of our reviews come from collaboration with university advisors who use us in their work with students to assure they receive academic credit for their experience.  Over 200 US colleges and universities promote Abroad101 to their students, over 140 have used our system to invite students to submit reviews.  Abroad101 serves as the official study abroad program evaluation tool at over 30 institutions who require  their students to submit their evaluations through our system.
Many of those who view Abroad101 are students and their parents,who are looking to validate their choices or expand on their initial selections.  If you are a program provider or offer a service related to American students studying abroad, Abroad101 offers affordable and cost-effective advertising to reach these students.
Click here to view the current Abroad101-Advertising_Guide or contact sales@abroad101.com for more details.

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Abroad101 Newsletter – Late Spring 2014

 

Abroad101-reviews-logo-web

Greetings,

It’s a busy time of year those of us working in study abroad; students returning from spring semester abroad, new students for the summer term, production of promotional material for the next season of recruiting and the ritual of marketing and advertising budgets. Abroad101 looks forward to being included in each of these steps and thanks you for taking a few moments to review our progress.

Reviews are Good for Students
This is a message you’ll be hearing a lot more from Abroad101 – published reviews are good for the student! A well-written published review is a testimonial of a student’s experience abroad and should be used to the student’s advantage well after they return to campus. A well-constructed thoughtful review will give students an edge with employers, grad schools, and in other potential post-graduate opportunities. Reviews provide an opportunity to showcase the student’s writing, analytical skills and allows the student to make personal statements about the impact of their experience and personal discoveries. For the student, the power of a published review comes from both a reflection of the past and a pledge to the future. Links to it from resumes, cover letters and online profiles (like LinkedIn) should help the student better leverage the abroad experience in the future.

For the students leaving on summer programs, we suggest you include mention of the review process as part of the pre-departure orientation and in early stages of advising. Getting them thinking about reviews early in the term is never a bad idea!

Get More Reviews Through Tools in your Abroad101 Providers Account
As students complete their time abroad, we encourage you to invite them to tell their story and submit program reviews to Abroad101. Using the “invite tool” from your Abroad101 account portal is the most effective way to draw reviews as the links in our email messages make it easier for students to find their program. The system also tracks their progress sending them timely reminders to complete the process, if needed. Our invite tool produces much higher completion rates than your own email reminders or newsletters, plus using it will eliminate duplication if university advisors have already invited their students to submit a review.

Update/Bolster your Directory Listings on Abroad101: Get us Photos – “Search by Subject” is coming
Whether you participate with free or paid listings, summer is a great time to update your directory entries on Abroad101. Next to reviews, photos are the best way to improve the performance of your listings and photos of students in action are the most popular. Each listing on Abroad101 has one feature photo position; a thumbnail of the image shows in the directory and a larger version on the program page. You can upload a photo to this position and add up to 10 others for a slide show for each program through your account login/portal on Abroad101.

Today, most users navigate the site using city and country search options and links. Some users are drawn to the advanced search feature when looking for program options. This summer we will rollout a “search by subject” enhancement that will give users another tool to find programs that meet their academic area of interest. Updating your listings to include these details will help students find your programs. The directory features are available to all providers with free or paid listings.

The Student Lead API is coming
It’s been a few months since we began sending student inquiries directly to providers, and the response has been great. Student feedback has been positive too as this new process gets prospective students a quicker response. For our advertisers, soon the process will be even faster through our Student Lead API. This summer, the gateway will be opened and specs will be released detailing how you can get the lead data posted right into your CRM system when a student completes the form on Abroad101. Then, with a little bit of ingenuity you’ll then be able to auto-respond and communicate with the student seconds after they’ve sent the inquiry. That should impress students and really improve conversion rates!

Let us be Your Exclusive Review Provider
Our review management tool was designed for university advisors, but with a little modification we can make it provider friendly too. Our system is very flexible and our tech team very capable, so in exchange for us processing all your student reviews, we’re willing to offer some added features and functionality. There may be some modest cost, depending on your requirements but nobody knows review tools like Abroad101 – let us build something for you!

Did you know that over 30 universities require their students to complete reviews on Abroad101? Administrators at these universities are provided with extra tools to compare and report their students’ progress. Students meanwhile would love to have to do only one review and have it available to both the university and the provider. Our second API, scheduled for fall release will look to pass reviews to and from the Abroad101 system. It will make the single review a much smoother process and give providers a better way to display Abroad101 reviews on your website.

You can see the list of the standard set of 37 review questions here: http://oldblog.studyabroad101.com/2014/05/advisors-and-providers-the-abroad101-study-abroad-review-questions/

Doing our Part to Grow Study Abroad
Abroad101 is in a position to help expand participation in education abroad. By publicizing our ratings, rankings and reviews we give students and their families a sense of security in going abroad. With messaging centered on the future benefits of a well-crafted review, we will push the virtues of the international experience to employers, helping dispel some of the negative stereotypes of study abroad.

Another initiative is designed to provide direct support to students through a partnership we launched with GoEnnounce, an education oriented crowd-funding platform. The initiative sponsors one student each week, showcasing their mission to study abroad and proving them with a small amount of seed money. In turn, the families and supporters of the student will be asked to also contribute. Using reviews as an education tool, we intend to show those in the student’s direct circle some real life examples of the chosen program’s impact on similar young adults. When you see a link for our student of the week, please click it and please consider a modest contribution to help bring one more student abroad. One by one, step by step, we can build the numbers of students abroad and break down barriers that keep students from believing they can participate. Your contributions mean more than money; they are votes of confidence that ripple out to that student’s circle of support.

Your can read more about this initiative in the Abroad101 partnership with GoEnnounce press release – http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/05/prweb11829272.htm
or the “Crowd Funding for Study Abroad” article in The PIE News. http://thepienews.com/news/abroad101-sponsors-crowd-funding-campaigns/

Visit the Abroad101 booth (#1048) at NAFSA
If you are headed to NAFSA, please visit the exhibit hall and visit Abroad101 booth to pick up a few of the soon to be collectable Abroad101 T-Shirts. Not only will we have the usual heavy-duty men’s style, we’ll have lots of WOMEN’S cut T-Shirts. Bring some home for the interns and they’ll be sure to update those free listings!

Stop by and say hello to both Mark and Sherry Shay, you’ll find us in booth #1048 at the back of row 1000.