Programs and Partnerships
IIE’s Center for Access and Equity leverages programs and partnerships that examine the intersection of international education with diversity, equity, inclusion, and access.
We focus on creating learning opportunities for participants, organizations, and countries, and utilizing our convening power to generate mutually beneficial opportunities.
Current examples include:
Council for Opportunity in Education (COE)
Our partnership with the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) contributes to our mission to support more equitable access to international education among underrepresented communities. COE is a nationally recognized U.S.-based nonprofit organization dedicated to furthering the expansion of college opportunities for low-income and first-generation students, as well as students with disabilities. The Center and COE will enhance and support existing and new programming and activities, including the Center’s American Passport Project and COE’s study abroad programming and TRIO network. Federal TRIO Programs help students overcome economic, social, academic, and cultural barriers to higher education. In addition, the organizations will share and collaborate on informational resources and convene subject matter experts to engage with students and advisors through educational webinars, COE’s Keith Sherin Global Leaders program, and the COE Annual Conference.
Leaders of the Free World Partnership
Our partnership with Leaders of the Free World (LFW) contributes to our mission to support more equitable access to international education among underrepresented communities. LFW is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization specializing in global leadership development for Black male students in higher education. The Center and LFW will enhance and support existing and new programming and activities aimed at increasing study abroad participation among Black men in college or university. The organizations will convene subject matter experts with the students through talks, small networking receptions, and educational webinars, as well as explore research collaborations. In addition, IIE will sponsor a student and personnel to the LFW Fellowship and Mentorship programs.
Dickinson Partnership
Our partnership with Dickinson College provides much-needed education that goes beyond cultural awareness education and instead reimagines an international education framework that incorporates global, intercultural , and equity inclusion lenses. Dickinson and IIE offer workshops about inclusivity and intercultural competency geared toward higher education professionals, faculty members , and international educators across sectors, including NGOs, foundations, and federal government agencies from around the world, whose work requires advanced knowledge and skills in support of equitable, global community building.
IIE American Passport Project
It has long been part of IIE’s mission to increase participation and diversity in study abroad and to extend these benefits to all students, regardless of socioeconomic status. For students of limited means, studying abroad can require long-term planning and involve financial hurdles, like the cost of a passport, which could bar them from moving forward. With support from IIE’s Board of Trustees and generous donors, IIE plans to enable 10,000 U.S. students to have passports by the end of this decade, empowering them to study abroad with ongoing guidance from their U.S. institutions.
