Washington — Colleges seeking help in expanding their study-abroad programs will soon have a new resource: the Center for Capacity Building in Study Abroad, a joint effort of Nafsa: Association of International Educators and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.

In a news release, Nafsa and Nasulgc, as the groups are known, said they were starting the center in anticipation of the passage of the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act, which calls for a vast expansion in the number of American students who go abroad.

“Expanding study abroad as envisioned by the Simon Act will require a broader institutional commitment, more innovative programming, and an increase in enrollment capacity overseas,” said M. Peter McPherson, Nasulgc’s president, in the release. “The center’s action agenda of community engagement and the creation of a portal of information and resources for leaders and study-abroad professionals to use moving forward is a crucial contribution to this effort.”

The center will provide information, organize conferences, and create “action teams” of colleges that are looking to expand their study-abroad programs, according to its Web site. It will also identify emerging study-abroad markets and advise colleges on how to tap into them.

The center will be headed by Margaret Heisel, deputy vice provost of academic affairs for the University of California system. She will take up the post in September, working out of Nasulgc’s offices here.

Additional support for the center is being provided by the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the American Council on Education, the Association of American Universities, and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. —Beth McMurtrie