January 28, 2000

The Importance of Studying Abroad

To the Editor:

I applaud the Institute of International Education for its recent quantitative survey that measures participation in study-abroad programs, preferred destinations, and participant characteristics ("15% Rise in American Students Abroad Shows Popularity of Non-European Destinations," December 10). However, our research needs to focus as well on the qualitative aspects of study-abroad programs. ... We need, for example, to discriminate between the