Two Schools Abroad Undergo External Review

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — Middlebury’s C.V. Starr Schools Abroad in France and Italy have undergone an extensive external review and been determined to meet or exceed the standards for good practice as prescribed by the nonprofit Forum on Education Abroad.

The review enabled Middlebury to examine its operations and policies pertaining to study abroad, and to evaluate how its programs comply with all elements of the Forum’s Standards for Good Practice for Education Abroad.

Susan W. Parsons, a Middlebury study abroad advisor, explains: “We used to have only a broad set of learning outcomes for the Schools Abroad as a whole. Our peer reviewers at the Forum on Education Abroad strongly recommended that a mission statement and learning goals be developed specifically for the School in France and the School in Italy. We are finalizing those now, not only for those two Schools, but for each of our Schools Abroad.”

Middlebury has Schools Abroad in 17 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, China, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Morocco, Russia, Spain, United Kingdom, and Uruguay.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission recognize the nonprofit Forum as the only organization qualified to develop standards for quality in study abroad for American colleges and universities. Middlebury College has been a member of the Forum on Education Abroad since its founding in 2001.