A new report from the Institute of International Education (IIE) revealed that Grand Valley State University was ranked 11th in the nation among master’s degree-granting colleges and universities for its number of study abroad participants during the 2013-14 academic year. However, statistics from the 2014-15 academic year show overall participation has declined slightly.

In the IIE report, GVSU had a total of 753 study abroad participants in the 2013-14 academic year. Among other institutions within Michigan, GVSU ranked third, behind the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.

According to an overall study abroad participation report compiled at GVSU, the 2014-15 academic year saw 688 students participating in the study abroad program – a total of 65 students less than the IIE reported the year before.

Mark Schaub, chief international officer at the Padnos International Center, said study abroad participation at GVSU has been staying relatively stable for a while now.

“It not really growing,” Schaub said. “I think if you look at the last 10 years you’ll see it’s plateaued. We grew and then we stayed put – there’s been some ups and downs, but we’re at a plateau.”

The same GVSU report shows that study abroad participation has been steadily decreasing since the 2011-12 academic year, when 807 students studied abroad – the highest participation number recorded among all the years.

Because the IIE does not take into account the size of each institution when researching study abroad participation, Schaub said the numbers in its latest report may be misleading.

“It’s wonderful in one sense, but in another sense it’s not really indicative of what’s going on,” Schaub said. “I think it’s more important to look at percentages. At GVSU, about 14 percent of our undergraduates graduate from GVSU with international experience. I think that’s the number that’s more important and relevant to us at GVSU.”

The study abroad program continues to grow in other ways, though. According to the GVSU study abroad participation report, the 2014-15 academic year offered 32 different faculty-led programs – the most available to date.

The same report revealed that participation in study abroad programs in the current fall semester is the largest it’s ever been at 92 students. If this trend keeps up, it’s possible for participation numbers to be higher than last year.

GVSU is also continuing in its effort to make study abroad programs more affordable and convenient for students, most notably through a new Erasmus+ scholarship deal.

With the Erasmus+ scholarship, students selected to participate in a study abroad program at one of three European universities partnered with GVSU are given financial aid to support travel costs.

“Now our students have access to Erasmus+ scholarships, which is a European union scholarship to go to three GVSU partners: Middle East Technical University in Turkey, University of Babes-Bolyai in Romania and Cracow University of Economics in Poland,” Schaub said. “We continue to sign these agreements that give our students access to affordable programs and scholarships.”

Rebecca Hambleton, director of study abroad and international partnerships at the PIC, said GVSU’s ranking in the recent IIE report could not have been achieved without the work done by faculty, staff and the outreach/advising teams.

“We have an excellent outreach and advising team to help inform students of the vast array of opportunities available,” Hambleton said. “Additionally, we see strong support from faculty and staff who are often instrumental in encouraging students to take advantage of these experiences. We are very pleased to be ranked 11th in the country for master’s institutions sending students abroad.”

For more information about GVSU study abroad programs, go to www.gvsu.edu/studyabroad.