US may allot $120 million for study abroad programs

The US Congress is considering providing millions for study abroad programs.

The US government will allot $120 million for study abroad programs, if a bill intended to send a million more students abroad by 2020 passes congress.

The Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act, named after the late senator who originally proposed the legislation, would provide grants to students, colleges and
nongovernmental institutions. It currently authorizes $40 million in funding for study abroad programs in 2010 and $80 million in 2011.

The bill was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in June as part of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011 (H.R. 2410). Next step: the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The funding would focus on supporting study abroad programs in developing countries and would channel funding through a range of institutions, including “2-year institutions, minority-serving institutions, and institutions that serve nontraditional students, and 4-year colleges and universities demonstrating an institutional commitment to increasing study abroad participation.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 5:00 am and is filed under Articles, Colleges, Finances, News, Planning, United States. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.