The Quest for Global Competence – Effects of Study Abroad Literature on Oregon State University Students

This thesis explores the effects study abroad literature, specifically promotional Websites, have on\ud Oregon State University students when selecting a study abroad program and if the students’ choices reflect\ud OSU’s International Degree and Education Abroad’s (IDEA) goal of global competency for students.\ud To explore this, two online surveys were made; one for OSU students who have not yet studied\ud abroad (Potential Students) but are interested in doing so, and another of OSU students who have studied\ud abroad in the past five years (Returnees). Both surveys asked the student to review five study abroad\ud program Websites and answer a variety of questions regarding each.\ud The relationship between the students who have not yet studied abroad and the purpose of the study\ud is to examine how media – study abroad Websites – affect the students’ choices of a study abroad program.\ud Prospective Students' reactions to Websites will be compared to those of students who have studied abroad\ud to examine if the expectations – set by the study abroad literature – met the expectations of the educational\ud institution's goal of global competency.\ud The findings indicate that students’ perspectives of study abroad Websites, vary significantly\ud between those who have and have not studied abroad. Potential Students and Returnees responded to the\ud Websites in almost opposite ways. Potential Students reacted to visual elements of the Websites more so\ud than the information provided about the study abroad program when deciding likes and dislikes of a\ud program. While the material reviewed was exactly the same for both participant populations, the perceived\ud messages, the likes and dislikes, and the promotion of global competency was different in each population