Study Abroad: Overview 2017 to 2023
Office of Institutional Research
April 10, 2024
Overview
The study sample consists of 1,339 students who studied abroad for at least one semester or summer term from 2017 to 2023.
The entire study period was divided into seven-time windows, each consisting of spring, summer, and summer terms. For example, SpSuFa2017 is the first time window for students studying abroad in the spring 2017, fall 2017, or summer 2017 term.
The full sample of 1,339 students was included in examining the top 10 countries and demographic characteristics of students.
Among 1,339 students, 23 have studied abroad as graduate students or did not enroll in any SFSU courses but earned credits from CSU International Programs in their first semester since entrance to SFSU.
From examining the first term abroad or the relationship between the study abroad experience and the outcomes (GPA or graduation), those 23 cases were removed (n = 1,316, including 865 FTF and 451 UGT students).
In examining the Top 10 Locations, all countries if students studied abroad in multiple locations were counted. The primary value is the percentage of counts for a particular location within a given time window.
In calculating the first term abroad, the cohort_term was used, defined as the first term when a student enrolled in SFSU courses as a full-time student. Accordingly, the first baseline term does not necessarily correspond with students’ matriculation terms if students have enrolled in some courses not to the full load since entrance to SFSU.
Select the relevant tab_section, and hover the mouse cursor over points on the plot to check the plotted data. Clicking a category in the legend will select or un-select a particular graph.
Key Findings
The most frequently selected location includes France(12.55% of 2017 total), France(15.14% of 2018 total), France(15.49% of 2019 total), France(19.26% of 2020 total), South Korea(27.66% of 2021 total), United Kingdom(20.87% of 2022 total), and Japan(19.28% of 2023 total).
In 2017, the study-abroad rates for various demographic subgroups were 1% or below. The trend increased in 2018 but dropped in 2020 due to the pandemic and the resultant global lockdown.
In 2023, the rates were rebounded to the level of 2017.
Demographically, students who are female, white, not URM, or Pell-eligible and whose parents have college experiences are more likely to study abroad than their counterparts.
The most frequently selected semester or summer when students study abroad for the first time is the fifth semester for first-time freshman students and the third semester for undergraduate transfer students.
Top 10 Locations
Gender
Ethnicity
URM status
Pell Eligibility
Parent Educational Background
First Term Abroad
Impact on GPA
Methods
In this phase of the analysis, we refined the study sample through propensity score matching. Initially, we focused on individuals who participated in study abroad programs during their undergraduate studies. We then identified a ‘comparison’ group from the broader student population over seven years, selecting individuals who closely matched the study abroad students in terms of demographic factors such as gender, parent education background, Pell Grant eligibility, and underrepresented minority (URM) status. The matching process also aimed to pair students of equivalent student level (e.g., matching Juniors with Juniors in their final term of study abroad). However, it’s important to note that perfect matches across all criteria were not always feasible. The effectiveness of the matches was assessed, leading to the selection of the final sample for analysis.
After ensuring the quality of the matches, the final sample comprised 1,300 study abroad students (SA Group) and 2,600 matched students (Comparison Group), with each study abroad student paired with two counterparts. These pairs were matched based on similar demographic characteristics and academic levels at specific points in time.
The primary measure of interest is the term GPA for the designated semester. This ‘target’ semester was defined for each set of three students (one from the SA Group and two counterparts) based on the last semester the SA student participated in a study abroad program. The ‘target’ semester refers to the first subsequent semester in which each student in the trio enrolled in more than ten units following the study abroad term. This approach allows for a comparison of GPAs while accounting for the academic load during the target semester.
Additionally, prior academic performance was considered an important factor. The aim was to compare the GPAs of the SA students and their counterparts during the target semester while adjusting for previous academic achievements, represented by the cumulative GPA before the target semester. Given the challenges of meeting ANCOVA assumptions with GPA data, which often exhibits skewness, we undertook necessary data preparation and transformations to ensure the data was appropriate for ANCOVA analysis.
Key Findings
Students in the ‘Study Abroad’ group exhibit a higher term GPA, with a mean of 3.34 and a median of 3.5, compared to the comparison group, which has a mean of 3.13 and a median of 3.34. Regarding prior academic performance, students in the Study Abroad group surpass their comparison counterparts with scores of 3.27 and 3.08, respectively. To assess the statistical significance of the difference in term GPA between the two groups, this existing gap was accounted for in the analysis.
The results from the ANCOVA reveal that students who participated in study abroad programs achieve higher term GPAs than those with similar demographic backgrounds and academic standings who did not participate in such programs. The adjusted mean term GPA for the Study Abroad group is 3.32, compared to 3.28 for the comparison group, a difference that is found to be statistically significant.
## Df Sum Sq Mean Sq F value Pr(>F)
## group 1 844 844 77.76 <2e-16 ***
## pre_gpa 1 15963 15963 1471.32 <2e-16 ***
## Residuals 3303 35835 11
## ---
## Signif. codes: 0 '***' 0.001 '**' 0.01 '*' 0.05 '.' 0.1 ' ' 1## group emmean SE df lower.CL upper.CL
## Study Abroad 11.0 0.0967 3303 10.8 11.2
## Comparison 10.7 0.0718 3303 10.6 10.9
##
## Confidence level used: 0.95