1.This Act may be cited as
the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Act
of 2006
.
2.
(a)Congress makes the following
findings:
(1)According to
President George W. Bush, America’s leadership and national security
rest on our commitment to educate and prepare our youth for active engagement
in the international community.
.
(2)According to
former President William J. Clinton, Today, the defense of United States
interests, the effective management of global issues, and even an understanding
of our Nation’s diversity require ever-greater contact with, and understanding
of, people and cultures beyond our borders.
.
(3)Congress created
the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program in
section 104(a) of Division H of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004
(Public Law 108–199). Pursuant to its mandate, the Commission has submitted to
Congress and the President a report of its recommendations for greatly
expanding the opportunity for students at institutions of higher education in
the United States to study abroad, with special emphasis on studying in
developing nations and nontraditional study abroad destinations.
(4)Studies
consistently show that United States students score below their counterparts in
other advanced countries on indicators of international knowledge. This lack of
global literacy is a national liability in an age of global trade and business,
global interdependence, and global terror.
(5)By numbers
ranging from 77 to more than 90 percent, Americans believe that it is important
for their children to learn other languages, study abroad, attend a college
where they can interact with international students, learn about other
countries and cultures, and generally be prepared for the global age, according
to a December 2005 national survey conducted by Lake Research Partners and the
Tarrance Group.
(6)In today’s world,
it is more important than ever for the United States to be a responsible,
constructive leader that other countries are willing to follow. Such leadership
cannot be sustained without an informed citizenry with much more knowledge and
awareness of the world than most Americans tend to possess.
(7)Study abroad has
proven to be a very effective means of imparting international and
foreign-language competency to students.
(8)In the 2003–2004
academic year, an estimated 16,910,000 students were enrolled in United States
postsecondary institutions, yet only 191,321, representing approximately 1
percent of those students, studied abroad for academic credit, according to the
National Center for Education Statistics and the Institute of International
Education, respectively.
(9)Less than 10
percent of the students who graduate from United States institutions of higher
education with bachelors degrees have studied abroad.
(10)Far more study
abroad must take place in the developing countries. Ninety-five percent of the
world’s population growth is anticipated to occur outside of Europe in the
future. Yet in the academic year 2003–2004, 61 percent of United States
students studying abroad studied in Europe, and 46 percent studied in the 4
countries of the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and France, according to the
Institute of International Education.
(11)Study abroad
helps to build mutual understanding among nations and serves to promote
national leadership in the United States, international effectiveness, and
economic competitiveness by helping to create a globally literate
citizenry.
(12)The Senate
designated 2006 as the Year of Study Abroad, raising awareness of the
importance of study abroad.
(13)To complement
such worthwhile Federal programs as the Benjamin A. Gilman International
Scholarship Program and the National Security Education Program, a broad-based
undergraduate study abroad program is needed that will democratize study abroad
and make opportunities of study abroad accessible to all undergraduate
students, regardless of their field of study, ethnicity, socio-economic status,
or gender.
(14)A majority of
barriers to study abroad are due to institutional policies at the campus level,
according to a report of the Strategic Task Force on Education Abroad issued by
NAFSA: Association of International Educators.
(15)To make study
abroad an integral part of undergraduate students’ education, regardless of
field of study, ethnicity, socio-economic status, or gender, institutions of
higher education should address institutional barriers that stand in the way of
study abroad.
(16)According to the
Institute of International Education, the percentages of African-American,
Asian-American, and Hispanic-American students among individuals studying
abroad are extremely low and underrepresentative of the numbers of those
students in the general student population.
(17)The majority of
students who study abroad are students in the social sciences, humanities, and
foreign languages, while students who major in engineering, mathematics,
computer science, or education are underrepresented in study abroad programs.
Within the total enrolled United States undergraduate population, approximately
10.7 percent of United States students majoring in business have studied
abroad, 8 percent of United States students majoring in engineering have
studied abroad, and 5.9 percent of United States students majoring in education
have studied abroad.
(18)Recognizing that
the international scope of scientific research in United States institutions of
higher education and government facilities is often conducted by foreign-born
scientists, the effectiveness of their work will be greatly enhanced by United
States researchers who have similarly spent time studying abroad.
(b)It
is the purpose of this Act—
(1)to encourage not
less than 1,000,000 undergraduate students in United States institutions of
higher education to study abroad for academic credit within 10 years of the
date of enactment of this Act; and
(2)to establish an
Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Program that—
(A)reflects the
demographics of the United States undergraduate population, including
undergraduate students in technical and scientific fields of study;
(B)ensures an
increasing portion of study abroad takes place in nontraditional study abroad
destinations, with a substantial portion of such increases taking place in
developing countries; and
(C)is accessible by
students at diverse types of institutions of higher education, including 2-year
institutions, minority-serving institutions, and institutions that serve
nontraditional students.
3.In this Act:
(1)Institution of
higher educationThe term institution of higher
education has the meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
(2)Minority-serving
institutionThe term minority-serving institution
means—
(A)a part B
institution, as defined in section 322 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1061);
(B)a
Hispanic-serving institution, as defined in section 502(a) of such Act (20
U.S.C. 1101a(a)); or
(C)another school
that traditionally serves a racial or ethnic minority, as determined by the
Secretary after consultation with the Secretary of Education.
(3)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of State.
4.Abraham Lincoln
Study Abroad Program
(a)The Secretary is authorized to establish and carry out an
Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Program to facilitate the participation of
undergraduate students in study abroad for academic credit. The program shall
consist of the following:
(1)Fellowships for
undergraduate students
(A)From
amounts made available under section 5(1), the Secretary shall award
fellowships to undergraduate students to enable the students to study abroad
for academic credit.
(B)Fellowships
awarded under this paragraph shall be known as Lincoln
Fellowships
.
(2)Grants to
institutions of higher education
(A)From amounts made available under section 5(2), the
Secretary shall award grants to institutions of higher education—
(i)to enable the
institutions of higher education to award fellowships to undergraduate students
to enable the students to study abroad for academic credit; and
(ii)for the reform
of academic programs and institutional policies that inhibit participation by
students in study abroad.
(B)Grants
awarded under this paragraph shall be known as Lincoln Institutional
Leverage Grants
.
(C)Each
institution of higher education that receives a grant under this paragraph
shall use not less than 85 percent of the grant funds to award fellowships to
students under subparagraph (A)(i).
(b)The Secretary shall ensure that—
(1)fellowships
awarded under subsections (a)(1)(A) and (a)(2)(A)(i) reflect the demographics
of the United States undergraduate population; and
(2)there is an
annual increase in the number or percentage of fellowships awarded under
subsections (a)(1)(A) and (a)(2)(A)(i) for study abroad taking place in
nontraditional study abroad destinations, with a substantial portion of such
increase taking place in developing countries.
(c)Program
development and implementationThe Secretary shall, to the extent
practicable, consult with nonprofit and private organizations with experience
in programs involving study abroad for academic credit, in establishing and
carrying out the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Program.
(d)Coordination
with other Federal study abroad activitiesThe Secretary may
integrate the activities assisted under this section with other undergraduate
study abroad activities supported by the Department of State, the Department of
Education, and the Department of Defense.
5.Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such sums as may be
necessary for fiscal year 2008 and for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years,
of which—
(1)25 percent of such sums shall be available
to carry out section 4(a)(1) for each fiscal year; and
(2)75 percent of
such sums shall be available to carry out section 4(a)(2) for each fiscal
year.