ABSTRACT
This chapter utilizes the term “learning abroad” to describe the diversity of international experience in which students engage while in college or university. It explores the following questions: Why is employability an expected outcome for higher education? What are factors that have influenced the coupling of learning abroad with national strategies for promoting employability as an outcome for higher education? Universities around the world have increasingly embraced learning abroad as a “high-impact practice” for helping students develop intercultural skills, self-efficacy, the ability to work with people of diverse backgrounds, and a global outlook. Employability is a widely expected outcome for higher education and, increasingly, learning abroad programs are evaluated by how well they prepare students for success in entering the workforce. The expectation that higher education institutions should be held accountable for student employability became a priority for academic institutions around the world following the global recession in 2008.
