WFU wins award for Innovation in International Education

Wake Forest University has been awarded a 2013 IIE Andrew Heiskell Award for Innovation in International Education in recognition of its Magnolia Abroad Access Program (MAAP) for study abroad.

The Institute of International Education (IIE) awards honor the most outstanding initiatives in international higher education among its 1,100 member institutions.

MAAP is a collaboration between Wake Forest’s Center for International Studies and the University’s Magnolia Scholars Program for first-generation college students. It provides Magnolia scholars with individualized advising and additional financial support as they navigate the study abroad process. The program assists students from start to finish and begins with helping them to realize that study abroad can be a transformational experience.

Project MAAP addresses many of the barriers that currently prevent first-generation students from studying abroad, such as finances, academic fit, reservations from family and friends, and fear of the unknown. The program provides access to targeted scholarships and financial support. MAAP also offers passport workshops and parental outreach, with the goal of making study abroad a reality for students facing perhaps the greatest obstacles.

IIE will present the awards at a ceremony in New York City on March 22 as part of its eighth annual Best Practices in Internationalization Conference for campus professionals. More than 150 campus leaders and international education professionals in the United States and around the world attend the conference each year.

The IIE Heiskell Awards are designed to strengthen international education in the United States and around the world.