What Makes ISA Great: Renewing Our Mission and Vision

In recent months, ISA has undergone efforts to review and renew our Mission and Vision to better portray who we are as an organization, where we want to go, and how we can assist students and partners in providing the best international educational experiences possible. What follows is the culmination of those efforts. We are excited about these new updates and about the opportunity to continue serving our students, their families, and our partner universities, domestic and abroad.

Mission:

To ignite personal growth through a wide range of affordable education abroad opportunities with a commitment to exceptional support for all participants and their institutions.

Vision:

To transform students through international education experiences and empower our institutional partners to achieve their educational missions.

What Makes Us Great:

Exceptional Student Support 

• Extraordinary team of more than 300 staff members worldwide who care about the success of participants
• Commitment to health and safety including response to incidents, clear communication, and preventative measures to minimize risk
• We are committed to student development and facilitate learning outside the classroom through a defined educational framework

• Comprehensive pre-departure, on-site, and re-entry support for students of diverse perspectives, backgrounds, identities, and capabilities

Wide Selection of Program Options to Fit Any Student  

• Programs in more than 30 countries
• High-quality learning opportunities both in and out of the classroom

• Various program types available including internships, semester abroad, summer programs, research abroad, and service-learning
• Partnerships with a broad spectrum of host universities to deliver courses in every discipline

Affordable and Transparent Program Fees 

• High-value programs with a wide range of inclusions at an affordable cost

• Over $500,000 in scholarships and grants given each year
• Programs available to fit any budget
• Committed financial aid professionals to assist participants with the process of utilizing federal, state, and institutional aid

A True Partner for Institutions 

• Responsive partner for helping institutions achieve their goals and deliver information related to the outcomes of student success of ISA programs
• Proactive communication and collaboration with institutions as it relates to the health and safety of participants, including individual issues and worldwide events
• Knowledgeable, friendly, and professional team members who are committed to building strong relationships with our partner institutions
• Experts in international education who partner with institutions to develop collaborative programming models (ie. Curriculum integration, signature program development, support services)

What We Value

Our People

Our team of extraordinary people around the world truly care about the success and well-being of our participants. We believe in employing individuals who are dedicated to international education and offer exceptional student support.

Student Support

We provide high-touch, high-quality student support at every step of the way. This helps ensure a successful experience abroad. We believe in providing excellent service to our students throughout the process – from the first point of inquiry until after they return home.

Health and Safety of Our Participants

A prompt, professional response to health and safety concerns of our students is top priority at ISA. Our in-country staff proactively address issues and are on call 24/7 in case of emergency, and our Health and Safety team in the U.S. ensures that communication regarding incidents flows in all cases to necessary parties.

High-Quality Academic Experiences

High-quality academics are key to any education abroad experience. We partner with distinguished universities around the world to deliver courses in every field of study as well as foreign language instruction at every level.

Learning Outside the Classroom

We believe that learning outside of the classroom is an important part of the international education experience, therefore we include an on-site orientation, cultural activities, and excursions as part of our programs and deepen the learning experience through the unique framework of our “Discovery Model”.

Wide Variety of Program Options

Education abroad is not one-size-fits-all endeavor. We offer a wide array of program types and destinations to fit the academic and personal goals of each and every student.

Affordable Program Fees

We believe that study abroad should be financially accessible, thus we strive to maintain affordable programs and offer scholarships and encourage students to use financial aid.

Diversity

We are committed to building and honoring diversity on ISA programs. Differences in background, race, gender identity, sexual orientation and every other facet of individuality is what makes this world so exciting to explore. We promise that all students have a place with ISA.

Institutional Partnerships 

Our institutional partnerships are invaluable to us as an organization. We strive to be flexible, supportive, responsive, and helpful to our university partners as they work to achieve their own goals.