WVU recently hosted a group of international high school counselors through the Collegey's Global Education Program. Coordinated by the Office of Admissions, the June 19 visit included a breakfast and presentation at Erickson Alumni Center, a campus tour and a visit to Coopers Rock State Forest. The 2022 cohort represents India, Singapore, Mauritius and the United Arab Emirates.
The Collegey's Global Education Program provides international educational counselors the opportunity to learn about American culture and its landscape and society through a series of meetings, travel and discussions on college and university campuses. TGEP aims to strengthen social ties through educational exchange and gives American higher education institutions the chance to showcase their programs, facilities and vision to a visiting cohort.
In addition to attaining public diplomacy goals at scale, the educational exchange features economic and social outcomes. International educators inspire student interest in American instituitions by sharing their lived experiences, and in economic terms, this interest leads to international student mobility — adding nearly $40 billion to the United States economy each year and creating more than four hundred thousand local jobs.
TGEP's goal of building stronger and more meaningful ties may also be seen in the higher degree of engagement that American university representatives show when they in turn visit the cohort's home countries. These connections bring us together and facilitate understanding not only in times when we are in agreement but they can also bridge differences in times of crisis.
International and intercultural exchange opportunities offered by The Global Educator Program promote openness, perspective-taking and the value of diversity in approaching our world’s problems.