Rutgers University has been selected by the Institute of International Education (IIE) to receive an IIE American Passport Project grant that will support the expenses associated with obtaining a passport for 25 Rutgers students.
Rutgers was one of 48 institutions in the IIENetwork awarded this grant, which will help up to 1,200 Pell-eligible students around the country obtain their U.S. passports and study abroad. “A passport is the first thing that opens up their world to the possibility of study abroad,” said Courtney Temple, IIE Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer.
Rutgers Global applied for this grant to support our broader Passport to the World initiative, which seeks to increase the number of Rutgers University matriculated students with U.S. passports. This initiative will be awarding 250 total passports to Rutgers students for the 2022-2023 cycle. Rutgers Global-Study Abroad has earmarked 200 passports for all Rutgers students, and Rutgers University-Camden, a champion and partner of this initiative, has earmarked an additional 50 passports for Camden students.
“We are grateful to IIE for this vote of confidence in our Passport to the World initiative,” said Dan Waite, Executive Director of Rutgers Global – Study Abroad. “A passport is like a driver’s license to the world, a critical part of a pathway to global study, research, and careers. This grant from IIE helps us in our mission to expand access to all Rutgers students to participate in global learning.”
Kelly Andrade, Program Manager for Access Initiatives at Rutgers Global – Study Abroad, explained that the majority of Rutgers students receive some form of financial support and first-year students may not have the funds to obtain a valid U.S. passport, which is essential to travel. She said, “We have worked closely with our on-campus partners, such as EOF, Paul Robeson Cultural Center, and the Center for Social Justice & LBGT Communities, and have identified that students often encounter multilayered barriers for them to study abroad. First-year students from these communities have been the focal point of our Passport to the World initiative and will also be for this grant.” She added, “Being awarded this grant will also confirm to potential donors that this is a life-changing opportunity for our students and will hopefully encourage them to help support this initiative.”
The IIE American Passport Project is a key initiative under IIE’s newly launched Center for Access and Equity and represents IIE’s commitment to create access to international education opportunities and enable equity. Through the IIE American Passport Project, IIE aims to empower 10,000 U.S. students with their passports by the end of this decade.
In addition, the grant is intended to support the IIENetwork, IIE’s global membership association, in assisting students from their respective campuses to go abroad who would otherwise not participate in an international experience as part of their college education. The program prioritizes first-year students, with limited financial means, for whom this may be their first passport and makes global learning abroad a greater possibility with an earlier start. The awarded institutions will couple the grant funding with their engagement and outreach, advising, programming, and additional support for the students they have identified for this program.
“The Rutgers Global – Study Abroad team has been bold and creative in their efforts to both remove the financial barriers to study abroad, as well as in their fight to change narratives about affordability,” said Waite. “We were so pleased when Antonio Tillis, Chancellor of Rutgers University – Camden pledged to match the number of passports given to Camden students, and we hope that other schools and departments across Rutgers join us to make an even bigger impact with the Passport to the World initiative.”
This initiative is open to all enrolled Rutgers students who are U.S. citizens and have never received an adult U.S. passport. Applications for the Passport to the World initiative are now open for Rutgers students, so apply now on this webpage.
Waite added, “We encourage all eligible students to apply for this award because our goal is to remove any barriers from Rutgers students participating in study abroad opportunities.”
About IIE:
The Institute of International Education (IIE) is the leader in designing and implementing international education strategies and program services. We work with governments, policymakers, educators, and employers across the globe to prepare students and professionals for the global workforce and equip them to solve the increasingly complex challenges facing our interconnected world. With support from donors, we also create initiatives that assist students, scholars, and artists whose lives and work are threatened; expand teaching and learning across cultures; and provide opportunities to underserved populations. A not-for-profit organization founded in 1919, IIE has a network of 16 offices and affiliates worldwide and over 1,600 higher education partners.
In its work around the world, IIE’s global offices and experienced staff have developed significant expertise, capabilities and best practices in a set of core areas. Our cutting-edge approaches developed in these fields are formalized in a set of Centers of Excellence: IIE’s Center for International Partnerships and IIE’s Center for Access and Equity. IIE’s Center for Access and Equity aims to advance accessible programming and equitable practices in community building that enrich and expand international education, exchange, and opportunity for all.
The IIENetwork is IIE’s global membership association supporting the strategic advancement of international education. Through the IIENetwork, IIE shares decades of experience and expertise, generates resources, and leverages knowledge and practices with members who are working to strategize and actualize international education efforts, including building international and academic partnerships, recruiting international students, and advocating for study abroad and student mobility.