CIEE Pledge to Lead Change in Study Abroad - December 2025 Update

We’re pleased to share that the first year of CIEE’s Pledge to Lead Change in Study Abroad designed to invest $8M over four years ($4 million from CIEE and $4 million from college pledge partners) to improve student success and institutional outcomes exceeded expectations. 

In 2024, CIEE awarded a $1 million matching grant to Arizona State University, Borough of Manhattan Community College, Northeastern University, and the University of California – San Diego, to launch innovative study abroad models to help non-traditional students study abroad and to help improve institutional goals, like student retention and graduation rates.

In 2025, CIEE and Leading Change University partners have:

1. Enabled 285 students to experience faculty-led, internship, and January term study abroad programs in 24 CIEE centers across four continents.
2. Demonstrated how global education improves key institutional outcomes like student retention and academic success.
3. Overcome persistent cultural and cost barriers that limit access to study abroad for too many students, including Pell-eligible, First-gen, working students, and student parents.

And 2026 looks to be even stronger. Take for example recent 2026 recruitment activity at the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC). 

BMCC has pledged to send 1,000 students abroad over four years through the BMCC Global Scholars Program for Pell-eligible, first-generation students, to improve a variety of student success metrics including retention, graduation rates, and employment outcomes.

Following our joint CIEE and BMCC one-year anniversary event in October, which galvanized students and faculty by emphasizing the crucial role of institutional leadership in a globalized world, BMCC’s Global Experiences team hosted information sessions, conducted classroom visits, organized a vibrant study abroad fair, and interviewed hundreds of eager students.

The result? This coming winter session, over 200 students from BMCC will embark on their study abroad journey with CIEE. That represents an astounding 175% year-over-year increase from one year ago.  

For Michael Beltran, a Music major, studying abroad in Milan – the historic birthplace of opera – is a literal dream come true. "I can’t wait to go to La Scala! I know the experience will change me, and I can't wait to meet that new version of myself."

Hear more about what motivated him, and other BMCC students, in this short video.  
 

Dedicated BMCC faculty leaders – a cornerstone of the college’s bold internationalization strategy – will lead many of these programs. This commitment to faculty-led experiences is transforming the culture of study abroad on campus. This year, BMCC will again invest in Faculty Leader Training at CIEE’s Monteverde campus and in one of CIEE’s newest locations: Athens, Greece.

As the inaugural session of the ASU Early Start Global Accelerator launches this week in Monteverde, we know we have much to celebrate in the final days of 2025, and much to look forward to in 2026.

For a look back at the highlights and accomplishments from 2025 across all our partners, watch the video below. 

 

We extend our best wishes for the holiday season.