International study abroad is an ideal means to develop 21st century workplace skills such as intercultural competence, foreign languages, and the ability to work collaboratively in diverse teams, but minority, first-generation, and socioeconomically challenged students have been historically underrepresented in college study abroad programs. Others, such as non-traditional, working-professional, and family-caretaker students face obstacles that make international travel unrealistic, preventing participation in study abroad. International fully integrated virtual exchange (IFIVE) is an alternative to traditional study abroad which leverages distance learning technologies to merge classes in different countries into a semester-long sustained intercultural learning experience. Unlike other forms of virtual exchange, classes are fully integrated in terms of assignments, meeting times, and groupwork with faculty cooperatively team-teaching lessons. This paper introduces IFIVE and discusses the ongoing efforts at Kansai Gaidai University and the University of Hawaii – West Oahu to create a more inclusive version of study abroad.

Authors: Keith H. Sakuda, Stephen A. Zurcher

Published in: World Congress on Education (WCE-2023)

• Date of Conference: 26-28 June, 2023
• DOI: 10.20533/WCE.2023.00010
• ISBN: 978-1-913572-59-4
• Conference Location: Residence and Conference Centre, Toronto, Canada