CASSIE is led by the University System of Georgia (USG) in coordination with the Institute of International Education and funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s International and Foreign Language Education Office. CASSIE is a research partnership to study the impact of international education experiences – study abroad, taking a foreign language, Title VI program participation–on student success outcomes.
CASSIE harnesses the power of “big data” from across many institutions to create an evidence base to address key questions that have not previously been explored in a rigorous way. For example,
- Is the positive impact of study abroad on graduation rates similar for private institutions as well as for public? For smaller colleges as well as for large research universities?
- Does studying abroad impede timely graduation for students majoring in “lock step” STEM majors?
- How well represented are students receiving need-based financial aid among world language majors, and how does choosing such a major affect the likelihood that they will graduate within four years?
- When students double-major in a world language plus another academic area, do their grades suffer, or does additional language study instead boost achievement in their other academic area?
The CASSIE data-base and co-laboratory promises to influence national policy regarding the return on investment in international education. It also offers partner campuses a chance to tailor research questions to meet their specific needs.
Want to learn more? Contact: cassie@usg.edu