Clearing the Hurdle

The purpose of this chapter is twofold. First, it aims to call attention to the fact that study abroad does take place in the community college sector. Second, this study aims at modeling the relationship between institutional profile characteristics and variations in study abroad participation at community colleges. In this sense, it addresses community college students' ability to access education abroad using the institution as the unit of analysis. Specifically, this study employs data from both the Institute of International Education (IIE) and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to examine the role institutional characteristics, such as an institution's gender and race/ethnicity composition and its location, play in community college students' participation in study abroad. The hurdle model analytic technique adopted here allows for the examination of these factors' relationship to both an institution's provision of study abroad opportunity and the percentage of students that participate. Results have implications for both policymakers and practitioners who aim to increase the prominence of education abroad in the two-year sector.