Worcester, MA—June 13, 2024—Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has been awarded funding from the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs that will allow for greater access to one of the university’s signature project-based learning programs, the Global Projects Program.
The Department of State’s IDEAS (Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for U.S. Students) grant of up to $34,970 will support a new initiative that seeks to increase the number of WPI students with disabilities who participate in global off-campus research projects.
Since 1970, WPI has been a leader in project-based learning. A cornerstone of the university’s distinctive hands-on educational model, the Global Projects Program enables students to complete required academic projects off-campus at more than 50 WPI project centers worldwide. Nearly 85 percent of WPI students participate in an off-campus project during their undergraduate experience.
“Our mission is to ensure every student has the opportunity to access the Global Projects Program and to take into account the varying needs of students with disabilities,” says Kathleen Head, director of The Global School’s Global Experience Office, which administers the Global Projects Program. “These off-campus experiential learning opportunities are transformative and engaging and we are committed to removing all the barriers to participation. To have this support from the IDEAS Program is very meaningful and helpful to our efforts.”
Nationally, 20.5% of all U.S. undergraduate students report having a disability, according to the latest available data from the National Center for Education Studies. Yet the Open Doors 2023 Report on International Educational Exchange indicates that only 10.5% of U.S. students who studied abroad in 2021-2022 identified as having a disability. While WPI’s participation gap is smaller than those national figures, the IDEAS grant-funded initiative seeks to increase the participation of students with disabilities in the Global Projects Program and improve the experience at off-campus project sites for these students.
The IDEAS grant funding will support three different aspects of the initiative:
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Researching and developing a tool, potentially a survey or assessment form, to measure accessibility at project sites.
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Visiting three WPI project centers to use the assessment tool and generate a report to inform future site improvements.
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Creating and delivering training, workshops, and resources for faculty and staff to improve support for students with disabilities throughout all aspects of their participation in the Global Projects Program, including advising, program selection, travel preparation, and onsite project work.
Kathleen Head (L) and Krista Miller (R) will co-manage the initiative funded by the IDEAS grant
The initiative will be co-managed by Head and Krista Miller, assistant director of the Global Experience Office, in collaboration with Amy Curran, WPI’s director of the Office of Accessibility Services.
“Some students with disabilities may decide not to pursue an off-campus project experience because they assume it’s not possible,” says Miller. “A goal of this grant-funded work is to take a more proactive approach to provide students with information about accessibility at off-campus project sites. We strive to meet the needs of our students so they can apply their acquired knowledge and skills to real-world challenges in communities around the globe.”
These new efforts build upon WPI’s existing practices. For example, the Global Experience Office and the Office of Accessibility Services work closely together to support students with disabilities who travel off-campus for project work. The Office of Accessibility Services also provides faculty with training and support on accessibility in off-campus and project settings.
WPI’s efforts to expand access to global experiential learning were recognized earlier this year when the university received a 2024 Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award for Campus Internationalization. The award from NAFSA: Association of International Educators recognizes WPI’s supports for the Global Projects Program, which include the Global Scholarship. Every full-time undergraduate student at WPI receives a one-time institutional scholarship of up to $5,000 to defray some of the costs of an off-campus project experience through the Global Projects Program.
