A report by the Chronicle for Higher Education placed Ball State seventh in the nation with 555 students studying in a foreign country. The rankings cover 1999-2000 and are the most recent figures available.

The number of Ball State students studying overseas has nearly doubled since 1995-1996, the first year Ball State appeared on the Chronicle's top 10 list. During that school year 308 students studied abroad and the university ranked eighth.

"This latest ranking is likely to improve because in 2000-2001 we witnessed a dramatic 26 percent increase of our students who went abroad to study," said Jim Coffin, director of Ball State's Center for International Programs.

Coffin credits three major reasons why Ball State has become a recognized leader in study abroad education:

• Affordability of the study abroad opportunities selected by the university
• A selection of more than 50 countries on six continents in which to study
• The priority the university places on international education
  

"We are offering more international programs to our students, which is proportionate to the number of students taking advantage of them," he said.

Many of the new programs developed as faculty members helped the university forge new exchange agreements with international universities and as Ball State gained memberships in three study abroad consortia.

"With this groundwork laid, it seems the best is yet to come," Coffin said. "New initiatives include those of the Honors College, which is developing semester programs in Paris and Florence, and the College of Communication, Information, and Media's new exchanges with German universities and television corporations. Plus, Ball State is enrolling students in its new Australia Center for next fall."

Placing ahead of Ball State were Miami University, 1,155 students; Boston College, 800; Dartmouth College, 667; George Mason University, 659; Baylor University, 566; and Pepperdine University, 562.

By Nancy Prater, Web Editor

(NOTE TO EDITORS: The information about rankings for this story came from the Nov. 16, 2001, issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education, page A48. For more information, contact Coffin at jcoffin@bsu.edu or (765) 285-5422.)