Study abroad coordinators need more support
Study-abroad academic coordination is a vital yet often invisible function within higher education. Coordinators juggle complex administrative tasks, manage international partnerships and provide emotional support to students navigating unfamiliar academic environments.
Despite the importance of this role, many study-abroad academic coordinators work with limited resources, unclear role definitions and heavy workloads that go largely unrecognised. This article explores common challenges they face, illustrated by first-hand accounts, and proposes practical solutions to improve study-abroad student and staff well-being.
Administrative challenges in study abroad coordination
A study-abroad academic coordinator recounted a particularly frustrating experience with a student’s Erasmus placement in Italy. The student arrived in the country only to discover that the home university’s international relations office had failed to send her nomination (an official appointment as a study-abroad student) to the host university. By then, the host university’s office explained, the deadline for receiving nominations had long passed.
The academic coordinator felt powerless, yet she refused to give up, throwing herself into resolving the situation. Thanks to a flurry of emails and phone calls – and her rusty Italian – she salvaged the student’s stay abroad. Coordinators frequently respond to crises like these caused by poor communication between sending and receiving institutions.
Moving from reactive firefighting to planned student support requires clear role definitions, smooth handovers between academic and administrative teams, centralised key data (contact information and access instructions, for example) and routine workflows established in advance. Student requests for confirmation of their learning agreements and mark validations all arrive at the same time during the academic year. Study-abroad academic coordinators devote an enormous amount of time to these tasks in these periods, so efficient administrative processes are key.
Strategic coordination and quality assurance
Unclear expectations surrounding bilateral agreements often create further complications for study-abroad coordinators. Another recalled one case in which it was revealed quite late that the programme her university had signed on to only provided funding for their own institution, not for the partner university. The coordinator exchanged countless emails with the partner institution, trying to clarify the situation and even arranged a video call with a colleague she knew at the institution.
Despite her efforts, the outcome was disheartening, and she felt frustrated at how poorly the agreement had been framed from the start. This highlights the importance of negotiating agreements with clear checklists covering credit equivalency, funding and communication before progressing any study-abroad programmes. Coordinators should have the authority to provide feedback and reject unsuitable academic matches. Post-exchange reviews, including interviews with former study-abroad students in particular locations, can help refine partnerships and promote positive study-abroad experiences across institutions.
- Spotlight guide: A warm welcome for new students
- Spotlight guide: How to build belonging at your institution
- Resource collection: Looking after well-being in higher education
Emotional labour, time management and communication boundaries
Coordinators are constantly balancing the needs of their students with the demands of their broader academic responsibilities. Another told me about a moment of tension prompted by a group of students insisting on scheduling a second meeting with her. She declined, convinced that it was unnecessary. She explained that students rarely realise that her role as coordinator exists alongside a full slate of teaching, research and other academic commitments.
The emotional toll of coordination is often invisible but significant. Despite this, emotional labour rarely factors into workload assessments. Supporting study-abroad academic coordinators involves providing workload credits, financial compensation and training in leadership and boundary management to protect well-being and sustain academic rigour.
To safeguard their time, coordinators must set boundaries and structure communications effectively. Formalising communication protocols by using email templates and group sessions instead of frequent individual meetings can help reduce workloads and the chances of burnout.
Ensuring academic rigour and quality control
One study-abroad academic coordinator described how challenging it was to uphold academic integrity when students fail to provide complete or accurate information about the modules they include in their learning agreements. She often has to verify that students are not misrepresenting themselves to select easier modules. The task is made even more difficult by receiving institutions that do not supply the necessary details. The lack of information can be both frustrating and stressful, leaving coordinators caught between ensuring fairness and managing practical constraints beyond their control.
Universities can ease this burden by implementing shared audit trails and verified equivalency databases for mark validation. They can also use subject-mapping tools to organise, visualise and relate the validation practices of different academic study-abroad coordinators. Recognising coordinators’ contributions through internal awards and financial incentives also reinforces their critical role.
Study-abroad academic coordination demands much more than paperwork. It combines administrative precision, strategic insight and emotional resilience to deliver valuable international learning experiences. However, without clear roles, sufficient resources and support for staff well-being, study-abroad academic coordinators and students face many obstacles.
To build sustainable international education, universities must formally recognise study-abroad coordinators as professionals with defined responsibilities, appropriate financial rewards and emotional support. This recognition will empower these staff members to thrive and enhance study-abroad outcomes.
Vasilica Mocanu is a tenure-track professor and study abroad academic coordinator at the University of Salamanca.
If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered directly to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.
