Assessment of Returner Programming at Pacific Lutheran University

Reentry has become an essential part of education abroad, as students participate in life-changing experiences on study abroad or exchange. With the support of returner programs upon students' arrival back home, students are provided an environment for reflection that allows them to place their experiences into the context of their lives back home, to feel less isolated upon return, to reevaluate their values, beliefs, assumptions, and worldviews, to incorporate their experiences into their future goals, and to connect to their home community. Returner programs and reentry support are becoming more commonplace within the education abroad field. And yet, there is very little research on the assessment of these returner programs. How effective are the programs chosen by a particular institution or office? What impact do the student's specific program elements have on finding the appropriate returner programs for them? What distinguishes a high quality returner program? This thesis takes a look at these topics, using a phenomenological study that incorporates qualitative data collection and analysis from one specific private liberal arts university in the northwest United States.