Dear AFS-USA Study Abroad Volunteers and Volunteers supporting Study Abroad efforts,

First, thank you so much to those of you who attended our call last week where we officially launched our NH26 programs! We know that there was a lot of information shared, and we appreciate you taking the time to join us and learn about our upcoming programs! If you were unable to join us, do not worry! I am sharing all of the resources and the presentation/recoding in this message.

We had 58 people register for the call (!) and I think that this was one of our best attended national calls yet. Thank you again for joining us! The Study Aboard Advisory Group is planning to develop a more regular schedule for these calls, which are really meant as an opportunity for volunteers to share and collaborate with one another regionally and nationally. If you have a particular topic that you would like to see highlighted, please let us know! Otherwise, we will be sharing more with you soon.

The Recording:
 
First, a link to the recording of the call. I have to apologize for those of you who were unable to attend in person. Unfortunately, I forgot to start recording at the beginning and so there is no recording of the first few slides that provide a review of 2025. These are included in the PDF of the presentation below, but if anyone has any questions, please don’t hesitate to let me know!

Recording of National Call on 9.18.25- NH26 Launch!

Passcode: bT0@K*wr

The Presentation:
 
A PDF version of the presentation slides (some edits were made to include live links so that you can access the resources that we referenced and reviewed!)

I have links to the Customer Service Evaluation (CSE) data I referenced during the call.

2024 CSE Results- Study Abroad Families
2024 CSE Results- Study Abroad Participants

The CSE’s are managed by AFS-INT and designed to collect feedback after all program participants return. So, our most recent feedback group is from 2024. But, this data gives us great insights into the impact of our work! The data is collected from the Participants group and the Study Abroad Families group- and in each it is clear that our programs are life-changing; pushing participants to grow and mature in a variety of ways, building skills that will help them greatly in their futures. Additionally, we have received high ratings in the application process, and how we prepare participants and families for the program. If you have any questions about this fata, or the process, please feel free to reach out to me directly!

While all of the links are available in the PDF, I wanted to highlight a few of them and have done so below. If you have any questions about the resources, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Highlighted Marketing Resources:
Marketing AFS-USA Study Abroad Programs
NEW! Study Abroad Promotional Toolkit
Transform Your School Flyer
Study Abroad 2026 Summer Programs Flyer

 
Study Abroad Logistics and Contacts:
Study Abroad Example Calendar
Meet and Contact AFS-USA’s Study Abroad Team
Study Abroad Advisory Group page

Our Study Abroad Advisory Group is recruiting new members! 
We meet for an hour to an hour and a half once a month and we collaborate on a variety of projects and initiatives that come out of our own experiences of being volunteers and returnees. Our overall objective is to collaborate with and strengthen relationships between staff and volunteers who are working toward the mutual goal of recruiting applicants for, and preparing applicants for, study abroad experiences with AFS-USA.

In addition, the Study Abroad Advisory Group (SAAG) is also committed to finding new and effective ways to engage returnees across the network and improve the experience of the volunteers engaged in Study Abroad recruitment and retention.
If you would like to be a part of driving change at AFS-USA, then consider joining us! To learn more, or to have an initial exploratory conversation, please visit our Help and Learning page and click the Interest Form link at the bottom of the page, access the Interest Form here! We would be happy to talk to you about our group, upcoming initiatives, and expectations of involvement, etc.!

Thank you all for all that you do, and please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or concerns about any of this information!

All my best,
Caitlin