Virtual Exchange/ Collaborative Online International Learning

Empowering Students Through Global Education

Higher education—and liberal education, in particular—plays a critical role in preparing students to understand, proactively engage in, and work collaboratively to solve global issues and problems of importance at local, national, and international levels after graduation. This includes preparing students for global citizenship and for careers by ensuring they have the opportunities, through in-person or virtual learning experiences, to cooperate with peers of different nationalities and cultures.

What is VE/COIL?

Virtual exchange (VE), including one of its most comprehensive forms, collaborative online international learning (COIL), provides students with affordable opportunities to gain global competencies within their coursework wherever they are. It links together students and classrooms around the world through co-taught multicultural and blended online course work, bridging the physical distance between students through technological means. 

Why VE/COIL?

VE/COIL experiences, co-designed by educators and supported by committed institutions,  offer students transformative learning experiences designed to:

• Enhance critical thinking and creative problem-solving abilities.
• Build effective oral and written communication skills.
• Foster teamwork and cultural awareness in diverse settings.
• Develop interdisciplinary innovation and digital teaching expertise.

For educators and institutions, VE/COIL also provides increased opportunities for interdisciplinary innovation and global collaboration between faculty and staff on digital teaching, research, and service-learning strategies for modern learners.

AAC&U’s VE/COIL Institute: Driving Institutional Change

Integrated into collaborative projects with global experts and partners, AAC&U’s VE/COIL Institute empowers higher education institutions to scale VE/COIL programs through:

• Transformative Implementation: Delivering VE/COIL at scale with forward-thinking capabilities.
• Strategic Investment: Supporting advanced global education initiatives.
• Stronger Networks: Building resilient global partnerships.
• Equity in Access: Ensuring digital global learning opportunities for all students.

Who Should Participate?

Institutions applying for AAC&U VE/COIL initiatives (see below for current opportunities) should assemble diverse teams that include key stakeholders critical for scaling and sustaining VE/COIL programs. These teams should comprise:

• Teaching Faculty/Professor/Instructor: Responsible for co-designing, co-implementing, and evaluating the VE/COIL curriculum in collaboration with an international faculty partner.
• Instructional Designer, COIL Coordinator, or Similar Role: Provides essential pedagogical and technological support to instructors. This individual helps determine and implement appropriate technologies to meet the partnership’s instructional needs and envisioned student tasks.
• International Education Administrator or Similar Role: Supports the proposed faculty partnership and develops a framework for scaling VE/COIL at the institutional level. This includes seeking opportunities, building global partnerships, advising students, and fostering the integration of VE/COIL into curricula and educational structures.
• Optional Additional Administrator: An international education administrator or other administrator who can further champion and support the proposed partnership and/or institutional VE/COIL efforts.

Join the Global Movement

Collaboration is at the core of VE/COIL. AAC&U partners with global institutions, educators, and sponsors to co-develop innovative VE/COIL programs that expand access to global education. Together, we are shaping the future of higher education through impactful and sustainable digital collaboration.