To Rescue Scholars Is to Rescue the Future: An Impact Study of the IIE Scholar Rescue Fund 2002-2020

In this impact study, Institute of International Education's (IIE's) evaluation team looked into the achievements and impact of IIE's trustees Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF) scholars following the completion of their fellowships. In doing so, the evaluation team explored scholars' post-fellowship impact through four lenses: (1) the IIE-SRF fellowship's effect on the scholars' skills and careers, including the professional relationships they established; (2) scholars' contributions to their professional fields through knowledge products and teaching; (3) scholars' efforts to rebuild the higher education systems in their home countries through teaching, publishing, contributing to public policy, improving institutions, and engaging their communities; and, finally (4) the impact that scholars who did not return home had through these activities on the countries where they live. To learn about the scholars' post-fellowship experiences and achievements, the evaluation team conducted an online survey with IIE-SRF alumni who completed their fellowships between 2003 and 2019. The evaluation team assessed how representative the survey population was of the overall IIE-SRF alumni population based on home country, year of fellowship completion, and gender. The evaluation team analyzed the quantitative data using SPSS quantitative data analysis software, primarily using descriptive statistics (e.g., means and frequencies) and some inferential statistics (chi-square test of independence, correlations, independent sample t-tests, etc.). Qualitative data was reviewed to identify salient themes across open-ended responses.