At IES Abroad, students have access to amazing faculty across the globe—faculty who are experts in their fields and leaders in the classroom.

The Center of Excellence in Teaching and Learning Abroad (CETLA) was established in July 2022 to continuously enhance the quality of educational experiences related to study abroad on IES Abroad programs. CETLA also celebrates the many accomplishments of our talented faculty, and encourages collaboration and exchange of best practices to benefit students and faculty. 

As the foundation of everything we do at IES Abroad, CETLA poses the question “What is excellence in teaching and learning?” within the context of study abroad.

The Pursuit of Academic Excellence

students sitting in a Berlin Center classroom during a lecture

CETLA serves IES Abroad faculty in building a community for sharing best practices, ensuring pedagogical integrity for promotion of increased global understanding and intercultural competence, as well as access and equity to more students.

a student sitting at a desk typing on a laptop computer

As part of CETLA, Virtual Learning Support Services (VLSS) is instrumental in promoting the thoughtful integration of technology into teaching and learning. VLSS staff lead cluster-wide, hands-on training for pedagogy and technology, as well as support faculty via a lead faculty peer-mentoring system.

a group of students attend class at the Paris French Studies center

CETLA is also more broadly involved in advancing strategic academic planning, including incentivizing curricular initiatives with faculty grants, and acting as a clearinghouse for organizational collaboration with the possibility of virtual faculty exchanges and student support with research fellowships.

CETLA Team

There is also a steering committee for CETLA who will ensure constituent feedback and broad representation from across IES Abroad globally.

Headshot of Scott Sheridan.

Scott Sheridan

Assistant Vice President for Academic Programs & Director of CETLA

Cristina Lopez headshot

Cristina Lopez

Assistant Dean of Virtual Learning Support Services and Associate Director of CETLA

a headshot photo of Kattrina

Kattrina Cannon

Assistant Director of Virtual Learning Support Services

a headshot of Michaela

Michaela Kendall

Senior Academic Database Specialist

Beatriz Buesa headshot

Beatriz Buesa

Educational Technologist

Headshot of Rachel Harrison.

Rachel Harrison

Registrar

Megan Leff headshot

Megan Leff

Associate Vice President for Academic Initiatives & Assessment

For more information about this initiative, please email us at cetla@iesabroad.org.

The Academic Leader in Study Abroad

Our mission is simple: to provide students with the best study abroad programs possible—which includes the highest quality academic and cultural experiences.

Learn More About Academic Excellence
students attend class in Arles