The Higher Education Policy Commission, as part of its plan to strengthen international education and global awareness programs on the campuses of the public four-year colleges and universities in West Virginia, sponsored a study abroad workshop, Friday, September 28, 2007 at the Lakeview Resort and Conference Center in Morgantown.  The workshop, entitled “Implementing a Statewide Study Abroad Consortium,” sought to help each institution to make a study abroad experience a reality for a larger number of students.   About 40 people attended, representing all of the state public universities.  The audience included study abroad advisers and enrollment management staff from the academic affairs, admissions, financial aid, finance, and registrar offices. "The training these individuals received," said Tara George-Jones, Study Abroad Program Coordinator at West Virginia University who chaired the workshop planning committee, "will help our state universities to better serve their students who wish to participate in an ISEP program." Last year, the Higher Education Policy Commission entered into a consortial agreement with International Student Exchange Programs (ISEP) based in Washington, D.C. to enable every West Virginia public four-year college or university to provide low-cost study abroad options for their students with access to over 130 exchange programs in 38 countries.  West Virginia University and Marshall University serve as the lead institutions to provide limited study abroad advising services and enroll the incoming exchange students.  "Study abroad must become a campus-wide undertaking." said Bruce Flack, Director of Academic Affairs at HEPC. "We must try to find more ways to make study abroad available for all students in West Virginia, regardless of their major, financial resources, and language skills."  Currently, less than one percent of all undergraduates in West Virginia study abroad as part of their university degree program.