Higher education participants sought for refugee resettlement needs assessment

Publication Date: June 13, 2023
Publication Location: Washington, DC
Contact: Abby Henson   |   [email protected]

WASHINGTON, DC – Staff and faculty at U.S.-based colleges and universities are invited to participate in a needs assessment survey aimed at building the capacity of higher education institutions to support refugee resettlement.

• The survey is available here and will be open through June 30, 2023.

The survey is being conducted by Supporting Higher Education in Refugee Resettlement (SHERR), a project of World Learning in collaboration with the Ethiopian Community Development Council, the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, and Welcome.US.

SHERR is seeking to identify best practices as well as barriers and resource gaps faced by higher education institutions in their actual or aspirational work with refugees.

The survey is open to faculty and staff from U.S.-based higher education institutions and resettlement agencies (nationally recognized organizations, their branch offices, and local affiliates). SHERR welcomes and encourages survey responses from multiple individuals within these organizations and institutions.

The survey results will be used primarily by SHERR to tailor resources for training, technical assistance, capacity building, and development of tools to help higher education institutions maximize their support for refugees and refugee resettlement.

Survey conclusions will be shared with the broader community of refugee resettlement and U.S. government agencies to support greater coordination, collaboration, and impact. SHERR will not include personal identifying information without specific permission from respondents.

Members of the SHERR coalition are: World Learning, an education, development and exchange nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C.; the Ethiopian Community Development Council, one of 10 federally recognized resettlement agencies; the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education and advocacy organization; and Welcome.US., a national initiative to mobilize Americans to welcome those seeking refuge in the U.S.

SHERR is funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.