Studying abroad has long been viewed as a fun experience for students, but did you know that a large percentage of employers place a significant value on it too? About 200,000 American college students study abroad each year and they're not all studying foreign languages or hoping to cash in on favorable currency exchanges. Study abroad programs are available in almost every discipline to students at almost every school.

As fantastic as these programs are, I'm a bit fearful. You see, Congress is getting into the act. (Pun intended.) The Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program is urgent that half of all American college students participate in study abroad programs within the decade. "What nations don't know can hurt them," the group wrote in a report. "For their own future and for that of the nation, college graduates today must be internationally competitive."

That is a laudable goal and I hope that it happens but I also hope that Congress lets the inherent attractiveness of these programs drive their success rather than forcing their "success" through legislation.