Colleges and universities are vital institutions for addressing political, social, and economic concerns, be they at a local, national, or global level. While embedded in their communities, they contribute substantially to a nation's competitiveness and operate within an increasingly international environment that links people and institutions together across borders. Colleges and universities are arguably the most resilient and the most sustainable institutions not only for advancing modernization and prosperity but also for ensuring the foundation and continuance of civil society. As such, they are gateways into a future that is in our own hands.

In the "Age of Globalization," what is the role of colleges and universities in preparing their students to live in this changing and complex world and in what ways do they incorporate an awareness of globalization into their curricula? Do we understand which knowledge, skills, and values are needed to enable students to deal with the multi-faceted realities of a world that is becoming more porous, more transnational, more tuned to the same economic, social, and informational frequency? - which in many respects means more Americanized?

To continue addressing these issues, the Salzburg Global Seminar conducted its 48th International Study Program on Global Citizenship (ISP). Entitled Colleges and Universities as Sites of Global Citizenship, this ISP session was held at Schloss Leopoldskron in Salzburg, Austria from July 9-16, 2011. Approximately forty participants from colleges and universities throughout the United States gathered to explore the factors that may either support or restrain a comprehensive approach to global education within American higher education institutions and to jointly develop strategies for those teaching and learning within those institutions on how they can incorporate a more comprehensive approach to global education.