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To support higher education, global philanthropies provide diverse funding to organizations, individuals, and networks. This case study focuses on a unique model in philanthropy in education: the Open Society Foundations' Pre-Academic Summer Program or "OSF Summer School" To prepare civil society leaders and activists for graduate level study, this month-long intensive program aims to mirror the academic environment and expectations ofthe grantees' host universities. Through this case study, findings show that the OSF Summer School teaches students academic skills and provides valuable lessons in interpreting academic culture. By funding and administering this initiative, OSF extends its commitment to educational access by providing programming designed for non-traditionalprofiles. This case study aims to inform other global foundations and higher education institutions working to prepare scholarship grantees, including individuals from marginalized communities, for international graduate education.
Keywords: higher education, international scholarships, pre-academic training, education philanthropy, civil society development
INTRODUCTION
Providing funding for higher education capacity development and student scholarships are key activities of philanthropic organizations (Martel & Talha-Jebril, 2021). Funders provide grants to universities worldwide for capacity building and infrastructure, to researchers for new technology development, to university partnerships for collaborations and knowledge transfer, and to students to cover or defray the cost of tuition (Jaumont, 2016). Among these various strategies, private foundations are also providing international scholarships for individuals to access and enroll in universities globally. These programs often are designed for individuals who would not likely attend universities outside their home countries due to the cost, barriers to information, or inadequate preparatory education. Based in a social justice or human rights approach, many of these foundation-led scholarships seek to select bright individuals from marginalized communities and often provide full tuition and fee support to reduce financial barriers for these students.
However, scholarship grantees who are able to acquire adequate funding for their education abroad may still encounter other challenges. To excel in an overseas academic context, students may need additional academic skills, language skills, books and supplies, and an internet connection-among other knowledge, skills, and resources. This is especially true for low-income, refugee, or other marginalized students (Dassin, 2009). One recent example is the situation for Syrian refugees seeking higher education in Lebanon; despite the number of scholarship programs available, Syrian students still face barriers...