NSE provides students with affordable and practical opportunities to experience new and diverse settings in which to study and live. NSE has found that exchange within the U.S. and Canada can be just as exhilarating and culturally enriching as international study and one of the most significant experiences of a student's undergraduate education. NSE students access new academic options, immerse themselves in a different environment, search for graduate schools or future employment, acquire life skills, experience life from a different point of view, and expand their personal and educational perspectives.

NSE includes nearly 200 colleges and universities and has provided exchange opportunities to more than 90,000 students since its founding in 1968.