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| Worcester (Mass.) Polytechnic Institute students share their abroad experiences at the school's Global Opportunities Fair. Nicole Hill |
Schools scrutinize and promote study abroad
Concerns over travel 'perks' lead to a clarification of funding behind increasingly popular overseas programs.
from the September 27, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
When it comes to offers of free trips to let study abroad advisers check out a provider's offerings, it's generally been an accepted practice, because it's seen as a way for them to become familiar with the quality of housing, academics, and other aspects of a program. But "it's not appropriate," says Mr. Johnson of NAFSA, "to have a quid pro quo whereby you agree to use a program in exchange for a trip."
NAFSA organized a task force to look at management issues in the wake of the Times reporting.
"These are hardly junkets," adds Geoffrey Bannister, president of Cultural Experiences Abroad, a for-profit provider in Tempe, Ariz. "These are people schlepping around, sharing rooms...." But to remove the perception that it's a perk, he says, it's good that some organizations that had tied staff trips to the number of students going on their programs have now changed that policy.
Tufts University in Medford, Mass., decided in the wake of the student-loan controversy last spring to no longer accept business travel paid for by outside companies. This also applies to overseas trips by its study-abroad adviser – not because previous subsidized trips were improper, officials said, but simply to guard against any appearance of impropriety.
For students, one of the most common complaints is that it's difficult to know whether they'll be able to transfer credits to their home campus, says Allan Goodman, president of the Institute of International Education.
"It's really important for every college to have a foreign policy and every student to have a passport," Mr. Goodman says. "[Among] colleges and universities ... not all of them have looked at what they want to achieve through internationalization, where they want their students to go, ... where it fits in the ... curriculum." So far, he estimates about 100 colleges are committed to a more comprehensive approach.
Benefits of overseas programs
University of Denver is one. Its Cherrington Global Scholars program enables juniors and seniors to study abroad for a quarter at the same cost as studying in Denver, and to use their financial aid. "We work with students before they leave to ensure that the range of courses ... would count toward graduation," Kvistad says.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts is another place where study abroad is the norm. "Most of our students study engineering or science – which are areas in which it's traditionally difficult to do study abroad because the curricula have so many requirements – so we've adopted our own curriculum," says Richard Vaz, dean of interdisciplinary and global studies.
WPI set up 25 project centers around the world where students do research projects or work on everyday problems with professors in small teams. More than half the students go abroad for two- to three-month trips.
Jenn Moseley, a WPI senior, went all the way to Namibia on her first trip outside the United States. She answers questions from students as they mill around the annual Global Opportunities Fair at the school, picking up pamphlets and gazing at the occasional teapot or didgeridoo. Ms. Moseley helped with statistical analysis to improve tourism and the economy, while others on her team worked on water issues. "Doing something that important to the people ... kind of opens your eyes to what you can do," Moseley says. She'll be earning a fire engineering master's degree and can envision returning to Namibia for a year or two.
"A lot of kids came here because of the global program," says WPI sophomore Sabrina Varanelli. She's considering a trip to London or Morocco to study the history of technology. After a brief stop at the financial aid table, she lines up for a free passport photo. "I really like the way WPI integrates it into the curriculum – it makes it so easy for you to be able to go away, and you actually get credit," she says.
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