According to University President John T. Casteen III, only about 15 percent of University students study abroad - a number the International Activities Planning Commission is trying to increase.
"There is something fundamental about studying in another culture," Casteen said at his State of the University address Saturday.
This is the philosophy of the International Activities Planning Commission, said Julie Novak, a Nursing school professor and member of the Commission's Faculty and Study Abroad Task Group.
The Commission is one of the major facets of Virginia 2020, a long range University-wide agenda designed to perpetuate the success of the University into the 21st century.
But the percentage of University students studying abroad is average among national colleges and universities, Development Services Director Julian Bivins said.
Compared to percentages of the University's peer institutions, the numbers appear more disparaging, said Melissa Bowles, Spanish professor and Commission member.
Forty-five percent of the students at Duke study abroad, Bowles said.
The possible benefits of increasing percentages, however, transcend impressing the competition, she said.
It is important "students study abroad, that [we] create a student body more aware of what's going on - not just in Charlottesville and U.Va. but around the world," she added.
The suburban location of the University is a factor for its low study abroad percentages, Novak said.
UCLA, which is located in the heart of Los Angeles, "has established many multiethnic communities," and has experienced more success in getting its students to participate in programs, she said.
The time during which many international studies programs are offered is also a problem: Because of their curricula, many pre-professional students are unable to participate during the year and can only study abroad during the summer, "when most students work," she added.
The International Activities Commission hopes to overcome these roadblocks by "internationalizing the curriculum," Novak said.
The Commission is expanding the countries where students can study abroad.
The Commission is hoping to establish "more diverse [options than] Western Europe," where most programs are focused, Bowles said.
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