University students may have to look no further than their own backyards when searching for study abroad opportunities. The International Studies Office is looking to add up to five University-sponsored study abroad programs.
"We're working on developing programs in Morocco; Leon, France; St. Petersburg, Russia; Shanghai, China; and South Africa," said Sandi Smith, associate director of the International Studies Office and director of study abroad programs.
Although the programs are not finalized yet, "we are hoping to announce them before Christmas break," Smith said.
Once these programs are finalized, the study abroad opportunities would be available for the summer of 2002. Students can receive information about the new programs through the International Studies Office.
"The University has committed itself to encouraging students to go abroad," and the office wanted to ensure the quality of the programs by having the University sponsor them, said William Quandt, vice provost for the International Affairs department.
One advantage of having programs sponsored by the University and taught by University faculty is that there are not any problems with transferring grades or credit. Often, when students study abroad through other schools and programs, they only receive credit for their classes.
However, students would receive grades for those programs taught by University faculty rather than just credit.
"We've tried to take advantage of our faculty resources" and University connections when setting up the programs, Quandt said.
Faculty members that are willing to travel and teach abroad make it easier to establish many of these programs.
The University tried to select locations for the new study abroad programs that relate to subject areas in departments, such as the history, government and language departments.
If these new programs are approved and become successful, the University will look to add more selections to its study abroad program in the future.
Although Quandt said the University has not made any "major investment" in developing more study abroad programs, he mentioned the possibility of programs in countries like Germany, Italy, Japan or Turkey - where student interest is very high.
The addition of University sponsored study abroad programs is an attempt to increase the number of students from the University choosing to go abroad.
A report commissioned by University President John T. Casteen III's Virginia 2020 Initiative found that the University's participation in foreign activities "lags behind its general reputation."
Smith said she believed that instituting programs through the University was just the first step in increasing international opportun- ities for students.
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