The first University-administrated Semester at Sea is being heralded as an overall success by those involved, despite initial concerns from faculty members.
The summer voyage was overseen by Spanish Prof. David Gies, the first University faculty member to serve as academic dean since the University acquired the program in 2005.
Gies said he attempted to reform a program that had come to have a reputation for being less than academically rigorous.
"The University saw that the program was good but did not meet University standards," Gies said. "If we were going to be the academic sponsor, it would have to meet our standards."
He noted that some of the program's syllabi did not have the same rigor of coursework that the University expects for a three-credit course, especially in terms of the amount and quality of reading.
According to Leigh Grossman, vice provost of international affairs, different professors have different views about what "U.Va. quality" means.
"For some, it's reading; for others, it's writing," she said. "It does not mean that [Semester at Sea] was a bad program to begin with. Basically what we are trying to do is make it the quality and caliber that U.Va. is used to."
This summer's shift in academic operations allowed Gies to select the faculty on board, which included 17 professors and seven teacher assistants. According to Gies, eight of the professors and all of the teaching assistants came from the University; however, he noted there are benefits to the inclusion of staff from other schools, noting for instance, that "a lot of really great people have expertise in areas we don't." ,
According to Gies, the summer faculty included many highly qualified professors who challenged students to work hard despite the various distractions the trip offers.
"A lot of the students complained at the beginning, but I told the faculty to keep the pressure on," Gies said. "If you set a high standard, students will meet it. That is what we found. They rose to the challenge, which was very gratifying for us."
Third-year College student Chalisha Yates agreed that the academic work challenged her but said she found the trip worthwhile.
"It was academically challenging, however, it was kind of work hard and play harder," Yates said. "There were a lot of people who didn't take the work seriously, but they weren't getting the credit transferred. I worked hard because I was getting credit, but I would still have a good time."
Yates said the atmosphere onboard seemed very similar to that on Grounds.
"People don't make a big deal over kids partying here [at the University], which people do party hard, but they work hard, too, and it's the same with Semester at Sea," Yates said.
Amherst junior Russell Li, a former University student who participated in this summer's trip as well as the summer 2006 voyage, said there was time for fun, but noted the amount of work limited the social aspect of the trip.
"I think that the academic quality dramatically improved [from last summer], especially with the U.Va. professors." Li said.
According to Yates, the opportunity to apply classroom knowledge to real world experience was a major benefit of the trip.
"It was fascinating to me that something you read about in class, you could actually go see in another country," Yates said.
In the nine Latin American countries the ship visited, students were able to travel to historical sites and meet authors whose works they had studied on board. As all the countries visited share a common language, this was the first trip during which students and faculty could focus on one language by incorporating Spanish courses into the curriculum, according to Les McCabe, president of the Institute for Shipboard Education.
Summer Session Director Dudley Doane added that the University provided professors with many new services this summer such as access to the University's library resources and teaching assistants for the largest class, Latin America Today.
Gies and Yates both praised the trip for allowing students and faculty to commune together on the ship.
According to McCabe, the University's desire to create an intellectual community was one of the major reasons Semester at Sea chose the University as its academic sponsor.
"The whole University's model was designed by Thomas Jefferson being based on an 'Academical Village' is essentially what we have on the ship -- students engaged with faculty in a true academic community," McCabe said.
Although the first reports of the trip have been mostly positive, it will still be a month before the University is able to review all of the responses from participating faculty and students and make a final analysis of the summer session, Grossman said.
Faculty Senate Chair Ricardo Padron who taught on the ship this past semester, said although the trip provided a rigorous experience for students, there is still room for improvement.
"I think there is some fine tuning that needs to be done in coordination of academic programs with resident life programs and really making every class well integrated with the field program," Padron said. "Some sort of structure needs to be put in place so that students have more guidance in port experiences."
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