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Our opinion on study-abroad: Education or vacation?
Posted Date: 27 Aug 2007 Resource Type: Articles/Knowledge Sharing Category: Study Abroad
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Posted By: Niyaz Member Level: Gold
Rating:  Points: 5
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US - Twenty years ago, when college students studied abroad they usually devoted their entire third year, immersing themselves in the language and culture. That's how it became known as "junior year abroad."
Times have changed, and not for the better. Today, about 200,000 college students take study-abroad trips each year. At least half of those are quick jaunts, often done over the summer with close friends from college and contracted out to private tour operators.
By themselves, the quick trips aren't a big deal. But they are a marker of deeper problems that undermine study-abroad programs at a time the United States desperately needs foreign expertise.
Business leaders struggling to compete in a global economy, and government agencies engaged in a global war on terror, need sophisticated employees who can do more than find the best beer garden in Munich. Problems include:
* Conflicts of interest. Many colleges now farm out their study-abroad programs to independent operators who then kick back money to the colleges as rewards for the referrals. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is exploring that issue as part of a broader investigation into the financing of study-abroad programs. The circumstances are disturbingly similar to scandals earlier this year involving colleges' handling of student loans. Cuomo and others found that colleges were directing students to preferred lenders who charged higher interest rates.
* Limited range. When Congress examined study-abroad programs in 2005, it discovered that two-thirds of the students went to Europe and only about 1% to the Middle East. The State Department, Pentagon and CIA desperately need young Americans who can navigate challenging parts of the world far from London.
* Credit-hour hassles. Students who want to spend a full year abroad, or attend a university not on a college's pre-approved list, often find they can't transfer many of their credits. That can lead to an expensive delay in graduation. Faculty at the home university in the USA say they need guarantees that the foreign courses were rigorous. In some cases, however, the issue appears to be more about protecting turf — and tuition payments — than academic rigor.
* Love boats. The latest fad is spending a semester aboard a cruise ship stocked with professors. That might be a fine idea for alumni, but students are better off on dry land, meeting the natives and soaking up their language and culture.
While there's plenty of blame to spread around for the state of study-abroad, including unadventurous students and questionable practices by tour operators, the ultimate accountability lies with colleges. It's up to them to eliminate conflicts of interest and provide better oversight to ensure that "study abroad" lives up to its original intent and doesn't turn into "party abroad" instead.
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