{"id":72504,"date":"2020-05-29T00:05:09","date_gmt":"2020-05-29T04:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/?p=72504"},"modified":"2020-07-22T03:39:44","modified_gmt":"2020-07-22T07:39:44","slug":"students-protest-costs-of-study-abroad-programs-cut-short-moved-online-due-to-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/students-protest-costs-of-study-abroad-programs-cut-short-moved-online-due-to-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Students protest costs of study-abroad programs cut short, moved online due to COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"

One program marketed as #NoPassportNeeded<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

Due to the complications brought by the novel coronavirus, university study-abroad programs are currently in limbo. With most trips cancelled or subject to rescheduling, some programs have been canceled entirely while others are experimenting with remote study-abroad.<\/p>\n

Students seem unhappy with both approaches, and for the same reason: the costs.<\/p>\n

The College Fix<\/em> found mixed responses by schools in the realm of reimbursements for cancelled and abbreviated trips and programs. For example, Scripps College is granting students travel reimbursements on top of room and board. But Syracuse and Boston University are not going the extra mile.<\/p>\n

BU students that expected to study in the United Kingdom over the summer will now receive remote instruction, but for the same \u201cfull sticker price,\u201d according to campus newspaper The Daily Free Press<\/a><\/em> and local news station NBCBoston<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At Syracuse, almost 300 students that were evacuated from a study-abroad program in London will \u201close about $8,000 each in housing and related fees, even though they were evacuated in mid-March about halfway through the semester,\u201d Syracuse.com<\/em> reported<\/a>. The same is true for some of the 165 students evacuated from Madrid.<\/p>\n

Syracuse officials told Syracuse.com<\/em> this is because the university could not negotiate refunds with the owners of the housing leased to students in London and Madrid. (The university did provide financial support to students overseas to pay for evacuation flights back to the U.S., though.)<\/p>\n

MORE<\/strong>: Most Princeton students would take leave if in-person classes don’t resume<\/a><\/p>\n

According to reporting by several student newspapers, the idea of an online study-abroad program isn’t popular among students who had hoped to spend their summer in another nation.<\/p>\n

Rachel Lu was \u201cexcited\u201d to travel to the French Language School over the summer to fulfill the language requirement – until she got word of the change to remote instruction, and withdrew from the program, The Middlebury Campus<\/em><\/a> reported.<\/p>\n

Williams College student Allyse Pratt told the Williams Record<\/a><\/em> that \u201ca big part of the immersion experience\u201d is spending time \u201cwith the people and the culture,\u201d from the host family to community events. Not only is the program \u201cdiminished\u201d by the lack of \u201chuman interaction,\u201d but her unreliable internet connection stateside \u201cwould make the human interaction necessary for language acquisition even more difficult,” she said.<\/p>\n

The University of Oregon is all in when it comes to remote study abroad programs.<\/p>\n

Its study-abroad office, Global Education Oregon, dubbed its remote study abroad programs #NoPassportNeeded Experiences<\/a>. \u201cIn most cases,\u201d the instruction will cost the same as a standard summer course, according to the GEO website.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

American University has also invested in remote study abroad courses. Stacie Burgess, director of public affairs, told The Fix<\/em> that \u201cAU Abroad is offering online courses through its centers abroad in Nairobi, Brussels and Madrid\u201d this summer.<\/p>\n

Students will \u201cnot only learn from our experts and scholars on site\u201d but also \u201cvirtually explore these cities through the eyes of the professors,\u201d she said. Asked about the cost, Burgess said students are only paying tuition, no \u201cadditional fees.\u201d Registrations have \u201cexceeded our expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘Clearly a vastly different product than what they sold to us’<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

BU isn’t bothering with digitizing the study-abroad experience, but rather charging the same price for standard summer courses, save room and board.<\/p>\n

When COVID-19 hit the U.S., hundreds of freshmen in its College of General Studies were gearing up for a summer program in London, known as CGS-London<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to the university\u2019s website, CGS students begin their undergraduate studies by studying abroad in London. The program is \u201cpacked with classes and learning\u201d while still making time for \u201cday trips, travel, and the cultural excursions that make study abroad so enriching.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s class will be receiving a much different experience, kicking their first college semester off at home while paying virtually the same tuition bills at BU, despite their protests to lower expenses.<\/p>\n

Student Albert Kelleher said he promised his parents \u201cfor weeks\u201d that the school would lower tuition, and then felt betrayed when Dean Natalie McKnight emailed students \u201csaying tuition would be kept the exact same,\u201d NBCBoston reported.<\/p>\n

McKnight\u2019s email claimed that \u201cwe’d have to let faculty and staff go\u201d if it lowered tuition for the remote classes, \u201cand then our students would not have the same quality of teaching and service that they need and deserve and that is befitting of a BU degree.\u201d<\/p>\n

NBCBoston determined from BU\u2019s cost breakdown that students would save about $300 by staying on campus rather than going to London, while tuition is kept the same at $27,360.<\/p>\n

MORE<\/strong>: 4 in 5 students say education quality worse with online courses amid COVID<\/a><\/p>\n

Unhappy with the decision, Kelleher petitioned<\/a> President Robert Brown (left<\/em>) for at least a partial refund for summer tuition in light of the drastic difference between studying overseas versus at home. Posted May 4, it received more than 1,400 signatures in three days, according to The Daily Free Press<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The popularity of the petition got the attention of President Brown, who emailed Kelleher directly but simply reiterated the university\u2019s rationale for refusing to lower costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents in CGS who take classes this summer will be full-time students and will take a full semester’s worth of credit,\u201d Brown wrote: \u201cAs Dean McKnight has explained, full tuition is charged for all full-time students.”<\/p>\n

Kelleher still sees all this as a blatant bait and switch. “They are still trying to pass off what is clearly a vastly different product than what they advertised to us, and what they sold to us, and what we agreed to pay for,” he said.<\/p>\n

Fellow student Isabel Zarrow told the Daily<\/em> that she got \u201creally frustrated\u201d when CGS administrators held an online town hall for her class but \u201cdidn\u2019t answer any of the tough questions. They really stuck to their talking points and didn\u2019t give straight answers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The university is \u201clocking [students] in\u201d because these particular credits, known as \u201cBU Hub,\u201d can\u2019t be used at other schools, she said.<\/p>\n

For an extra $800, CGS-London students will have the option to actually study abroad in May 2021, but only for a week, as opposed to the original six week term the university promised. BU did not respond to multiple email inquiries from The Fix<\/em> before and after Memorial Day weekend.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

‘A virtual version will allow us to build collaboration and engagement between trips’<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Other universities are offering study-abroad in name only as well.<\/p>\n

University of Buffalo Prof. Mara Huber is debuting an online extension of her program that typically takes students to Tanzania to study \u201cwomen\u2019s empowerment\u201d in the fall, CNBC<\/a> reported. \u201cThe course has no additional fees beyond a traditional 3-credit course registration,\u201d Huber told The Fix<\/em> in an email last week.<\/p>\n

Huber and colleagues will showcase the \u201ctreasure trove\u201d of digital media they have collected in the past decade on such trips, and students will earn \u201cdigital badges\u201d for completing mentored projects with Tanzanian partners, according to CNBC.<\/p>\n

Huber elaborated on the benefits of taking the program online. \u201cA virtual version will allow us to build collaboration and engagement between trips, while building interest for the travel-based course,\u201d she told The Fix<\/em>. \u201cI do hope to bring students to Tanzania again, as soon as possible, through an in-person study. But, I also hope to continue with the virtual version- and even expand it in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAround\u201d five students have registered for the class, and none has withdrawn, she said.<\/p>\n

MORE<\/strong>: Cal State has ‘no plans to reduce tuition’ with classes staying online<\/a><\/p>\n

IMAGES: pathdoc\/Shutterstock, University of Oregon, Boston University, Change.org screenshot<\/p>\n

\n