2008 Woodie Awards
Letter: Study abroad programs offer scholarships, have increasing participation
Issue date: 2/27/08 Section: Opinion
To the Editor:
I am writing in response to Ian Parker's opinion article in the Feb. 13 edition of The Hawk. It should be noted that Parker did not interview me or anyone else in the Center for International Programs (CIP) while writing his article.
I understand that this article was in the "Opinions" section; however, some of the statements that Parker made were misleading. I feel that it is important for prospective and current students, as well as faculty and staff, to have a more complete picture of study abroad.
As the Study Abroad Advisor at Saint Joseph's, I can wholeheartedly say that our office continuously strives to promote the academic and personal benefits of study abroad through the numerous information sessions we hold each semester (there were 11 held this semester), the annual study abroad fair, the flyers posted around campus, and the information that can be found on our Web site.
We also hold an information session for parents during freshman orientation, and we recently collaborated with the Career Development Center on a presentation to returning students about how to work or volunteer abroad after graduation.
Contrary to Parker's belief that we send few students abroad each year, our enrollment numbers are actually very comparable to other schools of our size. In fact, the number of students going abroad for one semester annually has more than doubled since the 2003-04 academic year, increasing from 79 students to 182 students last year, not including those participating in study tours and summer abroad programs.
We hope that these numbers continue to grow as new programs are added. We currently have 29 approved programs in 17 countries around the world-Chile, China, Australia, Italy, England, Namibia, just to name a few.
We do not currently work with any universities in Eastern Europe, but programs are evaluated and added based on student interest, faculty recommendations, and the priorities of Saint Joseph's University. Our most popular study abroad location is Italy; therefore, we have six approved programs in that country.
I am writing in response to Ian Parker's opinion article in the Feb. 13 edition of The Hawk. It should be noted that Parker did not interview me or anyone else in the Center for International Programs (CIP) while writing his article.
I understand that this article was in the "Opinions" section; however, some of the statements that Parker made were misleading. I feel that it is important for prospective and current students, as well as faculty and staff, to have a more complete picture of study abroad.
As the Study Abroad Advisor at Saint Joseph's, I can wholeheartedly say that our office continuously strives to promote the academic and personal benefits of study abroad through the numerous information sessions we hold each semester (there were 11 held this semester), the annual study abroad fair, the flyers posted around campus, and the information that can be found on our Web site.
We also hold an information session for parents during freshman orientation, and we recently collaborated with the Career Development Center on a presentation to returning students about how to work or volunteer abroad after graduation.
Contrary to Parker's belief that we send few students abroad each year, our enrollment numbers are actually very comparable to other schools of our size. In fact, the number of students going abroad for one semester annually has more than doubled since the 2003-04 academic year, increasing from 79 students to 182 students last year, not including those participating in study tours and summer abroad programs.
We hope that these numbers continue to grow as new programs are added. We currently have 29 approved programs in 17 countries around the world-Chile, China, Australia, Italy, England, Namibia, just to name a few.
We do not currently work with any universities in Eastern Europe, but programs are evaluated and added based on student interest, faculty recommendations, and the priorities of Saint Joseph's University. Our most popular study abroad location is Italy; therefore, we have six approved programs in that country.
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