Post through the courtesy of Las Vegas Review-Journal: Nov. 14, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Commission pushes to raise participation in study abroad
By K.C. HOWARD
REVIEW-JOURNAL
In 1998, UNR student Ryan Larsen spent a year discovering Costa Rica, including its warm Pacific Ocean, rain forests in the clouds and mysterious culinary treats.
"The major theme of my entire trip was seeing things for the first time, all the time," said Larsen, who now is a graduate student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
"My host mother would bring out a fruit I had no idea existed, a fruit that looked like it was out of a Dr. Seuss book, (or) seeing an animal that looked like a cross between a raccoon and I guess a small dog, seeing all that for the first time."
He's emphatic that every student should study abroad, saying it's necessary to learn about the world just as a second language is.
"I know Costa Rica, for example, hasn't had a military since 1949, and that's extremely progressive," he said. "To see a system like that work is amazing."
Today, the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program is calling for the nation's colleges and universities to send 1 million students abroad a year by 2017.
That's a tall order considering the nation sent only about 191,000 students abroad last year. The rate is growing by about 10 percent annually, according to the bipartisan group appointed by Congress and the president to increase the number of students studying abroad, particularly in underdeveloped countries.
Commissioners emphasized the need to make study abroad financially available to students of all income levels. "We believe that in the education of students in this 21st century, a student cannot be fully educated if they're not globally competent," William Delauder, director of the 17-member commission, said during a news conference Friday.
The plan requires Congress to approve $50 million to begin providing scholarships and fellowships of up to $5,000 to students. According to the proposal, Congress gradually would increase the allocation to about $125 million by 2011.
The Senate on Thursday passed a resolution making 2006 the "Year of Study Abroad." But Congress is considering drastic cuts to domestic programs, including higher education programs such as grants for low-income students.
"The timing for this couldn't be worse," said Eric Herzik, a University of Nevada, Reno political science professor. "Congress is being whip-sawed by deficits from the war in Iraq, which isn't going away anytime soon, the hurricanes, which piled onto an already large deficit, and the unwillingness of Republicans to give up tax cuts."
He said he did not believe Congress would approve a new program when lawmakers are looking at cutting back popular existing programs. If institutions have budget crunches, they'll have a difficult time allocating funds to support students studying overseas.
"It is often seen as a frill," he said. "I can make a passionate plea of the value to the individual, but when money's tight -- study abroad or my own programs at home -- at home wins."
Members of the commission said Congress would have to decide whether to make this a priority and how to allocate the funds.
"This is a critical component of the country's future, and it is not a frill. It is a need for our economic competitiveness, and I suppose there is no good time to ask for money," Delauder said.
The Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program would allow institutions or consortiums of smaller colleges to compete for three-year grants.
Students also could enter national competitions for scholarships or fellowships. Commissioners said those awards will be merit-based, but the amount will depend on financial need.
Universities and colleges also would support students financially, according to the commission's plan. For example, if a university sent 100 students abroad with scholarships from a Lincoln grant, that school would have to continuously fund 80 students' studies abroad annually.
"The bottom line is money," said Susan Thompson, UNLV's director of international programs, who attended the commission's conference in Denver this month to discuss the report. "The number one reason students don't study abroad is the cost."
UNLV has 504 students studying abroad this year, and UNR has 321.
Last year, Nevada had the ninth-fewest number of students studying abroad in the nation with about 626 students, according to the commission's report.
Jane Nichols, vice chancellor of academic affairs, said Nevada's numbers are low compared to those of other states because there are few private schools here but there is a large number of first-generation college students who aren't aware of programs for study abroad and tend not to plan for them.
"Students at private schools, a higher percentage tend to go abroad, perhaps partially because they can afford to," she said.
The Nevada System of Higher Education's master plan calls for significantly increasing participants in programs for study abroad, but no target has been established, she said.
The average tuition a semester for students attending UNR or UNLV is about $1,600, and it costs about $5,700 a semester to study abroad, said Carmelo Urza, director of the University Studies Abroad Consortium at UNR.
UNLV offers some scholarships abroad, and UNR does not, he said.
Board of Regents Chairman Bret Whipple, who studied abroad in Germany, said regents should discuss the possibility of finding financial support for students.
The commissioners also said they hope to increase student travel to nontraditional locations such as the Middle East and Africa, particularly Morocco and Tanzania.
University officials in Nevada said they do not have programs in countries that the U.S. State Department does not consider safe.
Urza said he believes students are safer studying abroad than they are stateside. "I'm more concerned about my 20-year-old daughter driving Nevada's country roads," he said.
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