in Hohenheim studieren

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Some Thoughts on How to Advise Students on
Studying Abroad
by Andrea Bohn Assistant Dean in ACES Academic
Programs October 2, 2006
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Study Abroad Some Expectations
Freshmen 65 state that they want to study
abroad during college (New Student
Questionnaire) At Graduation lt 35 of ACES
students will have studied abroad What happens
in between? What stumbling blocks pop up? Do
we send out mixed messages about SA?
Challenge Strategic goal 40-50 should study
abroad (BUS 100) ? Let us encourage our
students to study abroad, not to fulfill a quota,
but because we are convinced such learning is
incredibly valuable to them.
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Consider ... Ten Reasons to Go Abroad

• Make Your Education Truly World-Class
• Have a New Kind of Learning Experiences
• Earn Academic Credit
• Become a Savvy Traveler

5. Practice Language Skills 6. Gain
Independence 7. Strengthen Your Resume 8.
Understand World Issues 9. Have Real Fun!
Also refer to the departmental statements on
handout.
10. See New Places, Make New Friends
Candice Turnlund and Carissa Maas, New Zealand,
SP 05
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Stumbling Blocks to Study Abroad and Possible
Responses from Advisors

• I find this all really confusing
• Lack of information
• Confusion as to who can provide study abroad
  related answers
• Pre-conceived notions about what study abroad is
  or is not
• Lack of awareness of the broad range of options
• Mixed messages about the value of study abroad
• (Although the campus rings with Go abroad,
  some advisors actually discourage study abroad,
  if not outright by saying something negative,
  then by lack of information about it.)
• That is one of the reasons we are having this
  workshop today ?

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Stumbling Blocks to Study Abroad and Possible
Responses from Advisors

• I cant afford it
• Going abroad for a semester need not cost more
  than studying at UIUC (go on an ACES program,
  choose a program with more scholarship options
  study rare languages, go to Asia)
• Scholarships
• Financial aid applies
• Departmental scholarships ???
• Study abroad is an investment for which it may be
  worthwhile to incur debt.

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Stumbling Blocks to Study Abroad and Possible
Responses from Advisors

• I wont graduate on time
• As advisors, we can help students to PLAN AHEAD
  and to do so early on. For each major there is a
  particular strategy for best integrating study
  abroad.
• Problematic
• Majors/Concentrations with courses in strict
  sequence
• Required courses that are offered only every
  other year
• Scheduling conflicts between required courses
• Difficulty of getting into required classes
• We need to remind students to take CHEM and MATH,
  etc. early on (when they are supposed to), so
  they can at least go abroad in the summer.

10. See New Places, Make New Friends
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Stumbling Blocks to Study Abroad and Possible
Responses from Advisors

• I dont speak a foreign language
• There are programs even in non-English speaking
  countries that do not require knowledge of a FL.
• However, foreign language skills will pay off!
  (More scholarship options, higher wages, better
  cultural experiences, better communication
  skills, )
• My GPA is too low
• GPA 3.0 is standard requirement. But 2.5 2.8 is
  ok, too, for many programs (third party
  providers, study tours, winter break programs,
  some summer programs)
• I need to work during the summer as well as
  during the semester ? Study Abroad may be worth
  getting a loan
• I am too involved on campus ? look at your
  long-term goals
• I will miss my mom (girl/boy friend, cat, dog,
  )
• My parents will never let me go

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Find a Program ... Right for You!
Semester or Academic Year Winter Break
Programs Summer Courses Study
Tours Internships
Individual
Duration
Group
Cost
Language
Courses
Faculty led
Hands-on
Sarah Viall, Leuven, Belgium, SP 05
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Sources of Information
www.aces.uiuc.edu/Students/StudyAbroad/index.cfm w
ww.studyabroad.uiuc.edu www.las.uiuc.edu/coursesab
road/summer.html www.las.uiuc.edu/coursesabroad/w
inter.html
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Sources of Information See handout Study
Abroad Checklist

• Attend a study abroad fair in the Illini Union
  (early Sep, late Jan)
• Go to the Study Abroad Office (SAO) reference
  room in 115 ISB (910 S. Fifth Street)
• Participate in a First Steps Meeting, held in 116
  Lincoln Hall Hall weekdays at 4 pm. Schedule to
  meet with the area advisors once you have
  narrowed your choices.
• Meet with Dean Bohn in 109 Mumford Hall. To set
  up an appointment contact abohn_at_uiuc.edu,
  333-3380.
• Check out the board in the first floor of Mumford
  Hall.
• Subscribe to the SAO newsletter (send an email to
  listserv_at_listserv.uiuc.edu, in the message
  portion of the email write subscribe
  studyabroad-L followed by your full name).
• Talk to students who have already studied abroad.

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Where to go .... through ACES
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Campus Study Abroad Office sao_at_uiuc.edu,
333-6322, 115 ISB
Attend a First Steps Meeting, Mo-Fr, 4 p.m.
Lincoln Hall
Choose from over one hundred programs worldwide!
www.studyabroad.uiuc.edu

• Destinations popular with ACES students
  include
• Australia - Spain - Costa Rica - China
• New Zealand - France - Chile - Thailand
• Ireland - Italy - Ecuador
• United Kingdom

John Milligan, Stirling, Scotland, SP 05
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Semester or Acacemic Year Abroad

• Way to go for the most rewarding, in-depth
  experience abroad!
• This is the most cost effective option, and if
  you go on an ACES program, then a semester or
  year abroad may cost you less than a semester in
  Champaign-Urbana
• Fulfill open elective hours, general education,
  or specific requirements in your major
• Study in English or become fluent in a foreign
  language

Characterized by

• Easy to integrate into programs in ACE, CPSC,
  ANSC, HORT, HDFS
• Requires more careful planning if you are in
  AECE, ABE, FSHN, NRES, or TSM

Consider
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Summer Programs

• There are plenty of great options!
• Earn up to 9 credits in ACES 299, or 1 to 3
  credits in ACES 298, International Experience or
  ACES 293, Intl. Internship
• Requires only a few months of advance planning on
  your part
• Some are group oriented programs, in others you
  will be on your own
• You may decide to come back for a whole semester

Characterized by

• Opportunity costs You will have less time for
  earning money or may have to forego what you
  would otherwise do during the summer

Consider
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Study Tours

• Require little advance planning on your part
• Have a disciplinary focus or are broad based
• Usually very intense, with many site visits
• Earn 1 to 4 credits in ACES 298 (or other)
• Will whet your appetite!

Characterized by

• Traveling in a group is very different from going
  on a study abroad experience alone (with pros and
  cons)
• Relatively high cost per day
• It will be over much too soon

Consider
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Internship
Characterized by

• Options offered through our partners abroad or
  through other organizations (IAAS, AIESEC,
  IAESTE, FAS, Bunac...)
• Can be research related or for work experience
  in a (university/private) lab, a company, a
  farm, a NGO, ...)
• Requires 1 to 2 semesters advance planning on
  your part
• Earn ACES 293 or departmental internship credit

Consider

• Getting an internship abroad requires a lot of
  initiative on your part
• You will probably not get paid
• Takes a independence and self-confidence

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Using the Degree Audit in SA Advising

• Highlight missing requirements
• Advanced Composition must be completed at UIUC
• Avoid doing abroad Math, Natural Sciences
• Great for study abroad (if going to comprehensive
  university in English speaking country or a Third
  Party program with courses in English) Western
  or Non-western Culture, Humanities and the Arts,
  Social Behavioral Sciences
• Count required courses, multiply by 3 ? Total
  hours of specifically required courses
• Subtract these from the total number of hours
  still required for graduation gt open elective
  hours
• Ask student to draft a plan towards graduation,
  putting open elective and general education hours
  in the semester abroad field

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Using the Degree Audit in SA Advising
If student has at least semesters worth of open
elective hours, s/he is very flexible in the
choice of program. I generally recommend that
students save general Cultural Classes, Social
and Behavioral, or Humanity and the Arts general
education classes for the time abroad. Lists of
pre-approved classes, e.g., for Lincoln
University in New Zealand, help students planning
to study abroad if their curriculum is very
rigid.
Eight-Semester Plans (also see handout) Challenge
s What are the courses prerequisites? Which
courses are not offered regularly? Which
courses tend to overlap?
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Courses in a Foreign Language

• Studying abroad is a wonderful way to
• enhance foreign language skills
• complete the foreign language graduation
  requirement or
• complete a foreign language minor.

• If studying at an institution where none of the
  courses are taught in English, it is
• unlikely to find courses that can fulfill
  concentration specific requirement
• most likely to find courses for open elective
  credit, cultural studies (only occasionally
  humanities or social and behavioral science
  general education requirements)
• often possible to complete foreign language minor
  requirements.

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FL Environment with Courses in English
Many programs even in non-English speaking
countries offer courses taught in English. At
the ACES partner institutions listed bellow you
are likely to find courses in English that
pertain to your major

• Denmark, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural
  University, KVL
• Germany, University of Hohenheim, UHOH
• Netherlands, Wageningen University, WUR
• Norway, University of Life Sciences, UMB
• Sweden, Agricultural University, SLU

? Table with pre-approved courses
. and while they may or may not replace required
courses in your major, it is very rewarding to
take courses in your field that are not offered
on campus and thus to broaden your scope and
perspective.
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Motivations for Selecting a Program ? This is why
students make it happen

• Heritage or other reasons for being fascinated by
  a country/region of the world/language
• Desire to travel ? the study abroad location must
  lend itself to that
• Desire to do something entirely different (e.g.,
  Verona Studies program)
• Foreign language minor (e.g.. Spanish minor)
• Recommendations from friends, family, professor
• Affordability (see subsequent slides)
• Timing and/or duration
• Academics quality of courses, course content,
  fulfilling major requirements, taking related
  courses.

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Costs of Studying Abroad
As a rule of thumb, cost increase
from Sponsor ACES lt SAO lt Third Party
Provider per day year lt semester lt summer lt
study tour By region Europe lt Australia, NZ
Asia, Latin America, Africa Cost of living
lower than Europe, but program fee may be
steep due to high personnel intensity
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Cost Components
Program fee payable to SAO or Third Party
provider (usually covers tuition at host
institution) Range IV tuition at
UIUC Airfare Transportation in host country to
get to the school Accommodation in dorm, appt.,
with host family Meals Health insurance CISI for
emergency, some countries require additional,
local health insurance Passport Visa not
required in all countries, esp. SU Personal
expenses (for travel, souvenirs, entertainment,)
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Costs of Studying Abroad - Study Tour -
650-900 ACES 298 Discovery
course 1000-2000 ACES Global Ambassadors, NRES
285 2000-3000 Intl. Business Immersion
Program ANSC 299 ABE/TSM to South
Africa 3000-5000 ANSC to Brazil, South Africa
10-20 days during winter or spring break, second
half of May, some other time in the summer
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Costs of Studying Abroad - Summer -
2000-3000 ACES programs in Korea, Germany,
Denmark, Greece 3000-4000 ACES programs in
Honduras, France, Brazil, Norway 2000-5000 LAS/
SAO courses abroad 3000-7000 SAO summer
programs 4000-10000 Third Party provider
programs (incl. program and SAO fees, UIUC Range
IV tuition, airfare, meals, accommodation,
insurance, personal expenses)
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Costs of Studying Abroad - Semester -
6000-8000 at UIUC 5000-7000 ACES programs in
France, Germany, Netherlands, Honduras, Korea,
Brazil 6000-9000 ACES programs in Norway,
Denmark, Sweden, South Africa 6000-18,000 SAO
programs 10,000-25,000 Third Party provider
programs (incl. program and SAO fees, UIUC Range
IV tuition, airfare, meals, accommodation,
insurance, personal expenses)
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ACES Scholarships
ACES students studying abroad on an approved
program through the College or Campus are
eligible for special study abroad scholarships!
Micah Pope and friends in Zakopane, Poland, SP 05
250 for a study tour 500 for a summer
program 1000 for a semester abroad 1500 for a
year abroad
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ACES International Minor

• Students participating in study abroad programs
  will have met some of requirements to receive the
  ACES International Minor
• www.aces.uiuc.edu/Students/StudyAbroad
• (Problem Lack of 400 level courses with
  international content in most departments)

Micah Pope, Wageningen, Netherlands, SP 05
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Collaboration between ACES and SAO
In ACES Study Abroad it is our goal to provide
you with programs and opportunities that are
particularly tailored to ACES majors.
We also want to help ACES students make better
use of existing programs offered by campus.
David Steffenhagen, Konkuk, Korea, SU 05