Study abroad program face low enrollment
Since COVID-19, study abroad enrollment numbers have decreased, despite new program additions.
Studying abroad is an experience that many students take advantage of during their time at St. Ben’s and St John’s. The opportunity is deeply entwined in the history of the institutions—for nearly 50 years, Bennies and Johnnies have been traveling around the world to spend the semester away from home.
As with many other traditions, travel abroad ground to a halt in March of 2020, with students out of the country scrambling to get home. After more than a year with no international travel for students, the Center for Global Education relaunched their programs in the fall of 2021.
The Center for Global Education is responsible for the various semester-long and short-term programs available to CSB+SJU students.
During the 2023-24 school year, this included 13 semester programs and nine short-term programs. Kevin Clancy has served as director of CGE since 2017 and has weathered the rebuilding of the study abroad programs over the last four years. During the 2017-18 school year, CSB+SJU boasted 443 students abroad. In the upcoming 2024- 25 school year, 201 students are projected to study abroad. While part of this drop reflects lower overall enrollment numbers, the percentage of study abroad participation hovered near 50% for the graduating class prior to COVID-19, while only 14% of the graduating class of 2022 studied abroad and 26% of the class of 2023.
Clancy is hopeful that the numbers will continue to trend upwards, as studying abroad remains a goal for many students. To promote and facilitate this, the CGE is focusing on short-term programs. These courses are ideal for students who face barriers with semester-long courses, including conflicts with their major, funding, internships and other commitments. They are designed to be distinct from semester-long offerings beyond just their duration.
“As we build out short term programs, we are not trying to replicate semester programs,” Clancy said. “We are asking ‘What are we not doing in semester programs that we could be doing in short-term programs?’ so that we are providing a variety of pathways for students to have different study abroad experiences.”
This fall, CGE is launching its first fall embedded program, which will take students to India for the first two weeks of winter break. As the center continues to implement new programs, short-term programs provide an opportunity to connect with regions that are more difficult to access over an entire semester.
One of the major changes to semester-long programs is the curriculum. Where there were typically only four to five courses available to students during their global semester, that number is now closer to 15 to 20.
For all the positives that are drawing students back to study abroad, low enrollment has put a damper on some programs. This spring, the embedded program to Chiapas, Mexico, was cancelled after low numbers. Some semester-long courses, like this fall’s Argentina program, have shifted from being faculty-led to independent. Students in this program can directly enroll with the school’s partners in Buenos Aires.
As the Center for Global Education regains its footing, they hope to work toward preventing these cancellations and making study abroad accessible for all students.
“While there’s no guarantee that there won’t be cancellations in the future, I think we’re getting better at determining the amount of courses that can run proportional to our student population,” Clancy said.
Another barrier to students is the cost of these programs. While scholarships exist, the price tag is a difficult pill to swallow. Moving forward, Clancy hopes to address this by increasing the number of scholarships available.
“What is in the best interest for students is to keep these programs running, and we will continue to support that,” Clancy said.