Following the successful commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Utah Asia Campus in Korea, the Office for Global Engagement shared more details about international learning abroad programs for the U community.
“We’re always looking for unique opportunities for our students that represent a broad spectrum of the world,” explained Randy McCrillis, Senior International Officer. “We want to have options for students that make sense for what they want to explore and make sure that there’s a variety of options for students to understand different parts of the world.”
The U’s Learning Abroad program is operated via an agreement with University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC) since 2014. USAC has more than 50 programs in 26 countries and 93 U students have participated in USAC programs.
To stay in tune with students’ learning abroad interests, the Office for Global Engagement surveys students every three years through the student experience survey in addition to regularly consulting with faculty to gain insights about how student interest is changing over the years.
“We’re listening to students’ needs, not just on where they would go but also where they wouldn’t go,” McCrillis continues, noting that the next survey will occur in spring of 2025.
The U also considers locations that could offer more than just a learning abroad component, including areas where faculty have interest, could conduct research projects or participate in a faculty exchange.
In fully vetting learning abroad locations, the Office for Global Engagement considers whether students would be allowed to get visas and other bureaucratic processes. Safety is a primary concern and the U looks to the State Department for risk assessments as they perform the location analysis. The learning abroad team will perform site visits and determine what learning outcomes potential students could achieve. “We have to know what’s happening and have boots on the ground to make sure that it’s a viable option for our students,” McCrillis continued.
A campus activist group has recently called for the U to suspend their study abroad affiliation with the University of Haifa. To date, and in records dating back to fall 2015, no U students have participated in that program.
The Learning Abroad program reports that USAC is not currently accepting applications to the University of Haifa program through 2025-26. They have the following statement on their website: “The Haifa, Israel program is currently on hold and we are not accepting Spring 2025 or 2025-26 applications at this time. USAC continues to monitor events in the Middle East and will keep students and universities apprised of any changes.” When an affiliate program decides to pause accepting applications through their system the U does the same.
Yet McCrillis offers this thought. “It’s not our role to deny a student that opportunity. How are we helping our students engage and understand the world by limiting that exposure? I think having our students have diverse experiences is only going to help.”