Summer Study Abroad Programming
Wednesday March 18, 2020 8:01 amColleagues,
After much thought and consultation with senior leadership across the campus, a community decision has been made that all summer 2020 study abroad programming will be suspended. Many of you have already had conversations with colleagues and administrators within your own colleges and have elected to suspend summer programming proactively. Several factors have contributed to this difficult decision.
- Health and safety: The COVID-19 pandemic is still an exceptionally fluid set of circumstances both at home and abroad. This fluidity makes medium range travel planning very difficult.
- Mobility challenges: The US Department of Homeland Security’s current position on travel from Europe has many possible impacts and could continue to evolve, expand, and extend. This impact on the global airline industry has yet to be fully realized; however, is likely to be profound. The long term planning needed in study abroad programming is not possible in terms of assuring what travel is and is not possible. Additionally, the many unknowns associated with possible quarantine restrictions both at home and abroad over the coming months result in many complex variables.
- Financial risk: It is important to assure that financial risk is reduced for all parties students, faculty, colleges, and the institution – most important being the students. As programming financial payment deadlines fall within the current travel suspension, financial risk exposure is opened up for all parties at a time when the above variables complicate prudent planning in study abroad programming.
At this time it is too early to formulate institution-wide decisions for Fall 2020 study abroad programming as time and the development of this crisis will inform this decision. I recognize that this is extremely disappointing. Please feel free to contact me with any questions (jhobson@fullerton.edu). Despite entering into difficult times, I look forward to supporting future international programming.
Best wishes,
Jack
C.J. Hobson
Senior Director, Global Titans Center