Julie Wernau, a Chicago Tribune reporter, quotes Amelia Marksz, a recent student: "With study abroad, you're kind of sheltered ... You're with a lot of other American students. You're with a university." (See Americans chase internships abroad as a gateway to work, Feb., 1).

Do we really need American helicopter professors hovering above their students abroad and providing courses in English? US students, it seems, rarely have the same experience abroad as do foreign students here.

Foreign students coming to US universities are mainstreamed into the same courses taken by American students. They're cut no slack for being foreign. As a result, foreign students here develop stronger language and cultural skills than most Americans studying abroad.

There is a big difference between studying abroad on faculty-led programs and on direct-enrollment programs, I agree. As with international students enrolled in U.S. institutions, U.S. Americans on direct-enrollment programs abroad have the great advantage of sitting alongside the natives in their classrooms daily in addition to living amongst the natives and being challenged to develop intercultural skills that many students on short-term faculty-led programs will not experience, atleast not to the degree and depth as direct-enrollment students.

I would argue, however, that a faculty member who hovers for the duration of the program has done his students a disservice since those on a short program can gain a great deal if they are empowered to discover, explore, and interact on their own.

Short-term study abroad has been a subject of much discussion in the field over the years. Certainly no one is going to disagree that students gain more interculturally when they study abroad for a longer period of time. However, short-term programs with faculty meet a need for U.S. students as well.

Many students who study with our short-term programs have not been on an airplane before, would never travel alone, and fear being away from home for a long period of time. Therefore participation in a short program builds a great deal of self-confidence and at the very least, students on these programs take advantage of the opportunity to step outside of their comfort zone and be challenged in ways they cannot be at home. So, for some, a faculty-led program is an excellent first step toward a lifetime of travel and study of global affairs.

Whether we like it or not, higher education is driven by consumerism. Many students who choose faculty-led programs would not go abroad any other way. Aside from meeting the wants and needs of consumers, and meeting our students where they're at, we have an obligation to internationalize our institutions, which includes faculty. If faculty don't have the opportunity to go abroad and educate students abroad, then aren't we're doomed to remain the same? Faculty-led programs provide an effective medium for both.

One thing I think more colleges and universities should do is work to diversify their study abroad groups. A group of students from all over the US and beyond is a lot more interesting then a group of students from one university, region, etc. By opening faculty-led programs beyond the home institution, you essentially...

a. Increase competition and subsequently academic rigor, so faculty can focus on academics instead of on getting a minimum number of students.

b. Diversify the group of students (from different colleges and universities and even different nations) to enrich the learning environment and augment the program quality.

c. May boost the credibility and reputation of the sponsoring institution (all the more incentive for universities to put together quality programming and prepare faculty).

d. May also be a good recruiting mechanism for universities to reach college-bound students who are interested in study abroad, considering that the majority of them are interested: http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=International&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentFileID=3997

Melaniemccallon's comment is right on. Not every student is equipped to jump in or can afford (in the short term) the time or money for a longer program.

I esp. agree with - Many students who study with our short-term programs have not been on an airplane before, would never travel alone, and fear being away from home for a long period of time. Therefore participation in a short program builds a great deal of self-confidence and at the very least, students on these programs take advantage of the opportunity to step outside of their comfort zone and be challenged in ways they cannot be at home. So, for some, a faculty-led program is an excellent first step toward a lifetime of travel and study of global affairs.