- NAFSA survey shows American support for studying abroad
- Letter to Parents March 2008
- Past Study Abroad Photos
- Important Information
Letter to the Parents from the Dean of LS&A :
The University of Michigan offers a wonderful range of academic programs for its undergraduates, and among these is the opportunity to study abroad through the Office of International Programs. As Dean of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, I strongly support international education and recommend that students take advantage of the experience as part of their U-M education.
Study abroad through the OIP is integral to the LSA curriculum, and its programs are of a comparable academic rigor to courses offered here in Ann Arbor. Students who enroll in its programs earn credits which automatically count towards their U-M degree and can be used to satisfy various academic requirements.
I urge you, if you have not already done so, to encourage your son or daughter to consider studying abroad while at U-M. It is an experience that enriches a student’s four years at Michigan and one which remains with the student for a lifetime.
Terrence J. McDonald
Arthur F. Thurnau Professor,
Professor of History, and Dean
Letter to Parents - March 2008
We’re delighted that your son or daughter has chosen to participate in one of our study abroad programs. The University of Michigan supports students’ including an international experience in their undergraduate education at U-M, and I want to emphasize that the Office of International Programs is committed to both the academic quality of its programs and the safety and support of its students while they are abroad.
As you and your student prepare for their time abroad, I want to pass on a few last minute suggestions and also to underscore the OIP’s continuing commitment to the safety of all University of Michigan students abroad.
- Packing: Try to keep it light! I realize that it’s hard to fit a semester or year’s worth of clothing and other personal items into one or two suitcases and at the same time keep them light enough that they are manageable, but our experience has been that taking less is easier in the long run. We advise students that they can get along without many things for a semester or year (and even purchase them on site), but the tendency to bring too much remains, especially for a first time abroad and for such an extended stay. The hard part is carrying everything; even with checking bags for the plane flight, students when they first arrive will likely need to carry them up and down stairs. If at all possible, please suggest that they may be able to do without some of the things that they’ve planned to take. (This may not be an easy thing to do.) Please keep in mind too the new rules for carry-on luggage and safety procedures: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/index.shtm.
- Arrival and the first few days: It may be difficult for your child to call or e-mail you as soon as he or she arrives on site. I realize that it would be reassuring to know right away that the trip has come off without a hitch, but it can be complicated to locate a telephone or get to a computer in the first few days of a program. It has been our experience that a missed phone call or e-mail message does not mean bad news—simply that it’s been hard to get to a phone or computer.
You may also want to keep in mind that students’ responses to their programs in the first few days are often very intense—it’s fabulous, it’s unspeakably awful. Jet-lag as well as homesickness and uncertainty contribute to reactions that are often only short-term and may quickly swing to the opposite extreme. A willingness to listen and patience on your part are often the keys to their getting beyond these initial impressions and settling in to their new environment.
Our office is, of course, more than willing to help solve problems that arise. As a first step, we recommend that students speak to the on-site staff: they’re the ones most able to deal with these problems and can do so quickly.
- SAFETY: The recent events in London and at Heathrow Airport have heightened everyone’s concerns about safety abroad, and I want to emphasize how important the safety of U-M students abroad is to the OIP. Monitoring students’ safety while abroad is an on-going concern, and our office is committed to doing whatever is necessary to keep students safe. The OIP has drawn up guidelines for handling emergency situations of all kinds, and these serve as the basis of our response to emergencies. In addition, we emphasize to students the importance of behaving sensibly while abroad and avoiding risky situations in orientation meetings both before they leave Michigan and when they first arrive on site.
- PASSPORT: If you do not have a valid passport, consider applying for one as soon as possible. Should you need to travel abroad at short notice (in case of an inexpensive weekend get-away fare or an emergency involving your child, for example), having a passport will make your departure much easier.
Apply in person at your city’s main post office or at your local County Clerk’s Office. Instructions and forms may be found online at http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html
-
TRAVEL: If you plan on visiting your son or daughter while they are studying abroad, please plan your visit for a time when classes at the host university or program site will not be in session. Students earn academic credit for these programs, and we expect that they will be as attentive to their studies as they are here in Ann Arbor; it is not appropriate that they miss classes to host visitors (or to travel). They will want to show off their new “homes” and their language skills, and may be tempted to miss class during your visit.
-
LODGING: Unfortunately, you probably won’t be permitted to stay with your son/daughter in their housing when you visit. Just like at U-M, many university dorms are not equipped to permit this, and many host families may also not be prepared (or have the space) to have you stay. We encourage you to plan your own lodging when you visit, and your son/daughter should be able to help recommend nearby options.
-
INSURANCE: All participants in U-M OIP programs are now covered by a required international travel health insurance plan through HTH Worldwide insurance. You can read all the details about the plan benefits and costs on the OIP download center. Students will receive an insurance card to carry with them. As determined by the U-M Provost, regardless of personal coverage, participation in this travel health insurance plan cannot be waived.
Parents who have concerns about safety abroad may wish to review the information on the U.S. Department of State’s website and are welcome to contact the OIP to discuss their concerns.
Best wishes for a wonderful semester—for both you and your child.
The OIP Staff
Download Center for Accepted Students and Their Parents
This site is designed to give OIP accepted students all of the information and forms needed to study abroad. Please visit the Download Center for information regarding students safety, U-M policies, acceptance forms, etc.
- Courses, credits and grades
- Finances, scholarships and financial aid
- Pre-departure requirements, including Orientation
- Passports, travel and other pre-departure preparation
- Medical insurance and facilities, medications and on-going conditions
- Safety abroad
- Arrival at the program site
- Communication
- Culture shock
- Cell phones and e-mail
- Additional travel while abroad
- Re-entry
- OIP contact information
For all oIP-Sponsored programs
- The program has been reviewed and approved by the OIP's Faculty Executive Committee
- Students earn U-M in-residence credit (NOT transfer credit) for all academic work done on the study abroad program. These credits automatically count toward the 120 required for a U-M bachelor's degree
- U-M financial aid and U-M-awarded scholarships may be applied toward the cost of the program
- The student's U-M transcript will show the title of the study abroad program and the specific courses, credits, and grades from that program
Students' academic work abroad, while on OIP programs, appears on their transcripts in the same fashion as work completed in Ann Arbor. While the student is abroad on an OIP program, they are registered at the University of Michigan and thus remain a fully enrolled student at U-M. The courses and credits taken abroad will automatically count as general elective credit toward the 120 credits required for the bachelor's degree and often can be used to fulfill distribution and/or concentration requirements.
Once the study abroad program has been completed and students' grades reported, OIP will have these results added to the U-M academic record. The student's transcript will show the name of the host school as well as the specific courses, credits, and grades from abroad.
As part of their preparation for going abroad, all students are required to meet with an academic advisor to discuss the courses they plan to take while abroad and how they fit into a student's academic program at U-M. Students, together with their advisors, are asked to complete the Advisor Approval Form included on the Download Center.
Finances, Scholarships, and Financial Aid
Program costs vary among programs. For some programs, students are assessed U-M tuition at the appropriate in- or out-of-state rate for their college of record, plus a program or administrative fee. For other programs, academic fees (and sometimes housing costs) are paid directly to the host university or third-party provider. For those programs in which students pay the provider or host university, the OIP assesses an administrative fee, which varies according to length of program and level of OIP support. This fee helps cover the costs of U-M, and specifically OIP, support services before, during and after the student's time abroad.
Included in each student's acceptance materials is a cost breakdown for calculating study abroad program costs for the particular program to which your child has been accepted. (For cost information on OIP Financial Info.) These costs are based on the most current information available to us, and we ask you to review them carefully. In some cases, as indicated on the cost worksheet, we can only provide estimates (e.g., for airfare or food). Moreover, when comparing program costs, please bear in mind that the program fees for some programs may include the cost of housing (and food), while for other programs keep these as a separate expense. The worksheet clarify which costs are included in the program fee and which are separate or additional expenses. Keep in mind too that expenses abroad may be greater or less than the estimates on the worksheet as exchange rates rise or fall.
To accept a space in the program, students are required to return the electronic acceptance form to the OIP, plus other documentation as described in their official OIP acceptance letter. Once a student has accepted a spot in the program, they will be billed for program fees in full. Students are responsible for all program fees, even if they withdraw or are dismissed from the program, as specified in the OIP General Handbook and the cost sheet for the program.
Students participating in a U-M-sponsored study abroad program are eligible to apply their financial aid awards toward the cost of the program. The OIP supplies cost information about its programs to the U-M's Office of Financial Aid (OFA) to use in its (OFA's) calculation of financial aid packages. The application for financial aid, to be submitted directly to OFA, is separate from the study abroad scholarship application. OFA deadlines are usually in February for Spring and Summer study abroad programs and in March for Academic Year programs. For more information about financial aid at U-M, please refer directly to the OFA's website.
Pre-Departure Requirements, including Orientation
In preparation for their time abroad, students are expected to participate in two meetings designed to inform them about study abroad through U-M and about the particular program in which they will participate. (Students' acceptance letters contain the dates of these meetings.) The first meeting, scheduled in November (for Winter term study abroad programs) or March (for Spring, Summer, Fall, and Academic Year programs), covers study abroad in general and, we hope, begins the process of students' thinking about what their experience will mean and how it will affect their life.
At program-specific meetings, students will meet with OIP staff, faculty advisers and other program specialists to learn how the program operates, what they need to do to prepare to go abroad, what is expected of them in terms of academics, and how best to represent themselves as Americans abroad. They will receive a program-specific manual, a pre-departure checklist, information about visa requirements, program dates, and other program-specific arrangements. OIP staff will also discuss with students the safety measures for their particular program and the host country. (Information about safety, local arrangements, and various on-site activities will be covered again in the orientation meeting when students first arrive at the program site.)
Parents are welcome to attend one or both of the meetings in Ann Arbor.
Passports, Travel, and other Pre-Departure Preparations
Students must have a passport to travel abroad and is required to provide a copy to the OIP in order to be accepted into an OIP program. For those students who already have passports, we ask them to verify that they are valid for the entire time they are abroad plus six months.
Visa requirements vary from one country to another, as well as by length and purpose of stay, and students are provided with this information at the program-specific orientation meeting. For some countries, the OIP is able to assist students in the processing of their visas; for others the consulates require students to apply individually for their visas. In all instances, a current passport is required for a visa to be issued.
Because students often wish to travel before or after a program or depart from different cities, the OIP does not make travel arrangements for program participants. We suggest students make reservations as soon as they commit to a program as it is generally easier to obtain cheaper plane fares. Students' program manuals will contain information about program beginning and ending dates.
The OIP is not able to accommodate students who wish to arrive at the program site before the designated arrival date. Nor can it make allowances for students arriving late at the program sites. Similarly, students are expected to remain on site until their final exams have ended. The OIP cannot make special arrangements for exams for students who wish to leave a program early.
- Insurance
- Some Coverage Benefits
- Coverage in the U.S.
- Health Emergencies
- Extended Insurance Coverage
- Prescription Medications
Insurance
All University of Michigan students are required to be covered by HTH Worldwide health insurance while abroad. Mandated by the UM Provost, this international insurance plan is reasonably priced, covers a wide range of conditions and events, and eliminates the need to insure that your own health insurance will provide sufficient international coverage.
Coverage under this plan is required, and the OIP/GCIS will be responsible for enrolling students in the program. Costs of the coverage are included in the OIP/CGIS Administrative Fee or OIP/CGIS Program Fee.
HTH Worldwide has a website that provides full information about the insurance program and its benefits. Students are encouraged to visit this website often and access the information when seeking medical treatment or assistance.
- If students use an HTH preferred physician, HTH Worldwide will pay “up-front” for most medical treatment, eliminating the need to file claims for reimbursement
- If student see a non-HTH physician, students will pay up front and submit a claim form to HTH for reimbursement
- If students go to a pharmacy, they will pay up front for services and submit a claim form to HTH for reimbursement
- Includes emergency medical evacuation, if HTH determines treatment outside local area is necessary
- Valid for your entire time abroad, whether in your host country or travelling elsewhere outside the US
- Includes payment for treatment of mental and nervous disorders including drug or alcohol abuse
- Includes most outpatient prescription drugs
- Pre-existing conditions are not excluded
- Includes payment for emergency medical evacuation as well as expenses (up to $1,500) for a bedside visit by a family member if you are hospitalized
- Students have access to a website of HTH certified English-speaking physicians in their destination location and can pre-arrange an introductory appointment. The website provides links to other important resources available through HTH Worldwide, including drug translations, medical terms & phrases, and CityHealth Profiles (for safety and security in your destination location)
- Each student will receive an electronic insurance card (emailed to them prior to program departure), with important access numbers and contact information.
- Additional coverage details are provided to all students in the OIP/CGIS General Handbook, distributed at the General Pre-departure Orientation and available on the OIP/CGIS website.
While the HTH Worldwide insurance plan will provide some continued coverage for when you return home following a condition or injury abroad, this coverage is extremely limited and therefore you should by all means continue whatever current health insurance coverage you have in the U.S.
In the event of an emergency, students should go immediately to the nearest physician or hospital without delay and then contact HTH Worldwide. HTH Worldwide will then take the appropriate action to assist and monitor the medical care until the situation is resolved. To contact HTH Worldwide in the event of an emergency, call 1.800.257.4823 or collect +1.610.254.8771 or globalhealth@hthworldwide.com. Students who encounter difficulties are encouraged to also notify OIP/CGIS so we can help connect you with a representative from HTH if needed.If you wish to be covered for a longer period (e.g., to travel outside the U.S. before or after the OIP program), you may elect to enroll for additional days, at your own expense, directly on the HTH Worldwide website. Students who wish to either purchase new coverage or who wish to extend coverage directly outside of the UMICH Study Abroad program must sign up directly on the HTH website using the U-M Ann Arbor Online Group Self Enrollment Codes (OGSE): EAL-7718/ Subgroup Code: UMAO. Students will be billed an additional $5.00 administrative fee for registering for travel before or after their OIP/CGIS program, plus the daily cost of coverage.
Prescription Medications
If you require prescription medication, you should bring a supply with you to last the entire time that you will be abroad. Although many medications are available worldwide, they are not always identical in strength or composition to what you take at home. Bring medications in your carry-on luggage, in their original containers, along with a letter from your doctor explaining the dosage, why the medication has been prescribed, and why you are traveling with a large quantity. This is especially important if you enter the country with medications that are highly controlled due to their tendency to be abused in other contexts.
Safety abroad is of paramount concern to the University of Michigan and specifically the OIP. Our role is to monitor conditions at our program sites before and during students' time abroad and to provide students with safety information they need to know while abroad. Should conditions at a program site deteriorate to threaten students' safety, the OIP will take the appropriate steps to place students out of harm's way.
The process of monitoring conditions abroad is on-going. In gathering and evaluating information about safety and related concerns, the OIP is in contact with program directors and other on-site staff, U.S. State Department officials, other study abroad professionals, and faculty with expertise in particular areas of the world. We review information to assess not only security conditions and the risk of terrorism in a given country, but also potential medical risks, crime, and other threats such as natural disasters which may result in cancellation of a program. This monitoring continues once students are abroad. If conditions warrant, the OIP will cancel a program and make the necessary arrangements for bringing students home immediately.
In informing students about safety abroad, our practice is to repeat the information early and often. Safety issues are addressed in the program-specific orientation meetings held before students leave campus, reiterated during orientation when students first arrive on site, and discussed in students' program manuals. Directors and other on-site staff also meet with students periodically and, when conditions warrant, during their time abroad. Before a vacation, for example, when students often travel away from their study abroad site, directors may meet with students to review guidelines for safe travel (including such suggestions as avoiding American-associated spots such as McDonald's; not drawing attention to themselves as Americans-no U-M t-shirts, for example; and traveling with a partner but not as a pack).
Even more important than educating students about safety abroad is emphasizing to them that the biggest risks abroad are the same risks they face in Ann Arbor- alcohol- and traffic-related accidents and injuries. Laws and customs relating to alcohol consumption and driving can be significantly different abroad and students need to be prudent and cautious. The OIP strongly discourages students from renting cars or similar transport, and we would be grateful for your reinforcement of this message. Public transportation, such as trains and buses, is far more reliable in most countries-and even superior to what is found in the U.S. Similarly, although we cannot regulate or prohibit students' consumption of alcohol, we urge them to observe local customs of alcohol use. In most countries drunkenness, in public or private, is frowned upon. We also emphasize that their judgment is impaired while intoxicated and that they may be ill-equipped to evaluate the risks of dangerous situations.
All programs begin with an orientation session when students first arrive on-site. This initial meeting is critical for students. For many it is the first time they meet the program director, staff, and fellow students and it is important for students to arrive in time to settle in, usually the day before the meeting. The director will likely review the academic requirements for the program, housing arrangements, appropriate behavior, safety guidelines, and emergency contact information. It is not possible to excuse students from this meeting; we are not in a position to repeat the information for students whose travel arrangements have them arriving later.
With cell phones and e-mail now so widely used we, in the U.S., have become accustomed to instant communication. Some expect at it will be as simple to keep in touch with someone abroad. Parents often request their children contact them immediately upon their arrival in the host country. When students fail to call or e-mail within 24 hours, parents often become concerned. While the OIP is glad to assist in getting a message to the program site in such situations, our experience is the first 48 hours are sufficiently busy and even confusing and students are often unable to get to a computer to send a message or to find a telephone from which to call. Please be patient. It is extremely unlikely that the student has not arrived at the program site and you can expect that your son or daughter will contact you as soon as he or she is able.
E-mail is a simple way to stay in touch, and it minimizes the problems caused by time differences and individual schedules. Study abroad students typically continue to use their U-M e-mail accounts and thus there is no need to worry about new e-mail addresses. Virtually all program sites offer computer access for students, either at the program center or a cyber café. Although these facilities are usually more than adequate, they are seldom comparable to what is available on the home campus. Residence halls are rarely hard-wired, for example, and the machines themselves may be older and slower.
Cell phones are even more ubiquitous abroad than in the U.S. and most study abroad students purchase or rent them at relatively low cost. Keep in mind that U.S. cell phones will not work abroad unless the phone is a "tri - band," which is a significantly more expensive model and usually not worth the additional expense. Students will learn about cell phone options when they arrive on site.
The immediacy of cell phone and e-mail communication is not without its hazards. Because students are encountering unfamiliar situations and may be unsure how to conduct themselves or to assess specific situations, it is not unusual for them to call their parents to share their concerns before they have had a chance to analyze the situation and to discuss the problem with on-site staff. Parents often hear the worst, with students complaining that "no one is helping," or what they remember as being promised has not materialized. The OIP is glad to assist parents in addressing such problems, but we also recommend strongly that as a first step students discuss the problem with the on-site staff, who are likely to have the best perspective on the situation. This is what we ourselves recommend to students and it is often all that is necessary to resolve a problem. Students' learning to problem-solve in this fashion is part of the personal growth that accompanies study abroad.
In the first weeks when students arrive on site it is not uncommon for them to experience culture shock, surprise, dismay, and even anxiety at the cultural differences in their host country and the unfamiliar situations in which they find themselves. The on-site orientation program is intended to help ease this adjustment. Students can and do adapt to the new situations, and in a surprisingly short time. Finding themselves able to settle in and "learn the ropes" can give them an enormous sense of self-confidence.
Research has shown that many students go through a three step adjustment process in acclimating to their host country. In the first stage they are likely to focus on the ways in which everything is different or "foreign." The tendency is to highlight the differences and compare them unfavorably to things at home-the food is bad, the computer facilities are inferior, services are badly organized, etc. The second stage, once students have settled in and begun to learn how things work in the new setting, is the opposite. Students may report they feel at ease in the host country and indeed that they have become, for example, more Italian than American. During the third stage, their view of home and abroad is more nuanced-they are likely to take a more analytic approach to both societies and to find good and bad things in each.
As a parent, you will undoubtedly hear, early and often, what your son or daughter is experiencing and thinking. We hope you will provide them with the support and encouragement they need as they learn about their host country and the new context in which they find themselves.
Additional Travel while Abroad
Students are often anxious to visit as much of their host country or host continent as they can while abroad. While we are delighted for them to do so, we also wish to emphasize that study abroad is an academic activity, for which they will be earning credits and grades. It is not appropriate for students to miss classes in order to travel and we strongly urge them (and hope you will too) to confine their travel to long weekends and school vacations. Similarly, if you plan to visit while your son or daughter is abroad and to do additional travel at that time, we would suggest that you plan to visit at a time when the university or program is not in session. Extensive travel is best done in the weeks before and after the study abroad program. We would also ask you to keep in mind that students are expected to remain at the program site until the end of the program-it is not possible to arrange final exam dates to accommodate students' travel interests, or, except in emergency situations, to allow them to return to the U.S. early.
When they return from abroad, students are anxious to share their experiences with family and friends. Their experiences abroad, even for a relatively short program, have been intense and exhilarating. They are often eager to convey the flavor and detail of this experience with those closest to them. For some students study abroad has been a transformative experience, both intellectually and personally, and they want those around them to be aware of the importance of their time abroad. As one U-M student recently remarked at a panel discussion, "I can't begin to tell you how different I am from who I was when I went abroad."
Readjustment to home can be a difficult process - as unsettling as adapting to the host culture when they first arrived abroad. Reverse culture shock may be expressed as criticalness of their own culture, a certain distantness from family and friends, or simple "homesickness" for what they have left behind. All of this may continue for a number of months. The single most important contribution you can make to this readjustment process is to listen. Students who experience culture shock in its strongest form report that they find it hard to describe their time abroad to family and friends, who are seldom willing to take the time to listen to what they have to say.
For a useful introduction to cross-cultural adjustment, and for some helpful recommendations, visit: What's Up With Culture?
© 2002 REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
|
