Office of International Programs statement regarding its education abroad management principles
As part of its academic mission, Brown University offers undergraduate students the opportunity to study abroad through a wide variety of academic programs, some offered directly by the university and others sponsored by institutions which Brown approves for academic credit. Well over 500 Brown students study outside of the United States each year and are transformed by their experiences in the most positive and profound ways. Some students choose courses abroad that complement and lend depth to their areas of concentration at Brown, while others use their study abroad experiences to explore topics outside of their concentration.
Brown-sponsored programs currently operate in fourteen countries, through longstanding relationships with overseas institutions or as member of a consortium. They include:
University of the West Indies, Barbados
Pontifical Catholic University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Casa de Las Américas, Havana, Cuba
Collegium Heironymi Pragensis, Prague, Czech Republic
Denmark International Studies Program, Copenhagen, Denmark
University of Bologna, Italy
La Sorbonne, Paris, France
Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, France
Universitè Lumière Lyon 2, France
Humboldt University , Berlin, Germany
Eberhard Karls Universitat, Tubingen, Germany
Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi, India
St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi, India
Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies, Tokyo, Japan
Swedish Program at University of Stockholm
Barcelona Universities Group (UB, UPF, UAB), Spain
University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Keio University, Tokyo Japan
Cornell/Penn/Brown United Kingdom Program (26 UK Universities)
In addition, Brown has compiled a list of over 120 approved programs sponsored by other universities and non-profit providers that have established reputations for high academic integrity, excellent student-support services and clearly established safety protocols. An established petition process also exists that allows students to attend programs that do not appear on either the Brown-sponsored or approved programs list, provided they are able to articulate clear rationales why such programs are a better academic fit for them.
Financial aid, including Brown institutional aid, travels with students when they study abroad on a Brown-sponsored, approved or petition program.
Brown’s policy on approved programs
The OIP advises students about study abroad programs based on academic fit. With the continued growth in demand for study abroad programs to serve America’s college and university students, and the resulting growth in the education abroad field, the standards and quality assessment systems by which we operate are more important than ever before. This is especially true when considering the collaborative relationship between study abroad program providers and institutions of higher learning.
Brown has never received discounts or commissions from, nor has it ever entered into exclusivity contracts with approved program providers. The Office of International Programs (OIP), working in conjunction with academic departments and the College Curriculum Council, approves programs abroad, not providers. Brown has never participated in, supported, or promoted the practice of offering special pricing or incentives to increase enrollments with program providers.
Of the literally thousands of programs and hundreds of program providers currently in existence worldwide, only programs that fill a particular academic niche and have demonstrated integrity are considered for approval. Through periodic site reviews, participation on advisory boards, and active dialogue with colleagues in the field, the OIP monitors and assesses such programs, a much needed element of our efforts to provide due diligence in the interest of serving our students. Issues considered when assessing programs include but are not limited to: Brown academic expectations, host institution academic content and rigor, faculty strength, program resources, integration of the student into the community, extra-curricular activities, orientation, housing, safety, quality of the overseas office, and the role of the resident director.
OIP staff members receive no compensation for their participation on advisory boards other than reimbursement for reasonable travel expenses. When conducting international travel for the purpose of conducting site reviews, costs are shared between the program sponsor and Brown. OIP involvement in program reviews enables staff members to provide students with first-hand knowledge about the vast array of program choices available to them, and to advise students with special academic or student support needs how particular programs might better serve them.
In 2002, an independent organization, The Forum on Education Abroad, was formed by education abroad professionals to act as an arbiter of standards of best practices in response to concerns about the difficulties of evaluating and monitoring study-abroad programs. The current Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad (http://www.forumea.org/documents/ForumonEducationAbroadStandardsofGoodPractice3rdedition2007_001.pdf) are the result of contributions by hundreds of professionals around the globe. Brown has been a member of the Forum since its founding and has been a key player in the development of these standards.
Brown is also an active member of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, which examines institutional management issues in study abroad. NAFSA is committed to establishing guidelines on the financing of study abroad, portability of financial aid, enrollment and credit-transfer policies, and financial relations with third-party providers. These issues have been identified as priorities for the field and The Office of International Programs looks forward to playing an active role in this important dialogue.
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