A project that I have been working on over the past few years, is the instructor led short term travel course. I have already developed one successful course, based in Paris, that runs every other year. However, I am also in the process of developing another short term travel course, that would take places during the winter term.
Instructor Led Short Term Travel Course:
The mini-travel course (or Instructor led short term travel course) is an increasingly popular type of study abroad that provides students time in a foreign country in order to, experience another culture, take a course, and/or improve their foreign language skills, while remaining affordable.
During the current economic crisis facing many universities and their students, it is becoming increasingly difficult for university programs to maintain semester and year-long study abroad programs. One of the primary reasons for the decline in longer study abroad programs is the student’s inability to financially support themselves whilst abroad. It is common for many students to take on student loans and credit debt in order to put themselves through school, which makes the prospect of a semester abroad seem outside of their reach. Also, many students are working part-time (or sometimes full-time) in order to cover the cost of tuition and are unable to take off great lengths of time.
One way to overcome this problem is through the development of the mini-travel course. This is a course that is usually two-four weeks in length and is held either during the winter or summer semester. The idea behind this type of study abroad is to provide students that might not otherwise have a chance to study in a foreign country (either due to time constraints or financial difficulties) such an opportunity.
Expanding the variety of opportunities for students to study abroad and experience other cultures is a project that I am deeply dedicated to, and I plan on continuing my work on developing other types of short term travel programs.
For more information:
Cynthia Jones, PhD 