2008 Woodie Awards
Students discover problem in Study Abroad program
Pasquale Passarella, Staff Writer
Issue date: 4/25/07 Section: News
Problems with The Discover the World program, a new study abroad opportunity offering students the chance to spend the semester in Rome, Paris, and Madrid, have lead to difficulty for the students enrolled. According to a student in the program who wishes to remain anonymous, a few weeks after the program's launch, the final destination was changed from Madrid to Salamanca, another Spanish city. While the move to Salamanca was scheduled to take place on April 5, students received an e-mail on April 2 from the Study Abroad Office making another change in the plans. It asked that nine students volunteer to be housed in a Vincentian Seminary that was 25 minutes away from the hotel where the rest of the students would be staying.
"The Residencia is actually outside Salamanca, in a nearby village called Santa Marta de Tormes," the e-mail stated. "You can go to the hotel walking (about 25 minutes) or by bus (there is one bus stop in front the Residencia, and a bus to the center of Salamanaca each10 minutes)."
Before leaving for Salamanca, the students tried to contact the Office of Study Abroad, but Director Ruth DePaula was not available to take calls, according to the anonymous student. The next day, another email, sent by France coordinator Fiona Compagnon, explained that the nine volunteers would be a test group whose opinion of the seminary would be used by the University to decide about future housing there. The email ended with a warning that empty spots in the experimental group would be filled by a lottery. It stated, "If you are not coming to the meeting, you take the risk to be chosen without the possibility to make an arrangement."
The students then sent an email to various faculty members involved in the program, including Ruth DePaula, the director of the Study Abroad program at the Queens campus, Anton Koslov, a government professor, Fiona Compagnon, the coordinator for France, Darren Morton, Associate Dean of Students, Dru Burtz, Associate Director for the Rome campus, Jose Rodriguez, the Associate Vice President of Student Affairs, Sharon Norton, the Vice Provost of the Staten Island campus, and Rosanna Sanders, the Associate Director of International Programs.
"The Residencia is actually outside Salamanca, in a nearby village called Santa Marta de Tormes," the e-mail stated. "You can go to the hotel walking (about 25 minutes) or by bus (there is one bus stop in front the Residencia, and a bus to the center of Salamanaca each10 minutes)."
Before leaving for Salamanca, the students tried to contact the Office of Study Abroad, but Director Ruth DePaula was not available to take calls, according to the anonymous student. The next day, another email, sent by France coordinator Fiona Compagnon, explained that the nine volunteers would be a test group whose opinion of the seminary would be used by the University to decide about future housing there. The email ended with a warning that empty spots in the experimental group would be filled by a lottery. It stated, "If you are not coming to the meeting, you take the risk to be chosen without the possibility to make an arrangement."
The students then sent an email to various faculty members involved in the program, including Ruth DePaula, the director of the Study Abroad program at the Queens campus, Anton Koslov, a government professor, Fiona Compagnon, the coordinator for France, Darren Morton, Associate Dean of Students, Dru Burtz, Associate Director for the Rome campus, Jose Rodriguez, the Associate Vice President of Student Affairs, Sharon Norton, the Vice Provost of the Staten Island campus, and Rosanna Sanders, the Associate Director of International Programs.
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