URI students during Carnival in Italy (above) and Interlaken, Switzerland (below) during their study abroad experiences. Photos contributed by Caroline Joncas.
With COVID-19 prohibiting University-supported international travel, the University of Rhode Island’s Office of International Education will begin offering online study abroad opportunities for students next semester.
On Oct. 1, the Office of International Education made the decision to suspend all international travel abroad for the 2021 spring semester, consistent with their similar decisions affecting the 2020 summer and fall semesters and the 2021 winter J-term.
According to the Assistant Director of the Office of International Education Kelly Watts, the companies that offer many of URI’s international education abroad began offering online international programs for students to participate remotely instead.
There are 15 institutions across the world that will be supporting this remote-learning initiative for students to choose from. Some of the options include studying from professors and at universities in Costa Rica, Ireland and New Zealand.
Watts said that students can either enroll as a full-time student in online courses at an international university, can take a variety of classes at multiple international institutions or can do an international, virtual internship and elect to take courses at an international institution as well.
In a time where students can’t physically travel abroad, Watts said that these online programs will allow students to learn more about their subject area from different international perspectives, rather than just the American education from URI.
The Office of International Education hopes that students take interest in these virtual, international offerings whether they were initially planning on studying abroad or not.
“What we anticipate is that there might be students that are interested in this option even outside of COVID-19,” Watts said. “Students who were interested in doing study abroad but weren’t able to, or were hesitant, or had other obligations and didn’t have the ability to take the time, or whatever it might be, this is another opportunity to add a cross-cultural experience in their URI educational experience without physically being [at] the location.”
According to Watts, the program is, however, an all-encompassing option: students who are enrolled in any of the international online offerings will not be able to take classes at URI simultaneously. The Office of International Education does not have the means or infrastructure to be able to split the courses up between URI and international institutions on the basis of financial aid challenges.
Similarly, it is unclear whether students in URI residence halls would be able to participate in these programs as well as maintain their place in on-campus housing.
“For students who are taking all online courses at URI in the spring, this is an option to do that as well, but get a slightly different experience and kind of expand the courses that they may be able to take that aren’t offered here,” Watts said. “URI has so many great courses, [but] they don’t have all the courses. It would also give you the ability to view your discipline through another cultural lens.”
Vice Provost for Global Initiatives Gifty Ako-Adounvo believes that through these new international offerings, as well as URI’s internationalized curriculum, students will continue to expand their global mindset, despite the COVID-19 precautions.
“This is a moment in time,” Ako-Adounvo said. “It is a very, very difficult moment that we are all in. I know that many students, just as we are, are disappointed that we cannot do things the way that we used to. But I see it as an opportunity, that it is giving us the opportunity and the time to retool and think about how we can work with students to develop into the type of engaged, world citizen [because] that is what the future is and is calling for.”
Next week, Nov. 16-20, is International Education Week at URI, featuring various activities and informational sessions on study abroad offerings where students can learn more about potential programs, as well as remote abroad opportunities.