In Fall 2006, new students at Goucher College will start college knowing that they will have to study abroad for a minimum of three weeks to graduate.
The new initiative, introduced three years ago as part of Goucher President Sanford Ungar's strategic plan for the college's curriculum, is intended to make students learn about other cultures.
"International study has become an indispensable component of a comprehensive liberal arts curriculum, and that is why we are taking this step to establish it as a permanent and prominent aspect of our own (curriculum)," Ungar wrote in an open letter to the Goucher community in September.
Ungar wrote that if more American students study abroad and show their concern for international issues, other countries' perceptions of the United States will improve. Though a three-week intensive course overseas will fulfill the new requirement, Goucher students will be encouraged to study abroad for a full semester. If students choose to enroll in a three-week course, they will not receive course credit and the program will have to be completed during winter, spring or summer break.
In order to relieve some of the monetary burden of the study-abroad requirement, Goucher will provide a $1,200 voucher for students taking the three-week courses, which each cost approximately $3,000 plus airfare.
But Gabbi Glass, a Goucher junior who is currently studying abroad, said the vouchers would not be that valuable.
"We pay a lot to go to (Goucher) so it's not really like they're giving us money for the trips," Glass said.
In his letter, Ungar wrote that he expected the college to lose some students because of the new requirement but hoped to attract many more. The new policy will "stir things up in a big way," leading other institutions to adopt their own study abroad requirements, Ungar wrote.
Samantha Brandauer, assistant director of the Office of International Programs at Brown, said the University "has a healthy number of students who are studying abroad."
Brandauer said she does not believe Brown should make students study abroad. "I don't see (such a requirement) ever being implemented at Brown because Goucher has fewer students and Brown only deals with semester and yearlong programs," she said.
Brandauer said it is up to students to make their own decisions, but she recommends that students study abroad.
Some Goucher students say that the new study abroad requirement is inappropriately forcing students into something they might not want to do.
"As for it being mandatory, I'm not really fond of the idea ... because there are people who just have no interest in (studying) abroad, for different reasons, and I think that should be respected," said Linda Jones, a senior at Gaucher who is currently studying abroad. "Although I can see the benefits of studying abroad, I just don't think it's necessary to force people into it," she said.
