Student enrollment numbers are down for summer study abroad programs at the University compared to past semesters, according to Margaret Parker, Academic Programs Abroad director.
“[Enrollment] went from about 300 last year to about 225 at last count,” Parker said.
She said some programs have had the same overwhelming response as usual, such as Design in Mexico, LSU in Ireland and LSU in Spain, but others have shown a decrease in enrollment and still some have been canceled.
“LSU in Italy, Germany, Xalapa and internships in the Ubaye Valley of France have only slightly fewer students than budgeted for,” Parker said. “Three programs were canceled — Footsteps in London and Paris and LSU in Senegal — due to insufficient enrollment, and LSU in China because of SARS.”
She said some students are signing up for different semesters instead of summer, although there is no firm count as programs still are processing applications.
“Many students have chosen spring 2004 rather than fall 2003 thinking that concern about the war and the economy will have diminished,” Parker said. “The number of students going away on the National Student Exchange has almost doubled compared with last year.”
Jay Perkins, a mass communication associate professor, said the mass communication student trip to the United Kingdom started only two years ago.
He said enrollment for the program has been steady; however, there are two fewer spots filled than last year.
“People didn’t sign up in numbers like last year,” Perkins said. “We can take as many as 18 or 20, but only 15 signed up.”
Perkins attributes the decline in participation to a number of reasons.
“We only recruit with the mass communication department, whereas other programs recruit to the whole campus,” he said. “We’d like to have a couple more, but we prefer to keep it small.”
Perkins said the nation’s current international relations also have had an effect on people signing up to leave the country.
“We knew it would be difficult to get people during a war,” he said. “We had students sign up and drop out because mom and dad were concerned about them going abroad.”
He said to combat low enrollment, mass communication professor Emily Erickson put together a slide presentation to show students as they visited classes during the semester.
Harald Leder, an International Program Office director and head of LSU in Germany, said only three students who dropped from the summer program, but that was three more than he ever has seen.
“We’ve never had people drop before,” Leder said. “I think it has something to do with the international situation, but there are other things like SARS.”
He said he tries to be open with students about possible conflicts they may face abroad, but for the most part students are “gung ho” about their trips.