Spring Break
Study abroad office changes financial policies, simplifies applications
Issue date: 4/24/08
The Office of Study Abroad has announced that changes to its billing and financial aid policies will take effect in the fall of 2008.
The new policy will bill students for the tuition required by their study abroad program plus an off-campus matriculation fee, currently assessed at 10 percent of Hopkins's tuition. Additionally, revised financial aid guidelines will allow for institutional grants and scholarships to be put towards approved study abroad programs.
An approved study abroad program has been evaluated by the Office of Study Abroad and the Faculty Advisory Committee on Study Abroad to ensure that the coursework matches the Hopkins's curriculum and will meet departmental standards of academic integrity.
The new system "will definitely decrease the costs for many programs," study abroad coordinator Sharon Chesney said. The previous system had students pay full tuitition for Hopkins, and many forms of Hopkins financial aid did not apply to study aboard programs.
Lori Citti, the director of the Office of Study Abroad, believes that the new policy will make studying abroad "simpler and more transparent to students, and ultimately opens up for more opportunities to a wider range of students," particularly those who are engineering and science majors.
Last year, 183 students participated in various study abroad programs, and the fall 2008 semester will have over 100 students abroad. While numbers are increasing steadily, Citti does not predict a much larger pool of students.
This year's most popular destination is Italy, followed by London, France and Spain. The choices of program and popularity are driven by students' majors of study; programs tend to gear more toward majors such as International Studies, Writing Seminars and psychology, or students with language majors or minors.
By having a one-on-one conference with each prospective study abroad student, the Office guides the students to lay the ground work in program selection, credit transfer, financial aid and pre-departure preparation.
The new policy will bill students for the tuition required by their study abroad program plus an off-campus matriculation fee, currently assessed at 10 percent of Hopkins's tuition. Additionally, revised financial aid guidelines will allow for institutional grants and scholarships to be put towards approved study abroad programs.
An approved study abroad program has been evaluated by the Office of Study Abroad and the Faculty Advisory Committee on Study Abroad to ensure that the coursework matches the Hopkins's curriculum and will meet departmental standards of academic integrity.
The new system "will definitely decrease the costs for many programs," study abroad coordinator Sharon Chesney said. The previous system had students pay full tuitition for Hopkins, and many forms of Hopkins financial aid did not apply to study aboard programs.
Lori Citti, the director of the Office of Study Abroad, believes that the new policy will make studying abroad "simpler and more transparent to students, and ultimately opens up for more opportunities to a wider range of students," particularly those who are engineering and science majors.
Last year, 183 students participated in various study abroad programs, and the fall 2008 semester will have over 100 students abroad. While numbers are increasing steadily, Citti does not predict a much larger pool of students.
This year's most popular destination is Italy, followed by London, France and Spain. The choices of program and popularity are driven by students' majors of study; programs tend to gear more toward majors such as International Studies, Writing Seminars and psychology, or students with language majors or minors.
By having a one-on-one conference with each prospective study abroad student, the Office guides the students to lay the ground work in program selection, credit transfer, financial aid and pre-departure preparation.
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