International Programs NewsRelease

FOREIGN STUDY BARGAINS FOR UNC SYSTEM STUDENTS
COORDINATED THROUGH EXCHANGE PROGRAM AT UNCG
 

Stephen Flynn

Dr. Charles Lyons

GREENSBORO—One of the biggest travel bargains in the state operates on the campus of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Serving as part academic counseling center and part travel agency, the UNC Exchange Program (UNC-EP) is expanding the foreign study opportunities for students on all UNC system campuses.

The program has grown rapidly in establishing exchange agreements with foreign countries, states and university systems all over the world. From its modest headquarters at UNCG, it has a mandate to send students abroad—places many have never gone before.

More than 100 students from 12 UNC campuses took part in UNC-EP during the 2000-01 year and more are signed up for the new year just starting. The number has grown each year since the program was started in 1997 by the UNC Board of Governors. It is part of UNCG’s Office of International Programs and is headed by Stephen Flynn.

Some of the system campuses, such as UNCG, UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State University and UNC Charlotte, have had well-established international exchange programs for some years. Others, such as UNC Asheville and Fayetteville State University, are relative newcomers to study abroad, and UNC-EP has helped them move forward. Interested persons can visit the website at www.uncep.org for details, or call 334-3537.

Affordability is the bottom line for UNC-EP, which helps UNC system students get the most for their tuition dollars in exchange programs. The program’s key feature is that UNC and international students simply swap places, thus enabling the students to pay their regular tuition and fees. Since North Carolina’s in-state tuition and fees are among the lowest in the country, that makes studying abroad highly affordable, said Flynn. Because other exchange programs cost as much as $25,000, even students paying out-of-state tuition can save money under the UNC program, Flynn said.

UNC-EP is addressing concerns expressed by the American Council on Education, which has reported that less than 3 percent of U.S. undergraduates study abroad. The United States annually accommodates approximately 500,000 students from abroad, while sending over 114,000, or less than one-quarter of that number. The one-for-one swap, also known as a bilateral exchange, was developed some years ago by the International Student Exchange Program in Washington, D.C. UNC campuses began to adopt the model for their own exchange programs. Now, the system is doing it, with UNCG serving as the hub, said Flynn.

“For a fraction of that cost, we can send an in-state student overseas and that cost is hard to beat for an experience abroad,” said Flynn. “UNCG already is a leader in the UNC system in international educational exchanges. Through UNC-EP, we are bringing the benefits of these exchanges to all students in the UNC system. Our goal is to make the UNC system a national leader in these types of exchanges.”

 The program grew out of Dr. Charles Lyons’ work to establish the state-to-state student exchange agreement between the UNC system and the German state of Baden-Wuerttenburg in 1996. From that successful effort, the UNCG program was asked by UNC General Administration to serve as the initial coordinating campus for exchanges. UNCG now has the assignment on a permanent basis, with a $150,000 budget. Lyons is associate provost for international programs at UNCG.

UNC-EP is designed to complement UNC campuses’ existing student exchange or other study abroad programs, Flynn said. Exchanges have been established between UNC and universities in 35 countries worldwide. Institutions in Mexico and Israel are included, along with a consortium of universities in Finland and Australia. Other programs include universities in Denmark, Japan, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Hungary, Estonia, France, Thailand and the United Kingdom.

“This has become an exciting model nationally as a way to develop affordable study abroad opportunities and make them available,” said Flynn. “As international students come to North Carolina campuses through the exchanges, the program also helps to diversify the UNC system’s student population.”

Each UNC system campus that participates in the program has a coordinator who helps with student selection, placement and orientation. UNCG serves as the central placement office, taking care of details such as making sure that students get credit at their home university for courses they take overseas.

This program provides more flexibility in student exchanges in the state, Flynn said, because exchange balances are maintained system-wide and not by individual campuses. For example, a UNCG student could study in Finland, while a Finnish student would go to Appalachian State University. An ASU student could go to Israel, and a student from Israel might go to UNCG. Flynn said UNC administrators are expanding the program by looking at countries where UNC students are interested in studying, such as the United Kingdom. They also look for those countries that have the resources and desire to support students from overseas.

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