Pictured Above: Florence, Italy will be one of the destinations in this summer’s study abroad programs.
Courtesy of USF World
By Sophie Ojdanic
In a typical operating year, the USF Education Abroad office would be offering roughly 50 faculty-led study abroad programs over the summer. This year, there were only four.
USF World offered the following study abroad opportunities for this summer:
**USF in Florence
**USF Romania, Human Osteology and Bioarchaeology
**USF Carribean, Marine Conservation
**USF in the Galapagos Islands
The applications for these programs closed Jan. 31.
As study abroad dates approach, the International Risk and Security Office at the university is getting updates from its insurance provider, as well as health data from Johns Hopkins University.
According to the USF World website, costs of COVID-19 isolation or return tickets will not be covered by the university.
“If you were to get sick while abroad, students will have medical insurance from USF that will pay for hospitalization, doctor’s visits and the like,” according to the USF World website.
“COVID-19 positive individuals will be required to self-isolate or quarantine if they test positive with COVID-19 and will have to comply with local regulations. USF will assist students in making self-isolation/quarantine arrangements for our faculty-led programs, but the costs of individual’s self-isolation (accommodation & food) will be borne by the student.”
Self isolation is also required before returning to USF campuses.
“USF’s primary concern is the health and well-being of our students here and abroad,” USF World Campus Director Wendy Baker said in an email to The Crow’s Nest.
There aren’t only downsides to the pandemic, however.
Baker said that the university has introduced four virtual study abroad activities.
Virtual Global Exchanges partner USF faculty with a colleague outside of the U.S. “to build shared activities between a USF ‘classroom’ and theirs.” This would also entail students from the U.S. partnering with students outside the country on projects or class modules.
International Virtual Internships will offer students a work-from-home opportunity with an organization based abroad.
Integrated Virtual Activities are still in development. They hope “to develop a variety of virtual experiences, from tours of the world’s great museums to guest lectures and cultural exchanges, that can be incorporated into an existing course.”
The office also encourages a Virtual Study Abroad. This allows students to work with the Education Abroad office to design an “international experience … students can have from their laptops.”
The Education Abroad Office put emphasis on the rapidly changing landscape of travel during the pandemic, saying that: “Students should continue to stay informed on the condition of the country they plan to travel to, and will need to be open-minded to potential changes in program itineraries if needed.”
“Students may have to practice social distancing and other COVID-19 mitigation strategies while abroad,” the website says.
USF will not be providing masks, hand sanitizer or other personal protective equipment while abroad.
If a study abroad program is canceled, the USF World website says: “USF will refund as much as possible if a program is canceled, but students in the committed status may be liable for program costs which USF is unable to recover if the program is canceled.”
Students who cannot or are not comfortable with travel can use the office’s virtual study abroad programs.
