Students wanting to study in France, Denmark, Australia and
Italy may now need to consider alternate courses of study, as some
Education Abroad Programs in these countries have been cut or
postponed.
Due to recent EAP budget limitations, five programs have been
cancelled and two postponed at least through the 2006-2007 academic
year. The cancellations and postponements are only occurring in
four countries and students who would like to attend EAP programs
in these areas can still do so, but may need to find a program with
a slightly different focus, said Bruce Hanna, a spokesman for
EAP.
About 10 UCLA students received this news while already in the
middle of the application process for the cut or postponed
programs, said Danilo Bonilla, interim administrative director and
counselor of the campus EAP program.
Hanna said there were several criteria for determining which
programs would be cancelled, but EAP focused primarily on cutting
administrative costs before considering program cancellation.
“The last thing we wanted to do was close any
programs,” Hanna said.
In determining which programs to cut, Hanna said the University
Committee on International Education from the Academic Senate and
the senior management in EAP looked primarily for programs in the
same country with overlapping curriculums.
He said EAP management and the UCIE committee also looked to cut
programs with low enrollment, but relatively high operational
costs.
Though students cover some of the costs of the EAP programs they
attend by paying for tuition and housing, the programs end up
costing more than the tuition paid due to other factors, including
student and faculty exchanges, currency exchange rates, and
administrative costs, Hanna said. “One of the goals of EAP is
to make the cost of attendance as close as possible to what the
students would pay at home,” Hanna said.
The EAP budget has been limited over the past two years because
the University of California and the state have put a five percent
cap on enrollment increase or decrease for the program each year.
Prior to the cap, EAP saw a 20 percent increase in enrollment for
several years in a row, and with the enforced decline in enrollment
the budget has dropped. Because student enrollment impacts budget
decisions, EAP has not been getting significant increases in
funding, Hanna said.
Of the 10 students caught in the application process, Bonilla
said none were too disappointed with the cancellations because they
were able to apply to similar programs in the same country or in a
neighboring country.
Due to the popularity of EAP and the enrollment cap
restrictions, Hanna said EAP has recently been reducing its program
recruitment in hopes of decreasing the number of students who apply
and have to be denied admission.
David Unruh, assistant provost of Academic Program Development,
said due to the enrollment cap and some cancellations and
postponements in EAP programs the UCLA Summer Sessions may see an
increase in student interest for its Travel Study programs.