Everywhere you turn, the Middle East is on the mind of modern university students in America. Students want to learn about its history, contemporary politics, and the languages spoken there. In order to meet this demand, Boston College has created one new major field (Islamic Civilizations and Societies) and two minor fields (Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies and Arabic Studies).
For many students, there is no better way to flesh out newspaper stories, textbook readings, and blackboard language training than to visit the regions in which they are interested. Therefore, these students choose to take advantage of the rich study abroad program at this University. However, for students engaged in these new Middle Eastern concentrations, their options are rather limited. Before this academic year, they could either attend the American University of Cairo in Egypt or Al Akhawayn University in Morocco if they wanted to practice their Arabic. As of last week, we can scratch Cairo off the shortlist.
According to the Office of International Programs, delayed renovations and convoluted bureaucracies at the university have caused tremendous inconveniences for BC students in Egypt this fall. While students still have the option to study there in the spring, BC is cautioning them about the less than favorable conditions. Next year, BC is abandoning the Cairo program altogether and it will become an approved external program.
On the one hand, it is important that the University is acting promptly to protect its students from being taken advantage of. On the other, one internal program to an Arabic-speaking country does not provide students interested in Middle Eastern studies with nearly enough resources. The University cannot create new majors and minors with a very specific geographic focus and then leave the students without any options to get first-hand learning.
It is important for BC to quickly explore and expand its programs to the Middle East, preferably for the beginning of the next academic year. We understand that this region is unstable, which already limits the number of universities with which BC could partner, but there are some countries that would provide a rich environment for these students.
Whatever BC does, though, it must also keep tuition in mind. Many students complain about the excessive costs involved in internal study abroad programs. This is especially apparent for students studying in the Middle East, where the cost of education is far below the going BC rate. While studying in Cairo should be a financial bargain, with plane tickets and traveling costs it turns into an expense that actually exceeds the normal BC tuition. This is all too common in abroad programs and often leads students to look to external programs. The Office of International Programs and BC should not be using the study abroad program for profiteering.
The moral of this story is that study abroad sites must be chosen carefully and should reflect the interests and resources needed by students (especially those whose studies focus on a particular part of the world). To be sure that they aren’t being taken advantage of, students should be sure the programs they are going are reputable and worth their hard-earned tuition dollars.
