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Syracuse University officials addressed logistical concerns like financial investment and curriculum accessibility at a Tuesday afternoon Academic Strategic Plan feedback forum.

The initial draft of the plan – a five-year roadmap outlining 10 benchmarks the university aims to reach by 2028 – includes aims for all undergraduate students to participate in a study abroad or study away program in the next five years, as well as intentions to expand STEM research and workforce training in anticipation of Micron’s new Clay facility. SU released the draft on Feb. 17.

In order to realize the study abroad goal, both Gretchen Ritter, SU vice chancellor, provost and chief academic officer, and SU Senior Vice President for Academic Operations Steven Bennett emphasized the need for the university to invest in support structures and financial resources.

Bennett pointed to SU’s study abroad program as a strength the university has had for decades. SU ranks as the ninth best for study abroad programs in the U.S. News and World Report’s 2022-2023 rankings.

While currently around 46% of SU students study abroad internationally, Bennett said, the university plans to make any necessary investments to make study abroad plausible and available for students as it goes about increasing that number.

“We need to be very top of mind about accommodations as we think about expanding our facilities and our infrastructure to accommodate the other half of the student body that needs to have an abroad and away experience in the future,” Bennett said.

Sascha Scott, an associate professor in SU’s College of Arts and Sciences, pointed to potential barriers in financial accessibility and the lack of currently available resources in study abroad centers.

Specifically, Scott said, she’s had students who couldn’t access the mental health resources they needed while abroad. Ritter said in response that the university will work to ensure it has the appropriate support structures at each of SU’s study abroad centers as it goes about fulfilling its goals.

“We’re a chunk of the way there right now, but not all the way there yet,” Ritter said. “It’s also going to take a very deliberate effort to do the fundraising to make sure that no students are left out of this.”

Brian Taylor, a professor in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, said he supports the university’s commitment to study abroad and its emphasis on global diversity, citizenship and internationalization, but he said he hopes the university can move away from its Europe-centric abroad programs by expanding majors and courses in other languages.

SU’s Department of Language, Literature and Linguistics in the College of Arts and Sciences offers majors in European languages like Spanish and French, but only offers minors in languages like Arabic, Chinese and Japanese.

“There are issues with expanding study abroad to outside of the European setting, both in terms of student interest and in terms of some of the challenges that one might face in terms of academic freedoms and stable arrangements,” Taylor said. “But I think it’s probably going to be worth it and necessary for the university to invest in exploring some of those opportunities.”

The ASP planning committee will meet again in person with undergraduate and graduate students later this month to collect final feedback on the draft before it’s set to share the finalized plan to the SU community in early April.

Published on March 8, 2023 at 1:16 am

Contact Dominic: dcchiapp@syr.edu | @DominicChiappo2