UC promotes learning abroad

Some students coming into the University of Cincinnati might be interested in the school’s unique study abroad programs and standards.

One of the most common things freshmen will be advised to do during orientation is to get involved. One of the best ways to do so is by getting involved around the world, according to the UC International Programs website information.

The university provides a few options for education abroad: Faculty-led programs, exchange programs, credit for programs from other universities and direct enrollment to schools in other countries.

UC has been promotiong innovation with new international programs. This year, the university launched its new UCosmic database, a free, open-source network that might help create a standard for international data collection. The university hopes to use the program to keep track of international activities and relationships, according to the UCosmic website.

In the past few years, UC has updated its international programs to meet with the Forum on Education Abroad’s Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad. UC was one of few schools to test the standards as a pilot program, according to the Forum on Education Abroad’s news release.

The standards require schools make educational goals for sending students abroad clear and publicly available. Schools must provide advising, financial support and ensure students have access to health care and housing services wherever they go, according to the Forum on Education Abroad’s charter.

For international students at UC, the university uses an international student barometer, an annual survey that tracks how international students feel about their time at the university.
In 2009, 33 percent of international students said they would actively encourage other students to apply, up 4 percent from the year before. Only one percent of international students said they would actively discourage people from applying, a decrease of one percent from the year before, according to the survey.