UW-Madison Signature Study Abroad Program Characteristics
- Created specifically for UW-Madison students and has great potential to directly support UW-Madison mission and academics
- May be led by UW-Madison
- Program budget and fees are determined by IAP
- Open to non-UW-Madison student enrollment on a program by program basis
- Has minimum and maximum participant number requirements
- Resource/time intensive
- UW-Madison has most oversight over the program and the highest degree of responsibility towards the student of any program type
- Of all program types, has the greatest ability to engage faculty on campus, create synergies with other UW-Madison internationalization initiatives and increase visibility of study abroad on campus and in the field of study abroad
- UW-Madison programs can be developed in collaboration with a variety of different resources, including overseas exchange partners and other universities, program providers and organizations.
- Fosters UW-Madison student-faculty interaction
- Great for students who want a learning experience with other UW-Madison students
Developing a new program
Exchange/Direct Enroll Study Abroad Program Characteristics
- Internationalizes UW-Madison by bringing exchange partner’s students to UW-Madison campus
- Program fee in part determined by student’s UW-Madison residency tuition
- Most courses offered on these programs are not specialized for American students.
- Usually offers a full range of university courses (good for students from non-traditional study abroad majors for whom there are not a large number of theme-specific study abroad programs in their major)
- Utilizes minimal UW-Madison resources to administer
- Participation is bound by the terms of the exchange balance, and enrollment tends to be small
- Increases UW-Madison’s status and reputation abroad
- Due to broad range of course offerings, marketing exchanges to students requires more outreach with departments to “match” specific majors to specific exchange partners
- Can connect to many exciting inter-institutional cooperative possibilities (graduate/research/research opportunities, potential short term program hosts, etc.)
- Exchange partner requirements (in terms of needing a partner who is an academic peer institution, offers full range of courses in English or in a language accessible to our students, offers the necessary student support services, offers courses and academic calendar that is compatible with ours), limit the number of suitable partner institutions
- Can help support strategic partnerships (an institution abroad with which UW engages in multiple cross-campus collaborations and projects)
- Usually for more independent students—student support offered varies more than with other program types
- Generally allows students to be immersed in a more natural local student environment, but is based more on student self-motivation (as opposed to program structure) to do so
Affiliate Study Abroad Program Characteristics
- Is not dependent on participant numbers
- UW-Madison does not have direct oversight of program
- Requires least amount of UW resources and takes the least amount of IAP staff time (on a per student basis)
- Good to use in areas where strong support base is needed for students
- Generally offers tailored, language immersion or thematic programs and curricula that target specific groups of students
- Affiliate organization provides support and on-site emergency services
- Functions mainly as a fee for service arrangement with the affiliate organization or university, typically limited engagement with UW-Madison faculty.
- Generally specialized for U.S.-based study abroad students, but not specifically those from UW-Madison
- On average is the most expensive of all program types
Worldwide Study Abroad Program Characteristics:
- Developed specifically for UW-Madison students
- Works well for undergraduate and graduate students doing independent research abroad
- Is not dependent on participation numbers