The university’s board of trustees officially approved a Student Government Association proposal to create a scholarship fund for students planning to study abroad on Feb. 12. Beginning in fall 2010, a $10 fee will be implemented each semester for all full-time undergraduate students. The fees will be used to create an International Educational Student Scholarship Fund that will give students hoping to study abroad the opportunity to receive a scholarship to help pay the costs.

The fund will be maintained by having 75 percent of the fiscal resources available to students who enroll in an International Education Program; the remaining 25 percent will roll over each semester so that the fund can mature, according to the proposal. In spring 2007, a similar SGA proposal that called for the university to match all funds collected from a $4 fee on full-time undergraduate students was declined.

SGA president Tania Ramirez, senior political science major, said she decided to try to get a new proposal passed because she wanted to increase the amount of students who study abroad, which is also one of the university’s Vision 2012 strategic goals. “This has been on SGA’s back burner for years,” said Ramirez who has studied abroad in China and Bolivia. “Studying abroad is a life changing experience; you appreciate your home more and get to see how people in other places live. So I thought ‘let me pick [the proposal] up to see what I can do.’”

SGA worked on the proposal, which includes 200 student signatures in support, for nearly five months. Dean of Students Timothy Bessler, who is also the SGA advisor, and Minita Santizo, Director of International Educational Programs, advised the group through the process.

Bessler assisted by asking a lot of those questions. “We researched other universities who have scholarship funds for studying abroad, spoke to financial aid, talked to students who have studied abroad and to parents to get different perspectives,” Ramirez said. “There were some negatives and positives, but the positives are what drove me to continue the proposal.”

Currently, students studying abroad can use their financial aid to help cover the cost, but work-study awards cannot be used because students must work on campus to use the award. Even though students can use financial aid to study abroad, it does not cover the entire cost. Santizo estimates that the London study abroad program totals $23,000 to $24,000 for one semester; the Spain program is an estimated $22,000 for one semester.

Even though students can use financial aid to study abroad, it does not cover the entire cost. Santizo estimates that the London study abroad program totals $23,000 to $24,000 for one semester; the Spain program is an estimated $22,000 for one semester. “Because of the exchange rate and depending on where students go, programs are expensive,” Santizo said. “They have to put out quite a bit of money out of their pockets as well.”

The amount a student pays to study abroad will cover tuition, round trip airfare, lodging, insurance, air port transportation and some public transportation. The cost of a passport, visa processing, books or personal travel and personal expenses are not included.

“When the student pays for the program to study abroad they are paying only for their participation; the university is not getting any money besides the tuition,” Santizo said. “All the other expenses related to studying abroad – which includes the staff, the staff benefits, their insurance and the International Education Programs office – are all paid for by the university.”

Ultimately, students are the beneficiaries of studying abroad and can gain a lot from the investment, including the chance to get better jobs, experience, a better vision of the world, personal transformation, an enhanced résumé and possibly learning a foreign language, said Santizo. She also said that she is excited for the university to have its own scholarship fund.