Study Abroad in the Arab World Session

NAFSA Region VIII

Study Abroad in the Arab World session

November 14, 2009

Survey responses

1. Does your institution have study abroad programs in Arabic-speaking countries? If so, which ones.

· Yes, broad range

· Egypt, Morocco

· No, but hoping to develop them (Egypt Morocco)

· No, we are a provider considering adding programs in the Arabic-speaking world

· Yes, American University of Cairo, Egypt; Ben Gurion Technion, Israel; CIEE:Amman, Jordan; Bilkent, Koc, METU, Turkey.

· Not sure (I work for an IEP, not a university)

· Egypt, Jordan

· Yes, we do short term academic programs in Morocco. www.cb-education.org (Crossing Borders Education)

· Year, semester and summer in Meknes, Morocco.

· UAE & Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco

· Yes, Egypt/Morocco/Jordan

· Egypt (and soon in Dubai)

2. Do you currently have students studying abroad in Arabic-speaking countries?

· Yes

· No

· Yes

· No, but we have international students in our program for Libya, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, & Kuwait.

· Few

· We have annually 800 American students on short term programs [that we run]

· Yes

· No

· Yes

· No, begin in 2010 Spring

3. What is the current interest level of students potentially studying abroad in Arabic-speaking countries?

· Increasing

· Low-moderate, not highly advertised

· Very high

· N/A

· Low

· Very high (from my perspective)

· Not many realize they can

· We experience offering short term programs in the area; a lot of interest of students in fields of international relations, communications, etc.

· N/A

· Limited

· It’s been increasing in the past couple years

· Good

4. Do you offer Arabic on-campus? If so, for how long?

· Yes, unsure how long.

· Yes, 200 level

· N/A

· Yes, as a language minor so at least 18 credits

· Arabic language classes are very limited in Denver and are only offered on 2 campuses (CEP & DJ), that I know of.

· No

· Not on one week programs. (Only key phrases for the home stay.) On three week programs, we focus on Arabic if it is a focus of the university [for whom] we custom the program.

· Yes, not sure how long.

· Yes, for several years

· N/A – study abroad provider

5. Knowing that you, your students, and your students’ families will have concerns about study abroad in all regions of the world, do you have particular concerns that are specific to study abroad in Arabic-speaking regions?

· Negative reaction to US students/US in general

· Safety

· Attitudes towards Americans, terrorism as a perceived threat – happens anywhere

· Families concerns are likely to be the biggest obstacle

· Misperceptions of Islam and the safety of the region; treatment of women

· No

· Safety, dress code, cultural differences

· The biggest barrier for programs in Morocco are misperceptions in the US. That is also the main reason we feel programs in Morocco are so important.

· Safety & security, acceptance in host culture

· Security and language

· Cultural integration, language acquisition, view of Americans

6. Which programs and providers does your institution approve for students to study in the Arab world?

· Unfamiliar

· CIEE, direct enroll in AUC

· N/A

· Drexel- Sponsored or any program independently

· Don’t know

· CIEE, American University

· Don’t know

· AMIDEAST, CIEE

· N/A

7. Have you added new destinations to Arabic-speaking regions in the past five years? If so, which cities or countries have you added?

· Yes, but uncertain when

· Not sure

· No, we are looking now.

· Yes, Egypt and Israel are new exchanges beginning Fall 2010

· Again, I’m not involved in study abroad. I’m here for purely selfish reasonsJ

· No

· We started our programs in 2004, and have had 2300 participants to this point.

· Yes, UAE & Saudi Arabia

· Yes, Cairo/Amman/Rabat (AMIDEAST)

· Egypt and soon Dubai