By a vote of disapproval, the Faculty Committee on Educational policy seemed to shut all doors for those departments which might been fit from an expanded Junior year abroad program. The only remaining course is for individual fields to bring the plan before the full Faculty by separate acceptance. There is sound basis for this action. While the advantages of foreign study will vary from department to department, the merits of the proposal warrant careful consideration.
The opportunity to study in a foreign university should give the visiting student a broadened perspective of his studies. He would have the chance to take courses taught from different outlooks and could experience life in another nation. At present only the Germanic and French Departments are participating in a foreign program, but their success indicates that the year abroad is worthwhile. Expanded programs at Princeton and Yale have seconded this. And returning students show greater academic interest and willingness to learn.
Objections to expanding this program are chiefly on a practical level. One worry is the loss of tutorial and regular courses missed during the Junior year. But each department could make arrangement so that students would miss a minimum of important work, and still be free to benefit from the study abroad. Credit for courses should cause little trouble, since enough universities are included within the scope of the program to provide varying curriculums. From these the student could chose one that would make the transfer of grades as easy as possible. The question of cost is also answered easily, in spite of claims that the trip would be prohibitively high. The price tag, including transportation, is almost identical to the expense of remaining home.
Because of the great inducement to take advantage of a Junior year away, some precautions are necessary to permit the departure of only capable, mature students. An applicant should have a Group Three or better standing for his first tow years, and meet the proposal's requirement of a D language course. Although the program includes an orientation period, no student should leave without the full confidence of his department. With these safeguards the Faculty can pass the Junior year abroad plan and insure a profitable addition to the curricula.
