Improving Study Abroad, By Students for Students

Studying abroad is an incredibly opportunity offered to students at CUA. Although I still have a month left in London I can already tell that this will be one of the highlight of my time in college. This experience can literally take you anywhere from Hong Kong, to Greece, and even one of three European Parliaments. From my conversations with other students in both my own, and other CUA programs I have found that the big picture things are incredibly well organized, yet there are still issues in the details. The General Assembly for the last two years has had minimal involvement with the academic workings of the University. Simply put this dynamic needs to change if SAGA is to be a permanent force for the betterment of the student experience at CUA.

In order to achieve these two ends I propose the that at the first meeting of the next General Assembly, SAGA commissions reports on each program (organized by the liaison to the Center for Global Education) using information provided by those people who completed the program the previous Spring (right now). I firmly believe that having students provide an honest critique of the services provided by Catholic University while abroad is the most efficient means of improving study abroad. For example in London I had a terrible time getting a Student Tube Card (a process which could have been completed prior to my arrival) and has resulted in extra charges of nearly $75. Minor issues such as these could be exposed by an examination organized by SAGA, the results of which would be presented to the Center for Global Education. This process will not only improve studying abroad for the nearly 175 students who go each semester, but will also create a conversation about further SAGA involvement with study abroad programs.

The General Assembly has got to build upon the strides taken in opening the library 24 hours during finals and the Speaker's Task Force on Politics to engage with the academic programs offered here at CUA. Making study abroad more convenient and easier for students studying in other countries is a first step for the General Assembly to reaffirm its commitment to the improving the quality of all academic programs offered by The Catholic University of America.