When COVID-19 flared up in the U.S. this past spring, it became clear that studying abroad was not going to happen in the traditional sense. But instead of giving up on the program altogether, Global Education Oregon quickly put together an alternative for students who still wanted to experience life in another culture — a virtual chance to study abroad, also known as #NoPassportNeeded.
Dennis Galvan, the Dean and Vice Provost for the Division of Global Engagement at UO, said he wanted to provide a connecting point for students who were hoping to study abroad in the summer. In March, the GEO team started looking at 40 or 50 study-abroad programs that were supposed to run in the summer to see if they could also be run remotely. Some were able to adapt, others were not.
“That’s why we call these experiences rather than programs,” Galvan said. “In a normal study abroad, it’s a series of courses, your homestay experience and all the co-curricular stuff. It’s going shopping and learning to barter in French, whatever. #NoPassportNeeded is more like little pieces of that.”
#NoPassportNeeded offers programs such as virtual homestays, internships, courses and language tutors. Galvan said he plans to keep #NPN around even after the threat of COVID keeps students from traveling since it’s a great way to become acquainted with a homestay family before showing up on their doorstep for the first time.
“A virtual homestay is an oxymoron. But that’s what makes it kind of interesting,” Galvan said. “It’s developing a relationship through everyday life experiences with a family that wants you there.”
For example, students can share a meal with their homestay family over Zoom, play games or simply get to know each other. In some societies, Galvan said, students bond with their families by learning how to cook food together.
Galvan said there are normally 700 students who study abroad during summer term. This year, around 175 students participated in #NPN, as most of the 700 students who previously signed up for study abroad programs instead enrolled in regular summer classes, which UO held virtually. Of those 175 students, 52 did a virtual internship, which Galvan said was the most popular #NPN experience.
Kira Jacobson participated in the virtual Food and Culture in Italy program. She was interested in the program before it went remote, but ultimately decided not to do it due to financial aid reasons. But once the more affordable opportunity opened up to take the course remotely, Jacobson decided to enroll.
“It was sort of a happy accident where I wasn’t initially able to go abroad, but, lo and behold, that program opened up,” Jacobson said. “It was the ideal scenario for me.”
She said there were only three students in the course, plus the instructor. Through discussion-based learning and virtual tours, Jacobson said the course offered a deep dive into the development of agriculture in Italy, the Italian national identity and regional differences in cuisine.
“I was kind of cranky about taking summer classes and being stuck at home, and it was nice to transport myself to the beautiful countryside and talk about food and learn about history,” Jacobson said. “I can’t imagine a more ideal program for me personally, and I would definitely recommend that people not let the idea of virtual study abroad be a bummer.”
Jacobson had one live virtual cooking class where the students made handmade pasta in their own kitchens. By hand-rolling every noodle and creating a basic white wine sauce, Jacobson said she got a true Tuscan experience.
“It potentially opened up more opportunities to engage with different types of people that we may not have been able to otherwise,” she said. “We had a winery visit and a heritage pick farm and met an olive oil producer and a baker. Just all over the place.”
Galvan said he plans to continue offering all of the virtual experiences post-COVID, not just the homestays, because they are more affordable and have their own advantages. The university is evaluating whether or not traditional study abroad will be an option in the winter, but Galvan said they will be especially focused on health and safety if the trips end up happening.
For fall term, GEO is doing something a little different. The new program is GEO Elements, which provides remote options that are easy to combine with being a full-time student in Eugene. There are remote homestays, internships and foreign language conversation partners that students may start whenever they want; it does not have to be at the beginning of the term.
“When we look at the 175 students doing this, that to me is a pretty good success. It could’ve easily been just zero once travel shut down,” Galvan said about the summer term. “I am totally jazzed about the number of students who participated in this.”
Jacobson said she enjoyed engaging with people on the other side of the world during a pandemic.
“It created some nice context for our own experiences,” she said. “I thought it would be weird and awkward at first, but it ended up being very enriching and exciting, and it was really fun to be able to fully immerse myself in something else for a little bit. It was a nice little bit of escapism.”
