Professor Peter Laufer would normally be preparing to travel to Oviedo, Spain this summer to teach a course in International Journalistic Interview and Story Development. With Spain as the backdrop, students enrolled in this program would learn fundamental journalistic skills while also experiencing life abroad.
Now, however, with summer study abroad programs canceled at the University of Oregon, Laufer will instead teach the course virtually through UO’s new No Passport Needed program.
“We will be teaching story development and interview from wherever the students are, focusing on Spain and Oviedo and taking advantage of all the context,” Laufer said. “We are there to create experiences for reporters that are as close to being there as possible.”
Students who participate in the No Passport Needed program will sit down for weekly meals with a host family, collaborate with students from foreign universities and tour cities across the world — all virtually from their own home.
This new program was created in response to the UO’s decision to cancel all travel-based programs through August 14 due to the coronavirus.
“We started to think about, what could we do to help the approximately 1,000 students who had opened applications for summer study abroad, wanted to experience the world, wanted to learn both from faculty overseas and from peers overseas, and you know, have that whole amazing experience,” Dennis Galvan, vice provost of global engagement, said.
With 27 different programs, No Passport Needed allows students to virtually participate through an online platform. Courses will be a mixture of synchronous and asynchronous learning.
“You can actually do a No Passport Needed program, including an internship, and you can take summer regular remote classes,” Galvan said. “So there are lots of mix-and-match opportunities.”
Students who are interested in the No Passport Needed program can enroll directly through DuckWeb, and (unlike a traditional study abroad experience which includes costs of travel and insurance) this program costs the same as a normal UO summer course, according to GEO’s website.
Galvan acknowledged the many financial and personal barriers students face with traditional study abroad programs, but said he thinks this new virtual program will offer a meaningful alternative to in-person programs.
“We have always struggled to figure out what to do for the student who has a job and can’t leave it, who takes care of family members … for the students who have complicated immigration status, maybe they’re a DACA student, and they can’t easily leave the country,” Galvan said. “So there’s a whole host of students that this is going to be a great solution.”
Galvan said many of the study abroad professors were very excited to explore the virtual platform and approached the situation creatively.
Laufer is one of the many study abroad professors approaching the situation with a positive outlook. Although he agreed that nothing can replicate the experience of traveling, he recognizes the value of the new virtual program.
“There were stories that we worked on in Vienna, in Spain and in Argentina, that weren’t where we were. And to be able to figure out how to report this story, get the texture, get the images, get the sense of the characters from a distance is a critical skill,” Laufer said.
Anna Fleischman is a junior at UO studying journalism and international studies. Fleischman was supposed to travel to Africa this summer to participate in the Media in Ghana program, but the program was unfortunately canceled due to coronavirus concerns.
When asked about the No Passport Needed program, Fleischman expressed concerns.
“This program, to me, does seem a little strange just because you are still paying full tuition,” Fleischman said. “It is a lot cheaper than a normal study abroad, but I think the universities are a little bit insensitive to the financial struggles of a lot of students … especially because a lot of scholarships don’t transfer and won’t cover summer term.”
Despite her financial concerns, Fleischman did express interest in one of the programs and acknowledged the limited options in the situation.
“I think that it’s the best option given the circumstances, but I don’t think it in any way replaces study abroad,” Fleischman said. “For me, the best part of travel is that things I didn’t even expect, which you definitely wouldn’t get with an experience like this.”
