After two years of opening a cultural doorway to the Far East, Summer Session canceled the Bangkok Summer Study Abroad program after a lack of student interest.
Despite extending the deadline from Feb. 28 to March 31, Northwestern’s School for Continuing Studies did not have enough students to guarantee financial support for the trip to Thailand, making it the third summer program canceled this year.
“People are scared to venture off,” said Christina Kyres, assistant director of Summer Session. “It’s a lot like electric vehicles. They’ve been around for years but people are scared to invest in them because they don’t know too many people who have them.”
Although the program was canceled, administrators said they are confident the program will draw interest next year and already have set dates for next summer. The School for Continuing Studies will continue to publicize information on financial aid scholarships for students going to Thailand.
Administrators for the School for Continuing Studies declined to comment on how many students signed up for the trip this year. Two students who signed up for the Bangkok program transferred to the program in Prague, Czech Republic.
Weinberg freshman Stephanie Carter heard about the program earlier this year, and a presentation in one of her classes the week of March 26 piqued her interest. She sent in her application that week but received news on March 30 that the program had been canceled.
Carter was told people signed up too late, but she told the Summer Session office that the program was canceled because the office had visited classes to publicize the program too late.
Another factor that might have lowered the number of applicants for the program is the increase in students participating in semester- and year-long study abroad programs, Kyres said.
About 450 students participated in study abroad programs this year.
Speech senior Nicole Jackson, who went to summer programs in South Africa in 1999 and Thailand in 2000, said she thought a lack of publicity contributed to the low numbers.
“You don’t really see it on campus through fliers,” she said.
Jackson said she was disappointed by the cancellation of the Bangkok program, but she was more upset when the South Africa program was canceled last year. Summer programs in London and Peru were canceled in October.
Summer Session still offers programs to Prague; Verona, Italy; and Arles, France. Kyres said these are more traditional programs, so students experience less culture shock and are more likely to attend.
Retired NU Prof. Laurence Davis started the Bangkok program in 1999 because he felt a need for students to learn about Asia.
Introduction to Buddhism is one of the most popular religion courses at NU, and Thailand’s 95 percent Buddhist population presented a suitable option for a study-abroad program.
“Northwestern has an emphasis on Africa and Europe, but not on Asia,” said Davis, who also said he could only think of three professors who specialized in Southeast Asia.
Davis, academic administrator for the Bangkok program, journeyed with 10 students in 1999 to Chiang Mai and Bangkok to study Thailand’s history, politics, and religion through first-hand experiences.
Last year 18 students, two from other universities, immersed themselves in Thai culture by visiting Buddhist temples and small villages.
Students are accompanied by student translators so knowledge of the language is unnecessary.
“You really have to be ready to enter another culture where we stand out as foreigners,” said Speech senior Emily Seinfeld, who went on the trip last year.
Kyres was optimistic about the program’s future success. Open houses are scheduled for October and November as well as presentations in anthropology, political science, and religion classes.
“We definitely need to concentrate on marketing this program for next year,” she said.
