Kate Kyle, international business and finance junior, spent the spring semester in Valencia, Spain. Although she loved her time in Europe, she said she immediately started having problems once she got off the plane.

Study Abroad Program



o About 220 OU students are currently studying abroad.



o There are three study abroad advisers for programs in 57 countries.



o About 2 percent of students studying abroad return home, said Michael Morris, assistant director of OU Education Abroad.

Source: Michael Morris, www.ou.edu/intprog

After arriving in Spain, Kyle went to the business college to confirm her enrollment but soon found out the office had no record of her.

"The business college was like, 'We don't have anything on you,'" she said. "I was only enrolled in the general university, not the business college. I couldn't take classes or get advised."

Each semester many students, like Kyle, choose to study abroad and return with glowing reports, but some have complained that the OU Education Abroad Office could do more to meet students' needs.

Michael Morris, assistant director of OU Education Abroad and one of the program's advisers, said students usually have to grapple with cultural adjustment, homesickness and frustration with new environments.

After realizing the college hadn't received any of her records, Kyle immediately contacted the education abroad office and learned her adviser didn't know she had to submit Kyle's application to both the university and the business college. Kyle said that once she found out, her adviser submitted the application before classes started, but Kyle said that was the last time she got help from the education abroad office.

Kyle said she isn't upset with anyone in the education abroad office, but said there are too many students and too few advisers.

"My adviser deals with like 20 countries," she said. "She's been really helpful, but she's got too much on her plate."

Three advisers are responsible for programs in 57 countries.

Morris said the number of foreign university partners can cause problems, but usually they are related to program changes rather than staffing issues.

"With the number of partnerships we have, we can't visit every campus annually," he said. "There are situations that change with facilities, courses (and) personnel."

When issues arise, the education abroad office works to resolve the problems so that students can stay in their host countries, Morris said.

"We'll work with the [university] first, and if there's no solution, we'll work with the offices here," he said. "For example, if a student in Japan was planning on taking Japanese Tea Ceremony, but then the course isn't available, there's nothing we can do about that. But we'll work with the modern languages department or the Japanese department to come up with alternative courses."

Even though problems arise and plans have to be changed, Morris said most students don't abandon their programs.

"I can't remember the last time a student came home -- 2 percent (of study abroad students), if that," he said. Morgan Morris, a zoology junior who is studying abroad in Italy, said she has chosen to remain in her program despite difficulties. She said she is struggling with Italy's education system and that she's frustrated by the lack of information she's getting from the education abroad office.

"OU is not familiar with the education system," she said in an e-mail. "The office there could not tell me credit equivalents or approximately how many classes I should be taking here to be considered a full-time student."

Michael Morris said adjusting to a new system of learning is the most persistent difficulty for Americans abroad.

Morgan Morris said she acknowledges that she's not getting answers from her school in Italy, either, but says OU could be doing more.

"Every other American student I have talked to seems to have more support and information from their home university," she said. "In fact, most students have a list of classes with peer reviews from other study-abroad students available to them when they arrive."

Morgan Morris said she assumes the offices at OU are doing everything they can, but they seem to pale in comparison to the efforts of other universities.

"I understand that this is supposed to be a learning experience for us, but several times I have asked questions about where to find information about classes, insurance, cards of stay, etc. and the response from advisers at OU has been, 'It will take some legwork.'"

Despite these problems, Morris said she doesn't want to discourage other people from studying abroad.

Kyle said she feels the same way. Even though it was complicated, she called studying abroad the best thing she has ever done.

"All the problems and kinks made me appreciate the time that much more," she said. "I have recommended it to people. I just tell them, 'Once you get there, you're on your own.'"
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