Boston University Global Programs canceled its Summer 2021 Study Abroad programs Friday, citing staff furloughs, several site closures and COVID-19 safety concerns.
Gareth McFeely, executive director of Study Abroad, said the decision was motivated by the same pandemic-related concerns that prevented the University from running the program last summer.
But one year later, the Global Programs staff continues to deal with more limited resources.
“Unfortunately, [we] again had to make the same decision for Summer 2021,” McFeely said, “between restrictions that exist in some countries that really limit the ability for students to enter those countries, as well as real challenges in ensuring health and safety with students, faculty, staff.”
The New Zealand, Germany, France and Ecuador sites were previously closed.
McFeely said Global Programs is looking into another round of virtual internships — which was offered to Spring Study Abroad students — and other course options as alternatives to traveling in person this year.
“What we’re trying to do is ensure that we find options that work well for students’ curriculum,” he said.
Upon hearing the announcement, some students said they were disappointed but not surprised by the University’s decision.
College of Communication junior Ansley Nurkin said the termination of the College of General Studies’ Boston-London Program last week prepared her for the Summer Study Abroad cancellation.
“I applied out of a crazy hope that it wouldn’t get canceled,” Nurkin said, “but as soon as they canceled CGS London, I kind of was just waiting for the shoe to drop.”
Nurkin, who applied both times to the twice-canceled Summer Sydney Study Abroad program, said she had felt more optimistic last year.
“Because that was at the very beginning of the pandemic, I was still kind of hopeful that things would have gotten back on track by June,” Nurkin said, “which I now realize was very wishful thinking.”
As soon as she heard the decision, Nurkin said she began applying for summer internships.
Between a possible internship and a Summer course she registered for, Nurkin said she isn’t sure if she will be participating in Study Abroad’s remote alternative.
“It would depend on how things turn out in the next month or two,” she said, “and when they decide to make a decision about all that.”
Nurkin said she had planned on interning in Los Angeles for the Spring semester of her senior year. With the cancellation, however, she’s had to decide whether she wants to give up on her Sydney plan entirely, or go abroad next Fall and spend her last year away from Boston.
BU spokesperson Colin Riley said the cancellation was not an easy choice for BU to make, but was a necessary one.
“This is a tough, tough decision,” he said. “I know no one’s happy about it, but with the planning required to open these programs, and process all the applications and put all the contracts in place, the timing just didn’t work.”
Riley said the administration is looking forward to planning for the Fall, but the decision to cancel the Summer Study Abroad experience couldn’t be delayed any longer.
In relation to the closed Study Abroad locations, Riley said the “goal is to bring those back” because Study Abroad is an important aspect of BU’s education and attracts students to the university.
College of Engineering junior Michael Howes said he was halfway through an abroad program in Paris last Spring before being abruptly sent home.
Despite not having finished the program, Howes said it changed his outlook on life and has shaped his future career path.
“Study Abroad has opened my eyes and mind to the fact that there’s so many things to do in the world,” he said.
This Spring, he said he took a leave of absence to do a virtual internship based in Singapore. Howes said he is moving out to LA to pursue his passion in film and does not plan to return to BU. A decision he said was “directly inspired from studying abroad.”
“I would willingly switch from an engineering major to a French major, just for that semester, because I missed it that much,” Howes said.
Howes added he had looked into several Summer Study Abroad programs in hopes of going back out and seeing the world.
McFeely said further information on remote alternatives will be provided within the next two weeks.
“Our intention for the Summer is to try to find out what works and resonates from an academic perspective,” McFeely said.
