study abroad moved under the Provost's Office July 1

When study abroad moved under the Provost's Office July 1, nobody knew just how much it would affect the coming year's faculty led travel courses, many of which had been pre-approved in the spring.But in mid-October, when six such courses were cancelled with no advance warning and no room to appeal, the Simmons community became aware that professionalizing study abroad, as it is called, meant more than a move downstairs to a different office.It meant different protocols and criteria for what was acceptable in a course before students could take off for foreign countries, topics that have become controversial between administrators, students, and faculty.Deputy Provost Carol Bonner said the decision to cancel the six courses was made due to a new level of oversight of the travel courses.The only criteria used, she said, was the State Department's website and the final judgement of the Provost's office.Recommendations from former Director of Study Abroad Hilary Wilson and GEO Center Director Robin Melavalin were also considered.

But in the end the final judgement around these things is the judgement of the provost's office and that's where it lay,said Bonner.It is common that some schools use State Department warnings and alerts,Bonner said.We went even deeper than that to look at more specifically what was available within country,which she said was found within the State Department reports on the countries. Faculty leaders, most of whom have deep, long-standing relationships with the countries in question, were not consulted for advice, said Bonner.It was not a deliberate intention not to, she said.I think it was an issue of timing.Though discussions with faculty leaders have happened and will continue, Bonner said that because of the seriousness of the concerns in the State Department's documents,it was a hard thing for us to be convinced otherwise.But Gullette, who has had 25 years of experience working in and with Nicaragua, said he feels confident his students would have been safe in the small town of San Juan del Sur, where the group lives and travels during the two-week period in January.