University of Iowa dean discusses new study abroad realities

IOWA CITY — With COVID racing toward pandemic status in the spring of 2020, University of Iowa International Programs made the unprecedented decision to bring home every one of its hundreds of study abroad students scattered around the globe — from Australia to Tanzania, Estonia to Iceland.

Months and even years of planning, preparing and then packing were upended and undone for UI students expecting the time of their lives experiencing and learning in a different culture.

And even today — with COVID variants still propelling spikes in places like France, England, Italy and Spain — study abroad experiences aren’t happening in pre-pandemic style or at a pre-pandemic clip.

But they are happening again, and UI International Programs Dean Russell Ganim said his office is working to cautiously and steadily meet pent-up student demand.

Q: How interested have students been in post-shutdown study abroad? Has the pandemic affected interest level?

A: Interest remains high. There is pent-up demand for international experiences, which we are trying to meet, depending on the opportunities available. We anticipate numbers increasing with every coming term as international travel becomes more normalized.

Q: Back when the pandemic began in spring 2020, how many students were in study abroad programs who then had to be repatriated?

A: In late February 2020, we started bringing students home from South Korea and Italy. Other countries soon followed as conditions deteriorated around the globe. In all, we recalled nearly 300 students.

Q: Had UI International Programs ever imposed a blanket recall of all its study abroad students?

A: Prior to spring 2020, the UI had never imposed a blanket recall of all its study abroad students. … This is what happened with COVID. No students were allowed to stay abroad in the spring 2020. All returned home.

Q: How long was UI Study Abroad impacted by international travel restrictions?

A: Students were not allowed to study abroad from March 2020 to May 2021, the period in which the Board of Regents’ travel ban was in effect.

Q: Was UI Study Abroad still able to offer students some type of international learning experience?

A: Students were not allowed to travel, but we wanted to continue to offer international programming, so we turned to virtual study abroad. We offered a large number of virtual study abroad programs, as well as virtual global internships, both of which were quite successful.

Q: When international travel restrictions lifted, did UI Study Abroad immediately resume programming? Or what was the restart like?

A: Iowa began by sending a select group of graduate and professional students abroad during the summer of 2021, and undergraduates were allowed to go abroad beginning in August 2021.

Q: So are study abroad numbers back to pre-pandemic levels?

A: Currently, we have a smaller cohort abroad than we would normally have in a fall semester, and spring participation will also be smaller than normal.

Q: What do study abroad experiences look like post-shutdown? How are they different?

A: We are working almost exclusively through program providers, and do not anticipate faculty-led study abroad programming to resume until this summer.

The realities of our students’ experiences on the ground varies greatly from country to country and city to city. Some are in places where vaccination rates are better than in Iowa, and yet some COVID protocols around masking or gathering might be more strict than what students experience here.

Q: Do any of the changes UI Study Abroad made in response to the pandemic remain?

A: There will be more virtual options than in the past.

Q: What do you see for study abroad programming going forward — should COVID remain a reality for the foreseeable future?

A: Study abroad will rebound, but health and safety considerations will become even more important and will play the decisive role in whether or not programs will be allowed to run.

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com