BODY: After about 10 years in Pamplona, the location of Ohio University's Spanish study abroad program will change to Toledo, Spain, starting Fall Quarter.
Fred Toner, chair of OU's Department of Modern Languages, said the decision to change the location had to do with the cost of the program, which kept increasing despite negotiations. The department started looking into other universities in Spain out of a desire to keep costs low for students, he said.
We wanted a comparable program at a much lower cost
Toner said.
The cost of a study abroad program varies from quarter to quarter, depending on the number of students participating, said Lori Lammert, study abroad advising coordinator. Each program has its own account, which is filled with money from tuition and program costs paid by students.
The Toledo program will cost students $200 more, with a program cost of $3,700 compared to the current cost of $3,500, according to OEA's Web site, ohio.edu/educationabroad.
We didn't have to raise it as much as we would have had we stayed in Pamplona Toner said of the increase.
Arthur Hughes, an OU Spanish professor, said that the department was looking for a program that would offer students opportunities that go beyond study abroad.
Besides allowing students to study at the Universidad Castilla-La Mancha, Hughes said the Toledo program could offer an exchange program and internships, as well as the chance for a student to teach English in Spain.
Toledo is in central Spain, near Madrid, allowing students to travel easily to both the capital and other parts of Spain and Europe, and also has a warmer climate and more history, Hughes said.
Students traveling to Toledo will also have the advantage of being in an area where only Castilian Spanish, which is taught in U.S. classes, is spoken, Hughes said. Pamplona is in a Basque-speaking region of the country.
OU already had resources in Toledo, Toner said. Spanish professor Karen Brown had initiated a study abroad program in Toledo for OU students at the Zanesville campus, he said.
Hughes, who has a $46,328 annual salary as an assistant professor, will serve as director of the program for its first year. Hughes said program directors usually change every year. The director of a study abroad program is in charge of taking the group to its study abroad location, serving as a contact for Ohio University and teaching some classes included in the program.
We may hear that some students want to stay in Pamplona but I believe that next year the students returning from Toledo will be even more enthusiastic than those who came from Pamplona
Hughes said.
Lauren Brown, an OU graduate student and former OEA peer advisor, participated in the Pamplona study abroad program as an undergraduate student. While Brown said she loved Pamplona, she was not against the change of location.
I trust they're working for the best interests of the students
Lauren Brown said. I'm biased because I went to Pamplona
but I think the new program will be really cool.The deadline for students to apply to participate in the Toledo program Fall Quarter is Friday, April 13.
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