25 April 2001
Background and context: After discovering that most faculty do not fully understand the study abroad approval process, our main purpose in devising new language was simply to put in writing what the present norms and procedures governing study abroad actually are. We also saw an opportunity to tweak those rules a bit without introducing major changes in policy. The result is the proposal found below. The proposal will need to be integrated in the current guidelines. As you will see, our proposal codifies existing rules while introducing the following modifications:
(1) In very exceptional cases, where the curriculum of a program taught in English is not directly linked to the local culture (e.g. field study in Geology) or where the program's orientation is truly global/multinational in scope (e.g. a program in Brussels on European affairs), students may be allowed to study abroad in English in a country whose language is taught at Middlebury, provided they have a compelling academic rationale, have had at least one year of prior language training, and continue language study as part of their overall academic program abroad. In all other cases the minimum requirement for study abroad in such countries would consist of four College-level semesters of language preparation. Here we simply make explicit a rule that is presently already in operation at the Office of Off-Campus Study in certain special cases (e.g., School for Field Studies program in Costa Rica, Syracuse University pre-architecture program in Florence; and the SACI program in Studio Art in Florence).
(2) Greater involvement of major and/or program advisors in the approval process when study abroad at a non-Middlebury school is proposed.
(3) Students applying to study abroad in English-speaking countries must demonstrate a compelling academic rationale. The Foreign Language Peak Committee and the International Peak Committee believe that comparable academic standards should govern the approval of study abroad in a foreign language and study abroad in English-speaking countries.
Foreign Language Peak Committee and International Peak Committee proposed language
Students seeking to study in countries whose language is taught at Middlebury are expected to study at the C.V. Starr-Middlebury School Abroad for that language.
Students applying for a study abroad program other than Middlebury's in a country where Middlebury maintains a program, or in a country in which the language of instruction is one taught at Middlebury (for example, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland), must make a specific and compelling case for their plan of study to their advisor(s) and/or the chair/director of the appropriate major department(s) or program(s), to the appropriate language department chair, and to the Programs Abroad Committee. Approval is rarely granted (with the exception of students studying in Spanish-speaking Latin America) and then only in conjunction with a compelling academic rationale. All such study, if approved, must be conducted at an accredited institution of higher education, in classes attended by students from that country, and in the language of the host country.
Study abroad in English in a country whose language is taught at Middlebury is strongly discouraged, but may be approved in cases where the program is of exceptionally high quality and meets one of the two criteria outlined above. Petitioners should submit an essay to both their adviser and/or the chair/director of the appropriate major department(s) or program(s) and the Office of Off-Campus Study in which they describe how the proposed program uniquely meets their academic needs, with specific reference to their major. Such students will be expected to have studied at least one year or equivalent of the appropriate language at the college-level prior to studying on the program in question and will be required to continue formal study of the language as part of the program.
Students studying in countries whose primary language is not taught at Middlebury must nonetheless study the host country language as part of their overall academic program abroad.
Students studying in countries whose official language is English, but where the majority of the population actually speaks another language must also study a local language as part of their overall academic program abroad.
Students seeking to study in English-speaking countries must make a specific and compelling case for their plan of study to their advisor(s) and/or the chair/director of the appropriate major department(s) or program(s) and to the Programs Abroad Committee. Approval is granted only in conjunction with a compelling academic rationale.
Current language
We recommend that the Office of Off-Campus Study integrate our proposal into all its publications (both web and printed versions), thereby guaranteeing complete transparency for the rules that guide and govern both students and faculty alike. The Director of Off-Campus Study, David Macey, has kindly provided us with an annotated draft of the current guidelines, which we attach for your general orientation.