Students on the Summer 2017 Dijon France Study Abroad trip.
EvyJo Compton
Staff Writer
Parkland’s study abroad program presents to students the opportunity to expand their educational experience by visiting foreign lands and immersing themselves in their fields of study and new cultures.
For many years, students have been going to other countries to learn about different cultures and societies. Parkland’s study abroad program offers ten countries for students to go to.
“I have been the study abroad program coordinator since 2012,” Jody Littleton said. “But, my experience with the program actually started before that. I started helping…the previous director a couple of years before that because I have always loved to travel. I love study abroad. I love the idea with students being able to get out and really experience another
culture.”
Littleton plays many roles when it comes to the program at Parkland. She works with students and college faculty and staff.
“The two parts to my job are the student part and the faculty part,” Littleton said. “The student part is the larger part.”
Parkland works with other colleges to allow students to go to so many other countries. By working with other colleges each college is able to focus on their program and coordinating with their study abroad country.
“We have a lot of study abroad programs that we share with other colleges, and this is through a consortium that we have which is the Illinois Consortium for International Studies and Programs,” Littleton said. “Parkland College is specifically in charge of the France study abroad, but per se, if you wanted to go to China it would be run through Parkland, but would actually be coordinated by the College of Lake County. Costa Rica is run by the College of DuPage.”
There are a plethora of destinations available for students interested in studying abroad.
“So, we have a lot of different study abroad programs,” Littleton said. “We go to Austria; we go to China; we go to France, Ireland, England, Costa Rica, India; we go to Spain…The ones you see listed on our webpage are mostly the consortia ones. We also try to do a few homegrown programs.”
These “homegrown” study abroad programs depend on individual faculty members, which can cause them to fade out occasionally.
“We used to have a study abroad program to Costa Rica for agriculture. Unfortunately, that faculty member retired,” Littleton said. “We’ve done some other programs before, like Japan. The issue with homegrown ones is that the individual faculty member(s) sometimes retire, leave, or decide they don’t want to do it anymore. Then, that program kind of dies.”
Not only are students allowed to go on these trips, but faculty is as well.
“We also have something for faculty so they can be a semester liaison…for the full semester programs,” Littleton said. “There is also an opportunity for them to be involved with the summer programs. We are a little bit flexible on that.”
Littleton also works to organize faculty exchange programs that see educators from other countries visit and stay in the homes of their partner instructors from Parkland. The Parkland instructors then do the same by visiting their partner instructor in his or her country.
“The second part of my job is the staff and faculty part,” she said. “We have a two-week exchange that is in the spring and the fall. So, we have faculty from Finland, the Netherlands, and China come and visit us for two weeks, and then we go and visit them for two weeks. It’s a very inexpensive program, because we live with the families, so the costs are low for the participants as well as the college.”
There is a process that students must go through to be able to do the study abroad programs. Not only do students do an application, but there are certain requirements that must be met.
“To apply, contact me,” Littleton said. “I’m the one that does that for you. Get in contact with me, and I can give you the most updated applications.”
Applications generally require transcripts to make sure that students have enough credit hours with the right grade point average and English credit. An essay about why the student would like to study abroad and two references from faculty are required, as well.
“The minimum requirements for students are that they have to have completed at least 12 credit hours, and have maintained at least a 2.75 GPA,” Littleton said. “They need to have completed English Composition 101 or some equivalent of the class with a B. There is a lot of writing with these courses, so we want to make sure the students have good background with writing in general and doing essays.”
Study abroad trips can vary in cost.
“It depends on where you’re going [and] how long you’re going to be there,” Littleton said. “Our least expensive trip is to China. That is roughly about $5,600. That includes your round-trip airfare, your tuition, your housing, [and] your field trips. It does not include your food.”
Other destinations may demand a five-figure fee.
“Most of the European countries are going to run between $8,000 and $10,000, and that doesn’t include airfare, so you would actually be looking at $9,000 to $11,000,” Littleton said.
Students may consider aid money to cover or at least offset the expenses of study abroad trips.
“There are lots of scholarships involved. There are federal scholarships, and some local scholarships. Financial aid does apply to study abroad,” she said.
Students’ safety is the top priority for the program. Littleton says there are precautions in place to ensure students are protected. Those who partake in study abroad programs are registered with the federal government and given an orientation with information about safety.
“We do take a lot of precautions to make sure everyone is safe,” Littleton said. “We have an emergency plan in place both at the college and consortium level. There are procedures that we follow if something were to happen…There is a system to help track them if something were to happen. It helps track them and gives them notices about anything going on in the country and how to be safe.”
More information regarding Parkland’s study abroad opportunities and a list of possible program destinations can be found on the college’s website, parkland.edu. Click on the “College Resources” heading, then “International Center” from the list on the left-hand side of the page, and lastly “Study Abroad.”
Alternatively, Littleton can be contacted via phone at 217-351-2532 or by email at jlittleton@parkland.edu.
