Although over 60 percent of students will study abroad before they graduate, some students find they are not satisfied with the study abroad experiences offered to them through AU Abroad, particularly those students who participate in the enclave programs.
AU Abroad offers three types of programs - enclaves, partners and providers. An enclave is a group of AU students who study together from a limited range of courses. A student who participates in a partnership enrolls directly into a foreign institution and studies independently there. A provider combines elements of both programs.
"Students do complain on the enclaves... that there is not enough integration, that they're not immersed enough," said AU Abroad Director Sara Dumont. "If you want full integration, don't choose an enclave program. You're not going to get it."
Enclave programs offer students a more structured experience than partner or provider programs. Each enclave is led by a program director that interacts directly with the students and helps them adjust to their new surroundings. Excursions and other activities are often preplanned.
"Often we have only an enclave option because it really is impossible for a student to do otherwise," Dumont said. Some locations like China and Kenya are not suited to independent study due to language and other cultural barriers.
"There are different types of programs that are good for different types of students," said Kristin Barbee, a study abroad advisor. A student with less travel or language experience might benefit from an enclave, whereas more independent students may prefer the less-structured partnership program, she said.
"It definitely helps ease the transitions by participating with a small program and with students who know about the same things from back home that you do," said Susanna Reid, a junior in the School of Communication who studied in Beijing last fall.
Students who wish to be fully immersed in an enclave program must take their own initiative by journeying outside of their AU group.
"If you're always with a large group of Americans, the people who live in the country aren't going to want to approach you," Barbee said. "It's going to be harder for you to approach them."
Barbee suggests that students interested in full immersion choose a homestay housing option while abroad.
"I lived with a host family and I think that was the biggest help in getting to learn about the culture," said Ashley Lane, a junior in the School of Public Affairs who participated in the Madrid and the Mediterranean enclave last fall.
Lane said the enclave program was not so structured that she felt isolated from the local life. "Outside of taking classes, you are totally free to go about the city and discover the cultural aspects," Lane said. "I would definitely say that I got a good feel for the culture of Madrid."
Reid had a similar experience in Beijing.
"It's hard not to be immersed in a place and its culture somewhere like China," she said. "There's little there that's familiar, and the program allowed us to be pretty independent in exploring the differences."
Dumont said students should think hard about what they want from their international experience.
"It's a matter of really getting deeper into what the student's are after because most of the time students aren't really aware of what all the options are," she said.
There are many options for students who wish to experience a particular location without participating in an enclave. If there are no partner universities in that location, a student can get a permit to study overseas and study outside the AU Abroad system.
Dumont acknowledged the need for improvements in enclave programs.
"Everybody knows that on an enclave program [immersion] is something that is a challenge," she said. "The programs are kind of live entities. We're constantly trying things out. We're always working on that"
