Graphic by Saylor Hark

As a tour guide, I like to think I am pretty good at touting all that a Colgate University education has to offer. I stand in the Ho Science Center and explain the merits of our Core Curriculum, standardizing student education and producing well-rounded individuals. But when I come to the bulletin board in McGregory Hall, explaining the differences between our study groups and approved programs, this emphasis on a core student experience seems moot. Why do some Colgate students spend a semester working internships and simultaneously studying, while others relax on a beach? Most of all, why are all of these experiences valued at the same level as a semester of Colgate education? Is our study abroad program a strength, or is it dragging our educational standard down? 

In its broad abroad offerings, Colgate does have many rigorous opportunities. The extended study proves that Colgate knows how to balance educational experiences with travel and sightseeing. I spent two weeks of winter break in Ireland and Northern Ireland, and each of our 14 days was filled with programming from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. — and sometimes later. With limited time, each moment was designed to maximize our educational takeaways. While the extended study shows Colgate can develop a rigorous study abroad program, our study groups or approved programs do not always meet that threshold.  

Imagine if you asked a professor to miss every Friday class for a series of trips with your friends. Your grade would rapidly suffer from a lack of participation. Yet in abroad programs, classes meet less frequently to allow students the chance to travel. And I know what you’re thinking — these trips are part of the educational experience. I would argue that students in these programs do not learn much from these trips but rather treat Europe — because let’s face it, it’s the chief offender — as a checklist, traipsing from country to country. Existing in a country is not enough. Learning from a travel experience requires sustained investment, including speaking with locals or traveling to sites significant for their culture, not their social media potential. Whereas extended studies promote this longer-term commitment to an educational goal, study groups and approved programs turn travel into a bingo board, with students hoping to post as many Instagram stories as they can. 

The thoroughness of abroad programs also fails to measure up when we consider approved programs compared to Colgate’s curriculum. On Syracuse University’s Florence program, students can take “Vine to Table: Italian Wines in Context,” a 300-level Food Studies class. The approved programs page claims programs have been evaluated for “academic rigor” — because a semester spent wine tasting is just as intensive as the 300-level courses offered at Colgate. While approved program courses are not factored into a student’s GPA, students taking Colgate courses (whether on a study group or on campus) face Colgate’s level of rigor, which factors into their GPA. Consider that, in the same semester, you can have groups of students taking Colgate courses while simultaneously working 30 hours of research a week in Bethesda, Md., while those aforementioned students gallivant across Europe. And at the end of the day, we are all considered to receive the same education. Colgate cannot tout the Core Curriculum, a system designed to standardize educational requirements, while also promoting a system that lets students opt out of its level of rigor for a semester. 

If Colgate wants to hang its hat on its standardized curriculum, it has to look past the core curriculum and ensure those standards are in place across every aspect of our education. I know I am preaching to the choir when I say study abroad provides valuable perspectives to students — about 75% of us will partake during our time here. For this perspective to make the most impact, though, Colgate should ensure abroad programs promote long-term engagement with issues. If there’s one thing that the Core Curriculum taught me, it is that understanding the world we live in requires incorporating multiple perspectives — an investment that is longer than a weekend trip.