May 15, 2020 – Fall 2020 Study Abroad Suspended

Posted by webcomm on Friday, May 15, 2020 in Community Messages.

Dear prospective fall study abroad students,

I write to inform you that Vanderbilt has made the difficult decision to suspend participation in all Global Education Office study abroad programs for Fall 2020. Many factors make study abroad challenging at this time, including not only the logistics of travel between countries but also the difficulty of predicting specifics of the health and safety situation for our students. Given the pandemic and ongoing need for measures including quarantines and social distancing, we are also mindful that study abroad experiences in the coming months likely would not look like the study abroad you’ve imagined. Many of our partners have already announced fall cancellations, and we expect more to do so in the coming days and weeks.

Vanderbilt has made this decision at this time to ensure that students have time to plan for the fall semester. In particular, it is important that students be able to arrange their plans for academics and for housing.

I know that most of you have registered for courses at Vanderbilt in the fall, and have remained registered even as you were making plans to study abroad. If you are not currently registered for fall classes at Vanderbilt, or if you need to change your registration in light of the suspension of fall study abroad, there will be a special registration period May 21–22 for fall study abroad students. The University Registrar will reach out to you with more information.

If you have not yet registered for the housing assignment process, or have questions about housing, please contact ohare@vanderbilt.edu.

We hope that you may still have the opportunity to study abroad while you’re at Vanderbilt! If you would like to defer your application to study in Spring 2021, please let your GEO advisor know.

Our partners have generally waived their deposit requirements, but if you have incurred a non-refundable deposit, please contact your GEO advisor as soon as possible to discuss next steps.

All of us at the Global Education Office are saddened that you won’t have the opportunity to study abroad this fall. We believe strongly in the personal and educational value of study abroad, and want to do everything we can to support you in your planning. Please contact your GEO advisor with any questions you have.

Arik Ohnstad
Director
Global Education Office