Students who planned to study abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, for fall 2007 were recently shocked to learn their program was cancelled.
Students were told on Monday that their program was cancelled because the University of Cape Town, where they were scheduled to study, was "not communicating with AU properly regarding student health and safety concerns," Taylor Robinson, a junior in the School of Public Affairs who was scheduled to attend the program, said in an e-mail.
Kari Miller, the associate director of AU Abroad and the Africa director, refused to comment on the reason for the cancellation or plans for students when reached by e-mail.
"... I am not able to meet with you for the story at this time and would prefer not to comment on any aspect of the story in general," she said in the e-mail.
Robinson said crime in Cape Town was a major concern during the meeting with AU Abroad officials, however she said she doesn't believe that is the true reason for the cancellation.
"My question has been and continues to be, if the program is unsafe and/or the city is unsafe then why do we still have an agreement with the university of Western Cape, which is about a half an hour outside of Cape Town," Robinson said.
Lisa Petak, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences and SPA, was also scheduled to attend the program and said AU staff cannot tell them the reason the program is cancelled and that students "have no reason to know."
Imani Kane, a junior in SPA, was also scheduled to attend the program and could not attend the cancellation meeting. She said in an e-mail that she heard about an "incident" which led to the cancellation.
Students had mixed reactions to how AU Abroad handled the situation.
"Initially I was furious with the abroad office for the way they presented the information," Robinson said. "Especially since it is the middle of finals, I feel like they should of prepared information packets for us outlining our options and made info on other programs readily available instead of instructing us to do Web research."
AU Abroad officials offered for students to apply for other available programs, or attend the University of Cape Town through an AU Abroad partner, according to Robinson and Petak. The partner program required an extra fee and students to live in the University of Cape Town residence halls, instead of in the local community, as originally planned.
Students only had three and a half days to pick a new program and the office was unhelpful, especially since one advisor called in sick, Robinson said.
"Leaving students hanging is unacceptable," Robinson said. "[AU Abroad] Director Sara Dumont ... answered almost all of my questions adequately and quickly, but only responded to my question as why the program was cancelled after I e-mailed my grievances to the [Vice President] of International Affairs, Dr. [Robert] Pastor."
Petak said the office handled the situation very well.
"I have been very impressed and pleased with how AU Abroad helped us," she said.
The office was helpful in finding other programs for the Cape Town students to look into. AU Abroad answered every question quickly, Petak said.
However, Kane said she had a different experience with the abroad offie.
"A lot of us were frustrated that there were no extended office hours," she said. "Many of us, myself included, have classes and work during the day and could not get to the office before it closed at 5 p.m. It was hard to factor in time to deal with something you didn't think was a possibility."
Robinson and Kane both agreed to attend the Cape Town program through the partner program, while Petak decided to now study in Australia.
Dumont, when reached by e-mail, said she did not have time for an interview. The University of Cape Town, International Academic Programmes Director Dr. Loveness Kaunda, nor others in her office, responded to e-mails for comment.
