AU Abroad and Abroad at AU are now managed by the Office of the Provost because the programs have developed to their "mature" phase, said Sara Dumont, director of AU Abroad and Abroad at AU.
"The work we have accomplished over the past three years under OIA [Office of International Affairs] have led us to a point where we have a comprehensive set of strong study abroad offerings around the world, and that is certainly here to stay," Dumont said.
AU Abroad allows currently enrolled AU students to study abroad at universities across the globe. Abroad at AU is a non-degree program that allows international students to spend a semester or year studying at AU, Dumont said.
In the short run, students should not notice any changes with the programs. Most of the changes the programs will face will be on the administrative level concerning who the offices will report to, Dumont said. She also added that she does not believe there will be any "significant" structural changes of what the programs offer.
"The belief is that this will facilitate even more communication and cooperation between these programs and the faculty and staff of the schools and colleges," Dumont said. "Over the last three years, while we were part of OIA, we had already established a pattern of successful communication and cooperation with the academic units, but I think the hope is that this will rise to new heights as we continue to develop and refine our international offerings to students."
The OIA was established in September 2002 by former president Ben Ladner, according to the office's Web site. Robert Pastor, the vice president of international affairs, was given the task to make AU a "premier global university," according to the Web site. American Universities Overseas, International Centers, the Center for North American Studies and the Center for Democracy and Election Management comprise the office.
The provost, the university's chief academic officer, is responsible for overseeing the academic affairs division, which includes all of the schools and colleges and other academic administrative offices, according to the office's Web site.
The change took place because of "extensive evaluations" done of programs in the OIA, Dumont said.
AU Abroad and Abroad at AU will continue to evaluate and alter programs offered to students so they can offer the best study abroad experience possible, Dumont said.
"I believe that over the next year or so, my office will engage in a more systematic and thorough academically-focused evaluation of all our programs - this was already planned for this year well before the transfer was even thought of," she said. "Nonetheless, it may happen now with more speed and perhaps with a different level of involvement from members of staff and faculty of the academic units"
