AU now has one more housing problem to worry about. Recent developments with study abroad — one of AU’s hallmarks as a university — threaten to cause more headaches for Housing and Dining. And like many housing problems in the past, the proposed solution seems to disenfranchise a significant portion of AU students.
Over the past year, 84 more students chose to study overseas in the spring rather than the fall. Seemingly inconsequential, this discrepancy creates a problem for Housing and Dining, who must then provide accommodations for students for a sole semester. In an effort to correct this occurrence, AU Abroad has chosen to incorporate a number of incentives to encourage students to travel in autumn, such as priority course registration and continuing guaranteed housing upon their return in the spring. While this is sure to make headway into correcting the disparity, it unfairly penalizes the AU students still within U.S. borders.
The Eagle does not believe study abroad warrants priority registration. Traditionally, this privilege has been reserved for those students with extensive university scheduling needs — think RAs and varsity athletes — in addition to those with certain disabilities. In essence, it had been for those who demonstrated a true need for their priority. Students who study abroad have no such necessity.
While it is admirable that many students choose to forgo a semester at AU in favor of experiencing new cultures, this is no reason for them to by-pass hundreds of seniors and juniors needing specific classes to graduate. As a result, this priority registration potentially punishes students who choose not to study abroad, many of whom do so because of financial or career reasons.
Some may be skeptical that adding those studying abroad in the fall to priority registration would cause such turmoil amongst upperclassmen scheduling classes. Yet it is important to realize that this would mean that an additional 300 to 400 students could register before even the most advanced senior. For some, that could be the difference between graduating early and staying an extra semester to fulfill one graduation requirement.
Certainly, the study abroad disparity between semesters is an understandable nuisance that should be rectified. Still, a solution that marginalizes the majority of the student body is hardly an adequate answer. AU Abroad and Housing and Dining must reconvene to structure new incentives. Providing unnecessary priority registration is not an acceptable option.
