Greetings from the Education Abroad Office,
We hope this finds you well wherever you are during this time of remote learning.
As you are likely aware, Seattle University has extended its travel restriction through Summer Quarter 2020. We have received confirmation that this impacts students whose Fall 2020 study abroad program planned to begin prior to summer intersession, August 18th. We have already reached out to the students impacted by this travel restriction but the large majority of SU-Sponsored, SU-Exchange and Non-SU programs are still scheduled to run for Fall 2020 at this time. However, this is subject to change so we ask that you periodically check your SU email for messages from our office to stay up to date. We will continue to update you if there are any developments that will impact your study abroad program. In the meantime, we are adjusting our Pre-Departure processes to accommodate remote learning and advise you to plan for flexibility in the event that there is continued disruption in the fall.
We can appreciate the challenges of these uncertain times and know that a few students have already made the difficult decision to no longer pursue studies abroad this fall. For those of you moving forward with plans to study abroad, we encourage you to take a two-pronged approach:
1.Continue steps to study abroad
Refer to your Pre-Departure Packet for program-specific steps. Because you will not be on campus, we have adjusted some of the processes:
- Course Approval Form: instead of completing the form we previously provided in your packet, please indicate the courses you are interested in taking abroad through this online form as soon as possible and no later than June 1st. Your Education Abroad Advisor will then reach out to the various approving departments on your behalf and request equivalencies. Once we’ve received approval, you will be notified. If you need to get additional courses approved while abroad, please submit the online form again. Note: If you have already completed the physical Course Approval Form, we will accept it via email.
- Pre-Departure Orientation: we are working to move Pre-Departure Orientation entirely onto Canvas and we will let you know when we have logistics finalized.
2. Plan for the possibility of not studying abroad
- Register for Fall Quarter courses at SU: E-meet with your Academic Advisor to determine what courses you should take if you were to stay at SU for Fall Quarter 2020 and register for them. If your program continues as planned, you will drop the SU courses and EAO will register you for the Education Abroad placeholder course for your program closer to departure. If things do not continue as planned, at least you will be enrolled in SU courses that you need for Fall 2020.
- Hold-off on purchasing a plane ticket: As the final outcome of whether you will be able to study abroad in Fall 2020 is still to be determined, we recommend you delay purchasing an airline ticket (and other travel related expenses) as to avoid financial loss. While some airlines are being flexible with cancellations/changes, this is not guaranteed.
- Consider housing options: you may want to reach out to Housing and Residence Life to discuss back-up on-campus housing options.
For students participating in SU-Sponsored and SU-Exchange programs, we will send you the updated withdrawal/cancellation policies for your specific programs soon. In general, there is increased flexibility to accommodate these uncertain times.
For students participating in Non-SU programs, we recommend you confirm these policies with your Program Provider/host university.
Please let us know if you have any questions and we are happy to meet with you virtually. You can schedule appointments via the Education Abroad Bookings page.
Wishing you well,
Jenn and Kirsti
Advisors | Pronouns: she/her/hers
Education Abroad | SEATTLE UNIVERSITY
Pavilion 124 | 901 12th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122-1090