University College Cork (UCC) has become the latest university to partially suspend its international study abroad programmes, informing students that the programme will not run in the first semester of next year.
Yesterday, an email sent from the college’s International Office to UCC students due to travel abroad said that the university “has had to make the difficult decision that your international study abroad will need to be suspended” for the first semester of next year.
Students who were signed up to go abroad will continue their studies with UCC after the summer break, the email said.
“We understand that this will be very disappointing for you”, the email said. “We are also very disappointed and we are committed to ensuring, as far as possible, that the alternative arrangements that the university is in the process of developing will give you many of the same skills and academic opportunities that you would have received in your first semester of studying abroad.”
University College Dublin, the University of Limerick and Dublin City University have already informed students of the partial or full suspension of study abroad programmes next year.
In Trinity, students will be informed of the fate of their year abroad today, in an email from the vice-president of the College’s Global Relations Office.
On Twitter, in response to an article published by The University Times, the Global Relations Office wrote that deliberations “are currently ongoing with partner universities, and internally with Schools”.
“The Vice-President for Global Relations will issue an email to the Trinity community regarding Erasmus on Friday 29th of May.”
Trinity students have been waiting for weeks on an update from the College over Erasmus and Study Abroad.
On May 12th, Niamh Burke, the associate director of partnerships in Trinity’s Global Relations Office, wrote in an email statement to The University Times: “We are working closely with Trinity’s senior management, partner universities and affected students on this subject.”
“Since much also depends on the positions our university partners and the European Commission as regards Erasmus, it is a fluid situation”, she said, but added that “the Global Relations Office and other relevant departments are actively working on planning for various scenarios”.
Trinity declined to offer specifics on the plans it is considering.
