It seems that it was not long ago that we were scrambling to transition students and instructors to online courses. Now we’re heading into the last days of those classes. What have we learned and how have we fared? Here’s what we’ve heard from our students, instructors, and partners. The personal relationships formed between students… Read More
SRAS Blog
Summer Study Abroad, 2020
***Updated May 2, 2020*** SRAS continues to cautiously plan our future study abroad programs with student health and safety as our highest priorities. We have decided to cancel all summer abroad for 2020. We will offer online courses through our partners abroad. Our decision was made with the health and safety of our students, colleagues,… Read More
Moscow Under Quarentine: Moods and Measures
The mood in Moscow is calm. We are now entering week four of quarantine. Measures have been gradually introduced. The initial closing of universities, most schools, cafes, bars, and nightclubs, was announced on March 17 and put into place on March 21. Since then, a similar pattern of broadcast-then-implement has followed with closing parks and… Read More
Thank You To Our Partners
SRAS would like to take a moment to acknowledge and say thank you to our hosts, friends, and partners abroad. Our host institutions helped us keep our students safe and informed throughout the crisis and continue now to work side by side with us, adjusting their delivery model to provide students with academic continuity. Staff… Read More
Hybrid Programming for Study Abroad
***Updated April 2, 2020*** There is nothing like a global challenge to spur innovation. At SRAS this is no exception. We are widely recognized as an organization with innovative ideas in study abroad, and we are not slowing down now. Starting this summer we are tentatively rolling out a new hybrid approach to study abroad,… Read More
Video: The Future of Study Abroad with Renee Stillings
SRAS Founder and Program Director Renee Stillings speaks on the future of study abroad in this new video interview interview with Dr. Michael Denner, a professor at Stetson University and fellow long-time advocate of study abroad. One of the major innovations that she mentions, hybrid study abroad, can be previewed here as it is already… Read More
The Experience of a Lifetime: How Our Students Experienced the Global Health Crisis Abroad
“Do I have to go? Do I have a choice? I feel safer here.” “This is incredibly disappointing – I’ve been planning this for years.” “What are the consequences if I stay?” “I can’t concentrate in class, I feel like any minute it will be my turn to have to go.” “I’m spending my last… Read More
Thank You, Everyone
Thank you. Thank you to all our partners and friends in the US, Russia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, and Poland. Everyone has come together in this crisis and worked endless hours to support the decision-making process to ensure both the safety of our students and their continued education. These are unprecedented times in the field of international… Read More
COVID-19: The Mood In Moscow
I spent the day running a few errands in Moscow. This may the last time I can say this for a while. The majority of SRAS students have left or are leaving Russia. In what should be the middle of the semester, I’m already wrapping some things up. Moscow will also close some services to… Read More
Ukraine: Discovering Something New and Very Old (SRAS Site Visit)
I have admittedly not spent enough time in Ukraine, in part because our partners at NovaMova are so efficient and responsive with students, and because we see them regularly at conferences here in the US. I decided to change that and spend some quality time there in early January, getting to know Kyiv better and… Read More