I'm Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Education
Report.
In January, we talked about the Semester at Sea program and its move to a new
home at the University of Virginia. For years the program has taken college
students around the world on a ship where they live and study.
The University of Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania, had been home to the
Semester at Sea program since 1980. But the school withdrew its support last
year. There were growing tensions with the Institute for Shipboard Education.
The non-profit institute operates the Semester at Sea program.
University officials noted, for example, that the ship visited Kenya when the
State Department had warned against it.
A bus accident in India in 1996 killed four students in the
program and resulted in big legal claims.
And in January of last year, a fifteen-meter wave damaged the ship during a
storm in the Pacific.
The University of Pittsburgh said it was not questioning the safety of future
trips. Instead, it said the institute was not providing schools and individuals
with enough information to weigh the risks involved.
The Institute for Shipboard Education says both sides decided to end ties as
a result of a disagreement.
At the University of Virginia, a group of professors questioned the quality
of the classes that would be offered on the ship. University officials defended
the program and named an expert in Spanish literature to lead it.
Professor David Gies said he would develop a new study plan for the Semester
at Sea. He said the ship will now sail to ports along the west coast of Latin
America. The first trip is planned for this summer.
There is a new, unrelated program for college students who want to study at
sea. The Scholar Ship was recently announced with support from Royal Caribbean
Cruises and other partners.
Students who join the program are being offered academic credits from
Macquarie University in Australia. Five schools in Morocco, Mexico, China and
Ghana will provide teachers and administrators.
The first sixteen-week trip is planned for January from Greece. The plan is
for at least six hundred students to visit eight countries.
Scholar Ship President Joe Olander says organizers have already heard from
four thousand interested students. He told us earlier this week that the program
is still negotiating for a ship.
This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach.
Read and listen to our reports at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.