Culture Shock/Homesickness
Most students experience some degree of culture shock while participating on a study abroad program.  Ironically, the discomfort that accompanies living in a place that has different values, expectations, standards, practices and in some cases language, is often rooted in the cultural differences that the student is seeking when studying abroad! 

Very often, within a day or two, routine problems resolve themselves or students find a solution and move on.  Give your student some time to sort things out, and encourage them to seek solutions.  Check back with them in a day or two, and you’ll usually find that a problem that seemed insurmountable on Monday ceased to exist by Wednesday!  However, if you or your student believes a local staff member needs to be involved, please encourage your student to deal directly with the resident assistant or program leader first rather than involving parents and staff who are thousands of miles away.  Resolving problems independently usually yields even greater confidence and more independence.  There are some rare cases or emergencies in which the student is not able to advocate for himself/herself or resolve a major problem independently.  Should such an unusual circumstance arise, please follow the protocols on our Contact Us page.

Privacy
Like all US colleges and universities that receive Federal funding, we follow the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).  Your student has the right to authorize us to discuss some or all aspects of his/her program with you (e.g. finances, grades, judicial, etc.).  The program application gives the student the opportunity to select an option allowing us to discuss financial aspects with parents/guardians.  The student may also complete the Release of Information form, which allows us to discuss even more aspects that are related to the program.