Steady decline of U.S. dollar’s value limits study abroad prospects
CU enrollment in study abroad programs is on the decline, due to excess fees charged for paying in American dollars.
The value of the American dollar is 1; the top five study abroad locations compare as such; Spain 1.46 (Euro), Italy 1.46 (Euro), Australia .88 (Australian Dollar), New Zealand .75 (New Zealand Dollar) and the United Kingdom 2.04 (U.K. Pound), according to the Currency Converter at Finance Yahoo.
Compared to the value of the U.S. dollar five years ago, Spain and Italy were .86 (Euro) and the United Kingdom was 1.64 (U.K. Pound).
“If this continues, it will make study abroad more expensive,” said Larry Bell, director of international education at CU. “We try to mitigate that by trying to find better resources for financing.”
CU has the largest number of study abroad students in the state, just above CSU, but enrollment is declining.
The weakening American dollar has caused some countries, mostly in Western Europe, to start charging a fee if the tuition is going to paid in American dollars.
Recently, the Office of International Education has seen dropping numbers across the map, but especially in Australia, for study abroad.
“[Australia] is an expensive program, but there has been a noticeable difference across the board,” said Nathan Frank, 27, an administrator for study abroad programs in the Office of International Education, adding that there is usually rapid growth from year to year, but now the trend is a significant decline.
The study abroad costs for Australia is estimated at $22,000 a semester, while the same amount of time in Central America is estimated at $17,000, according to the Study Abroad Programs at CU Web site.
“I wanted to go to Australia so I selected the cheapest program there,” said Nicolas Dumler, 20, mechanical engineering sophomore. Dumler also added that he thinks the decline of the dollar is not going to change what countries students want to study in, but will change which programs they can afford in those countries.
International students have also noticed this value difference.
“Clothes and food are cheap here,” said Huynjoo Joo, 23, a junior English major from South Korea.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Zach Keller at zach.keller@thecampuspress.com
