Policy on Education Abroad Funding
To encourage Berea College students to include international study in their degree program, the College makes available grants and loans to support international travel that earns academic credit. Because funding is limited and the goal is to enable as many students as possible to enrich their education, the number of times a student can receive financial support from the College is restricted. New and transfer students in their first two regular terms of study are ineligible for financial support. Students who are U.S. citizens can apply for funding to participate in an education abroad program (excluding internships, independent studies, or team-initiated studies). International students, already having an intercultural experience through study at Berea, can apply for institutional funding for one faculty-led Berea International Summer Term (BIST) course. International students generally will not receive funding to spend a term outside the United States. However, those majoring in a foreign language may be eligible for a scholarship from the Foreign Languages Program.
Policy on Probation and Education Abroad
Students must be in good standing to participate in approved education abroad opportunities, including, but not limited to, Berea Term Abroad (BTA), Berea International Summer Term (BIST) courses, internships, and independent or team-initiated studies. As such, students on labor, academic, and/or social probation are not permitted to apply for, register for, and/or participate in such opportunities. All students registered for education abroad opportunities will be subject to a mid-term labor performance review, and those found to be significantly deficient in meeting the required labor obligation will not be allowed to go abroad. Any student placed on probation during or at the end of the term preceding international study will not be allowed to participate in an education abroad opportunity, even if the student has been registered.
Exceptions to this policy must be approved by the Education Abroad Advisor and by the appropriate administrator: Academic Affairs for academic probation, the Dean of Labor for labor probation, or the Associate Vice President for Student Life for social probation.
Policy on Continuing Abroad for a Second Term
A student who participates in an approved full term-length education-abroad program may continue abroad for a second term of study and remain registered at Berea College only with the approval of both the academic advisor and the Education Abroad Advisor. This approval will be granted only under the following conditions: a revised curriculum plan is submitted demonstrating that the extension will not increase the total terms in the undergraduate program, the academic advisor endorses the revised curriculum plan, and no additional institutional financial aid is being requested.
Policy on Medical Immunizations for Education Abroad
Students participating in international study/travel opportunities are required to have received all of their childhood vaccinations and be up-to-date on other vaccinations that the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends, such as ones to protect against COVID-19.
Additionally, students are required to receive all immunizations that the CDC requires to travel to a particular country or region; and Berea College's Center for International Education may require immunizations that the CDC merely recommends for that country or region.
For example, students hoping to study in Ghana, are required to:
A. Have all their routine (childhood) vaccinations and boosters.
B. Have their COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters.
C. Get vaccinated against Yellow Fever (something that is recommended by the CDC, yet required by the Center for International Education) prior to traveling to Ghana.
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