Centre's Study Abroad Program-Strasbourg, France

Colleges and Universities A-Z Centre College
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<p>Doddsdad and DS will be visiting Centre’s study abroad program in Strasbourg this weekend (Columbus Day weekend). Centre’s international students admissions counselor was very receptive to DS visiting the program. The professor supervising the program was very open to DS visiting as well. DS spoke with the professor last night and DS was invited to go on a field trip with the group to a concentration camp nearby, lunch with the group, and attend classes. DS is very excited about the opportunity.</p>

<p>We will let you know how it goes.</p>

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<p>DS and I had an interesting two days. On Sunday, we drove to Munich for an interview with a Grinnell alumnus, and then that night drove to Strasbourg to visit Centre’s study abroad program the next day. I’ll call it CIS for short. Our timetable was tighter than I initially planned, but boogieing on the Autobahn tends to be faster then on the interstates. (More stressful too).</p>

<p>On the day of our visit, we left at 0900 on a field trip to a WWII concentration camp near Strasbourg. It is the only one that was on French soil. It was a solemn group that left the crematorium. Field trips don’t occur every week, but the trip replaced their morning class. The typical CIS schedule is one class in the morning, sometimes some meetings, a two-hour break for lunch, and then two classes in the afternoon ending around 1700-1730. They attend classes Monday through Thursday and have three-day weekends for travel, work, etc. </p>

<p>My first impression was that CIS doesn’t have a bunny schedule. Centre doesn’t regard their semester-long study abroad programs to be extended vacations. And Centre seems to feel strongly that the study abroad programs are important for their students. The professor/director Dr. R said that Centre wants their students to expand their horizons beyond their roots, so they provide multiple opportunities to study abroad. However, Centre seems to have some protective impulses. Dr. R commented that they really like Strasbourg for their base. It’s a fair-sized city, has the EU Parliament, beautiful and historic buildings, but it’s not a national capital and it’s not overwhelmingly large. He noted that kids from a small town in KY might be overwhelmed by 14 weeks in a town like Paris. </p>

<p>They try to plan the study abroad to allow exploration, trips, traveling, but also try to get the students to immerse themselves in their local town too. I thought a very interesting comment from Dr. R was that he actually has higher expectations and a greater workload at the CIS campus than at the home campus. He said the students don’t have all the distractions and activities (clubs, sports, boyfriends/girlfriends, visits home), so he figures they have more time for schoolwork. That was completely opposite of what I expected. Centre hires local adjunct faculty who speak English well to teach some of the classes, so he’s not alone. They offer 5 or 6 classes and the students choose 4. </p>

<p>The students all confirmed that there is a heavy workload at CIS and on the home campus. However, it was Monday and they were all talking about their different trips over the weekend. Some had been to Normandy, others to Prague, and others to Venice. That was just one weekend, and they have a 10-day break coming up at after 12 October. They said traveling by train can get them anywhere and they are usually good places to read and complete assignments over the weekends. </p>

<p>The physical facilities are in an older office building downtown. It was interesting to see “CENTRE COLLEGE” on the directory in the lobby of a Strasbourg office building. They have a large room for classes, two smaller rooms for student workrooms and Internet access, and office for the professor/director. Most of the students live in apartments with 4-5 students sharing. Some students interested in improving their language skills will stay with local families. There were around 22 students total, which I assumed is a normal-sized group. As I said earlier, sometimes the “classroom” will be a study trip, or visit to museum or other site. Dr. R noted that Centre is able to afford to keep the CIS campus and apartments year-round because the expense is reasonable. By contrast, the Centre-in-London program is only 10-weeks and they rent space and apartments only for the length of the stay, not year-round. </p>

<p>We spent the entire day with the students and professors, including the field trip, lunch, and DS attended two classes. Everyone ate together in a nice restaurant, which the students said is not typical. I think it was another method of getting the students to stretch, since CIS picked up the tab and the menu was pre-ordered. Most of the students enjoyed the excellent food and they talked about how silly and restrictive the drinking laws are in the U.S. The students said they usually return to their apartments to eat lunch. Dr. R and the students were friendly and welcoming. The students made a point of introducing themselves to DS and talking with him. He enjoyed the classes and said the students were serious, prepared, took notes, had read the material, had good comments and observations etc. The students have a few choices in the classes, so they were not all in the classes at one time. Those outside the classroom worked, caught up with email, scheduled trips, or were bothered by me asking questions. </p>

<p>(to be continued)</p>

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<p>Now a few more observations that apply more generally to Centre. I continue to believe that Centre is a very nurturing kind of place. Both Dr. R and the students commented that the professors are accessible, want to help, and keep an eye on the students. Dr. R commented that the faculty notice if students are absent, or seem sick, distracted, etc. They follow up with them. He said sometimes it seems like they are too watchful and protective, but that he believes it works well for the students and they produce excellent graduates. As an example, one female philosophy major told me, “I’m a nerd, so I will usually get my assignments done way ahead of time. My professors will usually look at them and give me feedback so I can improve them before I turn them in. The extra mentoring is really great.” </p>

<p>Centre wants to increase cultural and racial diversity, but it’s been hard. Dr. R’s comment was that they recruit KY kids of color (my term) but they have a hard time getting them there. He said, “Think about it. If you’re a bright African-American student, would you want to go to a small in-state school in a small town with 90+% white kids?” He also said if they have the credentials to get into Centre, they have the credentials to get into anywhere and they lose the students to Harvard and other schools of similar prestige. They are involved with the Posse program to bring in urban students, so they are hoping that will change things. They are also looking for geographical diversity, but he said they have to be careful. The core of their student body and alumni are Kentuckians. They can’t afford (literally) to alienate their core group by filling up classes with out-of-state students, but they are working gradually to increase the diversity on campus. </p>

<p>Dr. R is originally from NY, had been at Centre since 1989. He has impressive credentials with a BA and MA from Harvard, and a MA and PhD from Johns Hopkins. He said he’s well familiar with the stereotypical kids from the Northeast having “seen it all” not easily impressed, kinda cynical, etc. He said he appreciates how “open” Centre students are to what he has to offer. He said it is a great school for teaching. The faculty morale is high. He said he interviewed at other schools, but “You could tell that some of these people really don’t like each other or working with each other. You knew they were only there because they had to be.” He said it is not like that at Centre. Dr. R said publishing and scholarly work is important at Centre, but the road to tenure is being a good teacher. He said, “You will not get tenure at Centre unless you are a good teacher, and there are so many ways to be a good teacher.” I checked the website and despite his credentials, time and recognition as a Centre Scholar, he’s not yet a full professor at Centre. Even the Harvard grads have to put in their time I guess. </p>

<p>I asked if Centre is better known in the academic world than in the general public. He said Centre is well known and respected in the Southeast and probably in the Midwest, but not necessarily on the West coast or Northeast. He said Centre has “ambitious students,” so when he writes recommendations for high prestige grad schools, he makes a point of highlighting his background and credentials so they know he is fully aware of the expectations of their “elite” schools. Dr. R is still irate about the perceived snub of an outstanding student by Princeton. He said the student was a double major in history and a related area, and he had extensively studied Greek and Latin. He commented, “ you don’t see that much anymore.” Despite his outstanding credentials and a glowing recommendation, Princeton turned him down. Dr. R is convinced that regional bias affected their decision. However, the student ended up at UVA and Dr. R fully expects him to be a fellow professor and scholar of Medieval studies in the future. He’s looking forward to that day. </p>

<p>Most of the students I talked with were from KY, and many had Centre connections in parents or other relatives. I talked at some length with a student from Chicago that “loves” Centre. She’s also in a sorority so we ended up talking about that quite a bit. Said she didn’t want to be involved with Greeks when she got there, but she found a fit during rush and now is very happy with her sorority. Of course, she said that being greek or not doesn’t matter, but she also said joining and participating is great. I hope this doesn’t sound too biased, but most of the students that said they are in soros/frats don’t look like "greek kids" (based on my own observations 25+ years ago). Maybe the kids look different now than then, but these kids didn’t strike me as the cookie-cutter, keep-to-our-own-kind group that I remember. </p>

<p>I think our visit went well and I learned a lot about how Centre runs their study abroad programs. I continue to be impressed by Centre, not only their warmth but especially their commitment to the students. At the end of the day, Dr. R. said that he had talked with DS during the day and the class that he felt he would “fit in well at Centre.” He seemed quite positive about our visit, and we certainly felt that way.</p>

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<p>Excellent report. A couple of curveballs there, huh? Kids going to class? Actually reading the assigned work and engaging in discussions? My oh my . Whatever is this world coming to. Sounds great. </p>

<p>Now is this particular program for French speakers only, or is it just French speakers staying with local families? </p>

<p>Sounds really great doddsdad. Now where do you and I sign up for Centre on the Costa del Sol?</p>

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<p>The French-speaking part was a bit confusing to me (beyond my total lack of French). If I understood the students correctly, they all have to take French either there, or back at the home campus, but most of them were not very confident in their skills. I can personally vouch for the fact that a lack of confidence in a second language is not a character flaw. ;) The classes are in English, but both Dr. R and of course the adjunct faculty spoke French. </p>

<p>I'll add something I forgot in the review. Dr. R made an interesting comment about choosing not to have the program in Paris, beyond the fact that it is a huge and expensive city. He noted that the students would always be able to find someone who spoke English in Paris. That isn’t true in Strasbourg, so they are forced to use the language in the community. I suppose the (theoretical) lack of a language barrier, reduces the strain for students in the Centre-in-London program. </p>

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Now where do you and I sign up for Centre on the Costa del Sol?

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<p>I don't know, but that would definitely be worth some research! :)</p>