Dartmouth has reconfirmed its commitment to exceptional off-campus opportunities with the current effort to establish a Foreign Study Program in India. The initiative is a nod to many important long-term goals, such as rivaling our peer institutions and increasing the range of South Asian studies programs available at Dartmouth. But perhaps the most notable aspect of the proposed FSP is the prominent role that students have played in bringing about its creation.
The concept of an FSP to India has been present in students' minds for some time, but only became truly consequential when taken up by the Pan Asian Council and shared with PAC advisor Nora Yasumura and faculty members.
The FSP is not a top-down product of these administrators and faculty members. Indeed, the program would not be developing now were it not for the persistence and determination of students. In this case, the administration should be applauded for its response to the vocal student demand for a particular program. Amidst criticisms about excess deans and disconnected faculty, the India FSP is an example of the Dartmouth network -- students, faculty and administration -- translating a student idea into institutionalized action.
But the development of a new program does not allow administrators and faculty members to be complacent with the state of the Foreign Study Programs and Language Study Abroad programs that already exist at Dartmouth. While off-campus programs remain as popular as ever, anecdotal evidence shows that many students are unhappy with some aspects of their experiences. Common complaints include location, academic quality, student accomodations and the level of integration into the surrounding culture. Simultaneous with the planning process for the India FSP should be a reexamination of the attributes and flaws of each existing off-campus program, and a reworking of these programs to meet the current needs of students. In this endeavor, administrators and faculty members must work with the same level of responsiveness to students that they are demonstrating with the creation of the India FSP itself.
There is certainly no imminent danger that students will lose interest in off-campus programs at Dartmouth. Indeed, Dartmouth's growing commitment to education outside of Hanover has been and surely will continue to be a major selling point and mark of uniqueness for the College. But along with a vision of an expanding range of programs must come the constant reevaluation and improvement of those that already exist.
