Against the backdrop of a national goal to more than quadruple the number of American undergraduates studying abroad to a million by 2016-17, Cultural Experiences Abroad, a for-profit study abroad provider, has been building a network of study centers best described as independent branch campuses. Once all 12 are fully operational â?? six are open now â?? itâ??s expected that the GlobalCampus Centers combined could accommodate up to 20,000 students a year, assuming every seat were filled every summer, winter and fall. For comparisonâ??s sake, consider that in 2005-6, 223,534 American students studied abroad in all.
A large number of CEAâ??s students are coming from the Big 10 universities, Bannister said, including the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Rob Howell, director of international academic programs and a professor of German at Wisconsin, said that the university does not have a relationship with CEA. But about 300 Wisconsin students do attend non-university programs each year, he said, with about 70 of those heading to Barcelona â?? where Wisconsin doesnâ??t offer any of its own programs because Spanish faculty would prefer that students not study in a Catalan-speaking city. â??Undoubtedly we have students who go on [CEA programs], but theyâ??re not programs we promote,â? Howell said.