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Study Abroad Glossary


There are a lot of specific terms used for studying abroad! The glossary below should help you as you explore the many opportunities available in study abroad.  If there is a term that you think is missing from the list, please let us know!

 
Study Abroad Term Definition
AACUPI Association of American College and University Programs in Italy.
Affiliate Program A program offered by a partner institution or organization that is considered to be a Lewis University approved study abroad program.
AIFS  
API Academic Programs International. It is an program provider that Lewis partners with for its Krakow program.
Direct Enrollment Program A study abroad program type in which the predominant study format is participation in regular courses alongside degree-seeking students from the host university. 
ECTS European Credit Transfer System.  This is the credit system that is used by almost all European universities.
Exchange Program A program involving reciprocal movement of participants—whether faculty, students, staff, or community members—between institutions or countries.  For student exchange programs, the students pay tuition (and sometimes room and board, depending on the agreement) at their home schools while studying at host institution.  The idea is that tutition revenue is not lost by the home institution, since it is basically a "swap" of students.
Forum on Education Abroad  
IIE Institute for International Education.  This organization coordinates a wide variety of key international education initiatives and works closely with the US government and other countries.  They administer a number of funding opportunities for higher education, including study abroad and language learning scholarships, leadership training, and the Fulbright program.  They also collect data from US universities and publish the annual Open Doors report.
Integrated/Immersion Program An informal term for a program that integrates students into the host culture to a substantial degree. This can include a Direct enrollment or a language immersion program 
ISA International Studies Abroad.  It is a program provider and and partner with which Lewis works for some of its semester and summer offerings.  ISA also provides emergency support services for the Rome Program at LUCE.
Island Program An informal term for a program that includes little cultural immersion, such as a program in which home-campus students live together and home-campus faculty instruct them in facilities owned/arranged by the home campus.  The Rome program at LUCE, the Loyola program in Rome, and in most cases, the Travel Study programs are examples.
Italiaidea  
Lewis study abroad program A semester or summer study abroad program that has been approved by Lewis as one of its official programs.  Students on Lewis study abroad programs receive Lewis credit for their coursework and all of their financial aid applies.  All of the programs listed on the Lewis Study abroad website are Lewis programs.
LUCE Lasallian Universities Center for Education, based at the headquarters of the Lasalian Christian Brothers (the Generalate) in Rome, Italy.  Luce means light in Italian.
NAFSA National Association of International Educators.  This is a professional organization for international educators.
Non-Lewis study abroad program Semester and summer programs not formally approved by Lewis.  If students wish to participate in non-Lewis programs, they do so independently of Lewis University.  Credits from these programs are treated as transfer credit, as long as they are from an accredited institution. Students participating in these programs might be eligible for federal financial aid, depending on the program, but they do not receive any institutional aid (Lewis-specific grants and scholarships).
Open Doors report An annual survey and report published by IIE to track international student numbers at US insitiutions and study abroad numbers of US students.
Rome Program at LUCE  
Semester Program Students study for a semester at a host instution.  Students take classes to learn the target language, to complete degree requirements, (major, minor, Gen Ed, elective), or a combination of the two, depending on the program and location.  The semester length varies depending on the program.  Except in rare cases, such as the Rome Program at LUCE, faculty/staff do not accompany the students. 
Short-term faculty-led program Referred to as Travel Study programs at Lewis University, these academic programs have a travel component as part of their coursework.  The travel, either domestic or international, can last from a few days to a few weeks. The course(s) associated with the program are taught by the faculty partially on campus and partially on site.
SSA Spanish Studies Abroad (SSA), also called the Center for Cross-Cultural Studies) is the program provider that coordinates our Spain programs.
StudioAbroad Studioabroad is the platform that the Lewis Study Abroad Office uses for its application, website, and database.
Study abroad program Any domestic or international opportunity that bears academic credit. This includes summer, semester, and Travel Study programs.
Study abroad program provider Also called a Study Abroad Service Provider or a Third-Party Provider, a program provider is an institution or organization that offers education abroad program services to students from a variety of institutions. A program provider may be a college or university, a nonprofit organization, a for-profit business, or a consortium.
Summer program Summer programs last three to to eight weeks during the summer session, depending on the program and location.  The students take courses at the host institution, and Lewis faculty/staff do not accomany the students.
Terra Dotta This is the company that owns and runs the Studioabroad platform.
Travel Study program This is the Lewis University term for short-term faculty-led programs.  The travel components occurs during break times, usually during Summer, Winter, or Spring breaks.  Travel Study is regarded as a travel component integrated within the context of a full course or seminar that already exists in the catalog and/or has been approved through the appropriate college process.