Two years after the program began, the Australia Center is the second most popular study abroad destination at Ball State, the director of the Center for International Programs said.
Jim Coffin accepted 33 people into the 40-person program within two hours on Jan. 10, the first day students could turn in their deposits and secure a spot on the trip. Four days later, the program was full.
"We literally had a concert line out here," Coffin said. He usually has 60 people interested in the program but those who make their deposits first get to go. "People had bed rolls and radios and camped out."
Coffin slept in his office Jan. 9 because there was no electricity in his home. When he got there at midnight, students were already waiting, he said.
Study abroad programs in Australia have gained popularity throughout the nation as well, according to the 2004 Open Doors report published by the Institute of International Education. The number of American students studying in Australia increased 13 percent from the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 school years, making it the fifth most popular study abroad location.
Students like Australia because it is one of the most beautiful and exciting places, Coffin said.
The Australia Center program is located near the beach in Lennox Head.
"It's the coolest place on Earth," Sammy Voland, a student who went to the Australia Center in Spring 2004, said. "The scenery is just amazing and the people are laid back. It's totally different from here."
Students also enjoy the Australia Center because of the program's structure, Coffin said. Students live together, are taught together by faculty who are paid by Ball State and take field trips together. A student in a regular exchange program goes alone to study at a separate university.
"Once we got there we really formed as a group and it definitely made you more comfortable being on the other side of the world," Adam Bock, a student who went to Australia in Fall 2004, said.
The main advantage of studying abroad is being able to go out and see what the professors are teaching, Voland said.
"The best thing about the Australia Center was the stuff we learned we could go out and see it," he said. "It was hands-on direct observation and the teachers were awesome."
Ball State sends two professors with the students each semester and pays professors, who teach at universities in Australia, to go to Lennox Head and teach classes, Coffin said.
The Center for International Programs started planning the Australia program in 2001 because they needed a new program to accommodate the many students who couldn't go to the London Center. Within one year the center found the housing, the classrooms and the professors to bring an Australia program to life, Coffin said.
The program is so popular that many students become depressed when they return to Muncie, he said.
"I still think about it at least once a week honestly," Voland said. "The weather, the beach, it seriously was like a three-month Spring Break. It was hard to come back to crappy Muncie."
Bock came back from Australia with a new outlook on life because Australians are so laid back and friendly, he said.
"I feel better about people in general," Bock said. "Life seems so much brighter now and if that's just over there in Australia, I can't imagine what else is out there."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
