By Neil Offen

noffen@heraldsun.com; 419-6646

DURHAM -- Duke University -- following a national trend -- is seeing fewer of its students choose to study abroad.

Over the past four years, the number of Duke students traveling overseas during the fall semester has decreased from 476 to 437, a decline of more than 8 percent. In just the last year, 20 fewer students have chosen to enroll in overseas programs.

And the likely reason is the economy.

"I think the decrease is understandable, given all that's going on in the global economy," said Margaret Riley, the director of Duke's Global Education Office for Undergraduates. "We are not troubled by it, however, because we do think it's not particular to us. It's a trend that you can see across the U.S."

The Forum on Education Abroad, a national organization that studies the issue, confirms that trend.

In a survey this fall, the Forum reported that two thirds of colleges and universities with study abroad programs reported that the global economic crisis had negatively affected their overseas programs.

"It's clear that the economic crisis has had an impact on education abroad," said Brian Whalen, president of the group.

The survey found that public colleges were particularly hard hit, but more than half of private schools -- such as Duke -- also had seen significant impacts.

Until the recent economic downturn, study abroad programs had grown consistently, with the number of students participating nationwide increasing nearly 150 over the past decade.

That was the case at Duke as well. "Our highest enrollment year was 2006," Riley said, "but, of course, that was before the economy started to turn downward."

The good news for Duke's study abroad program is a slight increase in the number of students traveling overseas to study during the summer, going from 251 students to 278.

"It's counter-intuitive, but it was a pleasant surprise to us," Riley said.

The summer rise also might be attributable to the economy, the director theorized.

"It could be that folks see the importance of study abroad and are willing to invest in a short-term program, but the full semester program is more expensive than they can handle," she said. "They still want the experience and this is more affordable."

Duke students who study abroad in for credit programs must pay their standard university tuition as well specific program costs, which can vary widely. Despite the cost, nearly 50 percent of students at Duke participate in study abroad some time before they graduate.

"In fact," said Riley, "those students who get financial aid at Duke participate in the study abroad programs at a higther rate than the rest of the student body. Obviously, students believe that all things considered, it's worth it."