University of Colorado at Boulder Interim Provost Russell Moore today announced that all CU-Boulder study abroad programs in Mexico and one CU academic program for undergraduates have been temporarily suspended for summer and fall due to continuing safety concerns in the country.
CU-Boulder sponsors study abroad programs in Mexico in Guadalajara, Guanajuato, Oaxaca and Monterrey. Students and their families were notified last week of the decision to suspend the study abroad programs, and students in CU's International and National Voluntary Service Training, or INVST, community studies program will not be traveling into the country this week for a scheduled field experience. The INVST program is a service-learning program at CU-Boulder, not a study abroad program.
Two students were planning to attend a study abroad program in Guadalajara, one for summer and one for fall, and two students were planning to study in Guanajuato for the fall semester, according to Mary Dando, CU-Boulder's director of Study Abroad Programs. No students were planning to study in Monterrey or Oaxaca for this summer or fall. The Office of International Education will work with students planning to go to Mexico this fall to find alternate locations for a study abroad experience.
"This is a very difficult decision that was not made lightly," said Moore. "After reviewing the U.S. Department of State Travel Warning for Mexico, the July 9 Overseas Security Advisory Council report on escalating violence in Mexico, the June 29 Warden Report for Guadalajara warning of the deteriorating security environment there, and news reports on rising drug cartel violence within Mexico, we concluded that it is currently not safe for our study abroad or INVST students to remain in Mexico."
The Office of International Education will continue to monitor reports from the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Overseas Advisory Council and the news media, and will continue to remain in close touch with its program partners in Mexico, Dando said.
The university will review the decision as reports change regarding the safety and security environment in Mexico, Moore said.
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