Bookmark and Share

 

Parents and Family

Preparing for EAP

Your Student’s Predeparture Planning

Before departure, your son or daughter should first contact the Campus EAP Office. The Campus EAP Office coordinates recruitment and is responsible for student selection, predeparture orientation, and academic advising. Campus EAP staff provide information about campus procedures and advise students about integrating the EAP experience with their academic goals and post-graduation plans.

Once your son or daughter has been selected to EAP, staff in the Campus EAP Office forward the student’s application materials to the Universitywide Office of EAP (UOEAP), located in Goleta, California. UOEAP is a division of the UC Office of the President and serves all ten UC campuses.

While preparing to go abroad, students may work closely with the following staff at UOEAP:

  • Operations staff inform students about the logistical arrangements of the program, such as housing, visa information, student placement and acceptance by the host university, health requirements, transportation information, etc. Logistical support varies by program.

  • Academics staff advise on academic policies, track courses students take at their host universities for UC credit, process student petitions and grades, and maintain academic records of courses taken abroad for UC registrars.

  • Student Finance staff send EAP statements, collect program fees, and disburse financial aid (in conjunction with campus financial aid offices).

Once your son or daughter has been accepted to study abroad, it may seem that he or she has a million things to do! EAP provides a variety of resources to help your son or daughter prepare.

  • EAP provides a wealth of information on its website, including the EAP General Information Guide and a program-specific guide for the country to which your son or daughter will be traveling. You are encouraged to review both the general and the program-specific guides, which provide detailed checklists to help your son or daughter complete the many EAP-related action items that must be completed before departure, once abroad, and upon return to the U.S.

  • EAP’s General Information Guide directs students to fill out a My EAP and UC contacts form that contains phone numbers and e-mails for all the UC and EAP staff and advisors that they will work with. Make sure that your son or daughter completes this sheet, takes a copy abroad, and leaves a copy with you.

  • The campus EAP staff will provide required predeparture orientation training to your son or daughter, which addresses issues all students face while studying abroad and covers country-specific topics from academics to health and safety. Stress to your son or daughter the importance of attending these orientation sessions.

Cross-Cultural Adjustment

Your son or daughter is about to embark on one of the most significant experiences that he or she will have encountered thus far in life. Living and studying abroad and experiencing a culture that may be dramatically different from the culture in which you and your family find yourselves can be a challenging event for many students. EAP’s General Information Guide contains an excellent article that addresses the topic of Cross-Cultural Adjustment. Other references on this topic are also provided in the guide. Discuss these issues with your son or daughter before departure so all of you can be prepared to support each other through any adjustment period your son or daughter experiences.