AUDREY REED
News Editor
Pepperdine International Programs announced its au revoir to the French language program in Lyon, France on Monday.
Dean of International Programs Charles Hall cited both legal and financial problems as the cause for closure of the four-year-old program. The program will continue through the spring semester, and spots are still open. International Programs is looking to add another French-speaking program to replace Lyon, Hall said.
Hall said the financial and legal aspects of the program were equally problematic. In France, Hall said, Pepperdine was required to create a stand-alone organization to operate legally.
“We needed to get French permission to create an organization called ‘Pepperdine University France,’” Hall said. “Our legal experts have been attempting to do that for the last few years. It should not have taken that long, but the French system of approval is extremely complicated and costly. Our general counsel’s office worked tirelessly to make it happen, but the ‘hurdles and hoops’ were increasingly difficult to overcome.”
For students still wishing to study in France next fall, Hall said that there maybe an opportunity to use a third-party company. International Programs will know by November if this will be possible.
Hall said he is “committed to creating a strong French language program,” because it is essential to students studying French at Pepperdine. He said an increasing number of students are choosing to learn French, which is second most popular to Spanish.
Senior and French major Kt Erman agrees with Hall, but would still like to have program based in France.
“I think it’s too bad, as challenging as the program is, it’s still something you get a lot out of,” said Erman, who studied in Lyon two years ago. “You can’t major in a language without living in the culture.”
But because of the complex French laws, Pepperdine will not be able to keep the program in the country. Hall said that outside of France, Switzerland or Belgium are distinct possibilities. Next month, Hall will be looking at Lausanne and Geneva in Switzerland.
Even though many Lyon alumni are sad to see the home-stay program terminated, senior Heather Ayers said International Programs should take this time to fix some of the problems that she encountered while studying there two years ago.
“I’m not really surprised they canceled it,” she said. “It wasn’t ready the first year. The whole thing was messed up and they never stopped to fix it.”
Senior and Lyon alumna Laura Varney said that one of the main problems was that unlike other Pepperdine abroad programs, the Lyon program didn’t help adjust the students to French culture as well. Also, she said that the student lounge area, which was non-existent the first year, was a small apartment that could barely hold all of the Pepperdine students.
09-29-2005