Infographic by Charlotte Braden

California Lutheran University’s Office of Education Abroad will reduce its semester program options to six locations—Austria, France, Japan, England, Scotland and Washington, D.C.—in the spring as the university transitions to a new study abroad model.

The OEA declined to disclose the exact number of programs that were cut.

Leanne Neilson, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs said the reduction in study abroad destinations is part of a larger plan to help create opportunities for students, as Cal Lutheran is in the process of contracting with the International Student Exchange Program.

“We’re going with a different approach…which allows us to have more international students come here,” Neilson said. “There is a bonus there of having a more global experience on our campus, as well as students having the opportunity of going abroad. So we’re kind of in this transition mode right now.”

Associate Provost for Global Engagement Christina Sanchez said the announcement to reduce semester abroad options impacted students looking to participate in spring 2026.

“Certainly, students who are involved with our early action spring requests have been impacted most in the process because they were looking at a broader portfolio, which now has been reduced and modified to six programs,” Sanchez said. “Any student who was looking at our website or updates would receive information related to the fact that we are revising the portfolio, that we were in the process of doing changes.”

Grace Brodoski, a junior, had plans to study abroad in Barcelona during the spring 2026 semester. Brodoski said in an email interview that the wide selection of abroad programs the university offered was a key factor in her decision to attend Cal Lutheran, and that she was disappointed by the OEA’s lack of communication with prospective travelers. 

“I had gone through and submitted my application in July and figured everything was set in place,” Brodoski said. “Throughout the rest of the summer, rumors started buzzing around about the programs being dropped or changed, but we had never received any indication from the school.”

Brodoski said she received no direct communication from the OEA about the program reductions, and that it caused her to “scramble” to reassess her options. 

“On the first day of the fall 2025 semester, the study abroad website dropped all except five programs with no indication to us,” Brodoski said. “My friends and I began to scramble in order to try and get more information. ‘Were our applications still valid?’ ‘Do we need to submit new applications for new destinations?’”

Brodoski said she did not receive a formal email from the OEA until Sept. 23.

“The only email we have received was last week. They told us they were going to try and get as many people accepted as possible and that we should find out at the beginning of this week if we got accepted or not,” Brodoski said. 

Neilson said the new program will operate like a trade, allowing Cal Lutheran students to study abroad while welcoming international students to campus. Neilson said this exchange will create a more globally diverse environment for students.

Neilson said the university expects a large number of ISEP opportunities for fall 2026 to be released by the spring 2026 semester. 

According to the ISEP website, students looking to participate will first meet with an ISEP student services officer to find the program best tailored to their academic and personal needs. A second ISEP coordinator, based at the student’s home university, will then review and send a student’s application to host institutions abroad.

Sanchez said the ISEP arrangement will allow students to keep their financial aid and scholarships, except for work-study, while studying abroad. According to the ISEP website, students will just need to factor in fees for travel, a visa, application and insurance fees.

“Students pay their tuition and fees here at Cal Lutheran, and then they go abroad. The place that they are staying at, the institution overseas, it is the student from that institution paying their tuition and fees and coming to Cal Lutheran that makes it a more equitable arrangement,” Sanchez said.

Josh Samuels, a Cal Lutheran alumnus who studied abroad in France during the spring 2024 semester, said he thinks there would have been a different perception of the study abroad program if the changes had been made during his time as a student, but that it likely wouldn’t have stopped him from going. 

“People would probably speak less highly about it if there were less options and kind of a cut back,” Samuels said. “I don’t know if it would’ve influenced my decision. I think I still would have wanted to do it.” 

Faculty-led programs, outside the six locations, will remain, Neilson said. These programs are usually one- to two-week trips, tied to a course, and involve traveling with a faculty member to destinations that students have studied that semester, according to the Cal Lutheran website. 

“The focus on faculty-led tours is engaging faculty more in the process,” Neilson said. “It’s such a great opportunity to have a class with a faculty member and then travel with that faculty member to the places you’ve just been studying.”

At a Faculty Assembly meeting on Sept. 15, Sanchez announced she will be leaving the institution. As of Oct. 10, she will serve as a consultant to support the university’s transition to other personnel.

Brodoski said she hopes to study abroad in Scotland during the spring 2026 semester. She said she is excited to see what her trip will bring, although having to adjust her original plans put her through a lot of “ups and downs.”

“Not only has this process been unbelievably stressful, but I can’t help but be disappointed in the fact that so many promises made by the school during my application process two years ago have been unfulfilled with no warning to us students,” Brodoski said. “I am hoping we get more information soon and are able to still get to experience the study abroad opportunities the school loves to promote.”