Global Education Office closed, study abroad to be managed by MISTI
The Global Education Office (GEO) closed Jan. 31. Study abroad programs and services will now be managed by MISTI, according to an email from the Global Education Team to students interested in studying abroad.
The team wrote that students “will be able to receive the same level of support, assistance, and care as before, despite the elimination of the Global Education Office and positions.”
Office of the Vice Chancellor (OVC) Senior Advisor for Communications Michael Rutter wrote in an email to The Tech that "a team re-evaluated MIT’s international programs and decided that integrating the GEO and MISTI offices would better serve the needs of current and future students."
Rutter wrote that the GEO “was established over a decade ago when MIT had a very active study abroad program with a focus on the Cambridge-MIT exchange program, which no longer exists.”
Rutter also wrote that the merging of study abroad programs into the MISTI office is expected to result in “no significant changes” on the program application process or students currently studying abroad.
Students interested in studying abroad will now work with one of MISTI’s 17 program managers. “Bringing a wider range of global programs under one office will also help students access more comprehensive information and explore opportunities,” Rutter wrote.
The OVC is now working with former GEO staff to “help them find other positions at MIT or elsewhere,” Rutter wrote.
Update 2/13/2020: This article was updated to correct that the the plan to merge study abroad into MISTI has not been in development for two years. Rather, a re-evaluation of MIT's international program has been in progress for the past two years, resulting in the decision to integrate the MISTI and GEO offices.