The Semester Study Abroad (SSA) programme first began in 2001 with approximately 300 students. However, in less than ten years, the programme has grown to about 1000 students each year with the majority of the students coming from the United States of America.

Due to the dramatic growth of the SSA programme in recent years, the leadership of IAPO wanted to have a clear sense of the programme’s value to the university, as well as its impact on the university and the surrounding community. The main purpose of this project was therefore to determine the academic importance of the programme as well as its strategic relevance.

The first component of the research was to conduct desktop research in order to analyse study abroad trends both locally and internationally for benchmarking as well as to identify best practice. Mthente then conducted an online survey with outgoing students at the end of the 2009 academic year. Following this, a survey was conducted with incoming SSA students in a bid to ascertain their objectives in studying at UCT. The survey explored the impact that the visiting students have on local students in terms of cultural mixing, classroom participation and information sharing, as well as the establishment of friendships.

To explore local students’ perceptions of SSA students, Mthente then conducted a quantitative survey with a representative sample of UCT students (approximately 400 students). Stakeholder interviews were also held with IAPO staff members, university administrators, service providers, deans and professors. Finally, focus groups were held with landlords, UCT students, SSA students and international full degree students to explore issues raised in the survey.

The findings from the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the research will be used to develop both strategic and operational recommendations for IAPO’s ongoing implementation of the SSA programme.