The National Student Exchange provides opportunities each year for over 3,000 students at member universities to spend up to a year studying at one of the nearly 200 institutions that belong to the program.

Students use the program to experience new places and cultures, to become more independent, and to take advantage of specialized academic programs offered at distant universities.

Four University of Wisconsin-Superior students will study at universities around the United States and Canada this academic year through the National Student Exchange. 

Jasmine Baumgart from Anoka, MN, an English Education major and Writing minor, will spend a year studying at Cape Breton University in Nova Scotia, Canada. She's excited about the specialized courses available including Celtic history and music.

Teddi Gutschow, an Aquatic Biology major from Green Bay, WI, will spend a year at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington studying oceanography as preparation for graduate school in Marine Biology.

David Telker, a non-traditional student from Barnum, MN, will complete his UW-Superior major in Business Administration with course work at Indiana University/Purdue University in Indianapolis. In his case, the program made it possible to not transfer to the host school since his wife lives in Indianapolis.   

Jake Guello, from Superior WI, will experience his second NSE campus, this time at the University of Calgary, in Alberta, Canada.  Jake's first semester away was at Boise State University. Jake is majoring in Mass Communication with a minor in Information Technology.

UW-Superior is the only NSE member institution in the region. Students pay UW-Superior's reasonable tuition rate while attending the other schools. All course credits earned at host schools will apply to their degrees at UW-Superior.         

Cherie Sawinski, interim director of international programs at UW-Superior, describes the National Student Exchange as a "study away" program rather than the traditional study abroad program that sends students overseas. She said it offers the advantages of affordability, the ease of course transferability, and flexibility to graduate on time. 

Since UW-Superior joined the program in 2006, students have exchanged to 18 states, Puerto Rico and six Canadian provinces. The campus has also hosted NSE students from New York, California and Minnesota who sought UW-Superior's excellent courses in Art Therapy, Aquatic Biology and Teacher Education.

"This is an absolutely fantastic opportunity for our students," she said. "In this past year, students had unique internships in public radio and theater and a third completed a Spanish language and culture major by studying in Puerto Rico. Others have used NSE courses to fulfill our Individually Designed Major or expanded one of our minors to an individually-designed major with courses taken at another university." 

In addition to NSE, UW-Superior offers a wide range of study away programs in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Information is available at http://www.uwsuper.edu/studyaway