ISA did not deal with us honestly. Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The language instruction was high quality, but only about 2/3 of the stated amount of contact hours were actually given. This resulted in my getting through only about half a semesters worth of material. I guess the instructor of the other course I was enrolled in backed out late. The instructor who replaced him was an expert on the European Union (the class was about political Islam), so mostly I was disappointed that I had come to Morocco only to learn about (speaking loosely) Islam from a non-Muslim from a non-Muslim country. The course was not in any way enlightening.

On-site administration of your program

The coordinators often drank with the students, had poor organization, and mostly had to be sought out before they offered any assistance.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I generally felt that the program was more of an obstacle to cultural interaction than not. I don't really consider visiting the most touristy and kitchy parts of a country a cultural experience.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I travelled with a friend with a chronic pain disease. Two weeks into the program, the program director was not aware of her (fully disclosed) condition because he had not looked at anyone's medical file. When my friend was locked out of her apartment (away from medications which both helped her manage her pain and prevented extremely painful cysts), all of the coordinators were away on an excursion. We had contacted ISA prior to signing up for the program, and they assured us that a program coordinator would be available 24/7. The program coordinator told us that he would call us at nine the next morning to make sure one of the house keepers dropped by to let her in. We called him ten, and he said he would have someone over in a half an hour. At eleven, we called again, but he did not answer. We finally got a hold of another coordinator, and it was clear she had no idea about our situation and got us in the apartment within a half an hour. This gross imcompetence was compounded when the coordinator who had failed to provide any assistance lied about what happened. He said we hadn't told him the medication was important. He claimed that he told the second coordinator to let us in (she clearly hadn't been aware of the situation when I personally talked with her). He claimed that we hadn't told him that we wouldn't be going on the excursion (which was a double lie, as we had told one of the other coordinators we wouldn't be going, as well as the fact that he never tried to ascertain who would be going). When my friend confronted the ISA national office about these issues, they were initially apologetic. They even got the program coordinator to send us a half apology via email. (This was just after she had gotten over her cyst and her medication was starting to become effective again.) Once my friend asked if she could recieve some sort of refund (she travelled with an eye towards protecting her health and improving her Arabic. False statements prior to enrolling with the program [both on their website and from people we talked to specifically about her health] left both of these goals unfulfilled) the national office took weeks to reply and failed to so much as address any of the issues she raised. They did not even correct statements on their website (such as their Advanced Arabic course using book three. They offered Advanced Arabic, but it still used book one). I feel that ISA was completely disrespectful and dishonest in their treatment of us. They did nothing to address our concerns, even when my friends health was seriously compromised.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

The program created a tiny American bubble which it was almost impossible to escape from. Certainly the program offered next to nothing to assist in breaking out of the bubble (one of the coordinators was an excellent language tutor, but that's essentially it). My language course was high quality, but it only covered about half of the material I was hoping to get through that summer.

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• Apartment

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• Americans