The Brigham Young University Department of Travel Study will officially close effective Aug. 31, 2004.
A few previously scheduled travel programs will operate after that date, and those programs will continue to receive the same high-quality service provided by Travel Study. No other programs have been scheduled beyond Sept. 1, 2004.
BYU will continue to operate its International Study Programs for full-time students, which include study at sites such as the BYU London Centre.
"The Department of Travel Study has provided educational travel opportunities to the BYU community and the public for more than 50 years," said Richard C. Eddy, dean of BYU Continuing Education.
"It was difficult to make this decision, but the continuing threat of terrorism and a deteriorating world environment have made it difficult for this department to accomplish its mission and purpose during the past several years," he said.
Eddy and his staff have been monitoring circumstances around the world for the past three years, and postponed closing the department in hopes that world conditions would change for the better, allowing the department to offer the full range of educational travel services that have been the hallmark of Travel Studies.
"Visits to some locations, under present circumstances, would be so limited in scope that the full educational experience would not occur," he said. "We were reluctant to make the decision, but we felt the time was now right."
All employees of Travel Study have been contacted and offered the option of continued employment in Continuing Education, said Eddy, who noted that there are no plans to close or limit operations in any other department in the division.
"Continuing Education, through the work and programs of its departments, provides an array of rich and diverse educational offerings to our students, and will continue to do so," he said.
