Four Universities, One Program:
INTROduction:
What happens when a university faculty, tired of not reaching enrollment for their study abroad program, decides to invite colleagues from other institutions to collaborate on a larger international learning experience?
Professor Luis Tedeschi, Texas A&M University, brought together animal science faculty and students from institutions of different sizes, academic cultures and areas of specialization on his ruminant production study abroad program in Brazil.
Rather than operating as four separate university groups, struggling to reach minimums, the faculty from four institutions – Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University, Auburn University and Berry College – participated in one shared academic experience. Students traveled together, attended lectures, visited farms and production facilities, completed assignments, exchanged perspectives and built relationships across universities and countries.
OUR ROLE:
Campus b supported the collaborative program by working closely with Professor Tedeschi and the collaborating faculty to align curriculum, programming components, and itinerary details. Because each institution retained and administered its own program, Campus b worked with each individually, tailoring to distinct internal requirements, student assignments, and so on.
Campus b also provided our essential services: logistical coordination, local academic integration and on-the-ground operations such as transportation, accommodations, technical visits, and cultural activities.
Increased Program Viability
“Some of us had tried to organize study abroad programs but couldn’t go forward because we didn’t have enough students”
Madeline Rivera
Assistant Professor of Animal Science, Berry College
The multi-university model addressed one of the most practical challenges associated with faculty-led study abroad: recruiting enough students to make a specialized program financially viable.
Animal Science programs generally attract a smaller number of students than other study abroad experiences built around broader themes. Professor Brandon Smith of Auburn University had previously attempted to organize a study abroad program but was unable to recruit enough students to reduce the cost. That changed when his institution joined this collaborative study abroad program – “Each university could bring a handful of students. One university brought three students, while another brought eleven. Bringing all of them together reduced the cost and made the program affordable for everyone.”
This program model expands access without requiring each university to recruit a complete cohort independently. It has already shown how it can impact universities of different sizes. For a small institution, like Berry College, that had only three students participate, they could join a larger group instead of being unable to study abroad at all. Berry College faculty Madeline Rivera identified this benefit to her students, “By combining our colleges, the program could become more affordable for students who otherwise might not have been able to participate.”
While the collaborative model does not automatically eliminate every cost, it helps distribute fixed program expenses across a larger cohort and creates a stronger foundation for negotiating transportation, accommodations and local services. For specialized disciplines, this can determine whether a program remains an idea or becomes a viable educational experience.
Collaboration Made Easy
“Every university has its own contracting system, and they all have to manage their own paperwork. That’s why administrative processes remained separate.”
Brandon Smith
Professor, Auburn University
Although the universities shared the experience in Brazil, they did not need to adopt identical administrative or academic structures. Rather the common itinerary provided a shared academic foundation, while each university could adapt assessments and assignments to its own curriculum.
Berry College students, for example, completed an additional writing assignment before traveling and produced daily social media posts about what they were learning. Those posts extended the impact of the program beyond the students who traveled, allowing the broader Berry College community to follow the experience and learn about agricultural practices in Brazil.
These institutional differences became part of the program rather than an obstacle to it. Collaboration does not eliminate institutional complexity. However, it can make the educational and financial benefits of the program strong enough to justify navigating that complexity.
A Comparative Study Tool
“The objective was not only to bring more students here, but also to create discussions involving people from different parts of the United States”
Luis Tedeschi
Professor of Animal Nutrition at Texas A&M University
A single-university study abroad course can expose students to a new country, culture and production environment. While a collaborative program adds another dimension. Students also encounter unfamiliar perspectives within their own academic field and home country.
Students, and faculty alike, experience two forms of comparative study at the same time: they experience both the international differences between the host country and their own, and the internal differences among the visiting universities, home states and approaches to the subject matter.
In the case of this collaborative experience, a ruminant production study program, although it brought together agriculture studies students (mostly animal science) they represented different institutional cultures, regional experiences, curricula and agricultural perspectives. Students gained the opportunity to compare academic cultures, regional production systems and professional aspirations with peers from institutions beyond their own. They may study the same broad discipline, but being from Texas, Alabama and Georgia each student is exposed to very different animals, production systems and regional priorities.
Chandler Kyle, a graduate student at Auburn University, described the multi-university structure as one of the most distinctive aspects of the program. “Production and culture in the United States can vary greatly from one place to another,” he explained. “Coming to Brazil with people from Texas, while I’m based in the South, made it very interesting to communicate with them and learn how they do things back home.”
The transition from a single-university cohort to a four-university learning community did not replace the strengths of the original program; it expanded them. Combining institutions of different sizes, academic cultures and areas of specialization only made the learning experience more dynamic. Professor Tedeschi wanted these differences to become part of the learning experience, “The objective was not only to bring more students here, but also to create discussions involving people from different parts of the United States.”
A Network Builder Tool
“Animal Science is a small world. You’ll probably come across those people again somewhere along the way, whether that’s five years from now or ten years from now.”
The relationships created during the program may continue long after the students return home. Animal Science is a relatively interconnected academic and professional field.
Students who meet during an international program may later encounter one another through graduate education, research projects, conferences or professional activities. From making friends to forming professional networks.
This networking also created opportunities for professors to get to know students from other universities. Whitney Crossland, Assistant Professor of Animal Nutrition at Texas Tech University explained that this type of interaction can support graduate recruitment and research collaboration. “As research scientists, we are always looking for students who are interested in our areas of research. Through this experience, we have the opportunity to get to know them much better than we would if they had simply reached out through an email and résumé.”
The networking extended beyond the U.S. institutions. Participants attended activities with Brazilian students, exchanged knowledge about production systems and developed relationships inside and outside the classroom. According to Tedeschi, the Brazilian students benefited from the program as much as the visitors.“Through this interaction, they learn how particular animals are raised or how certain production systems operate in the United States, and how those practices compare with what is done here,” he said.
A Roadmap for Future Collaboration
The 2026 Ruminant Production Study Abroad Program demonstrated that universities do not need to design every international experience in isolation. Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Auburn and Berry College each brought their own students, academic requirements and institutional perspectives. What began as one university bringing students to Brazil became four institutions building a shared learning community. That evolution suggests that study abroad programs can create effects that extend far beyond a single cohort.
The case proves that a successful multi-university program can bring together complementary faculty expertise, increase the diversity of student perspectives, create stronger academic and professional networks, make specialized programs more affordable, expand recruitment and research relationships and increase interaction with students and faculty in the host country. It can also allow universities to share an experience while maintaining their own academic requirements.
Conclusion
The case has already influenced how some participating institutions are thinking about future study abroad initiatives. Professor Smith has already started exploring collaborative programs with Auburn University and other institutions. For Campus b, the experience showed the potential of a collaborative approach to faculty-led programming: universities sharing expertise and participants, while a local partner creates the operational structure that connects them.
Professor Tedeschi hopes the group will continue to grow. “We currently have four universities involved, and we are looking to expand the program by including even more universities and bringing more students,” he said.
Perhaps the most important question for institutions planning their next international program is therefore not only: “What can we create for our students?” It is also: “What could we create together?”
Our passion for the academic field has given us the privilege of actively collaborating with more than 90 universities, offering professional and extracurricular experience journeys directly impacting more than 5000 students.
Written by:
Fernando Oliveira and Steven Carlson
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