

Naval Academy looks to allies for foreign exchange programs as way to save costs

The Naval Academy has signed an agreement with the naval academy in South Korea for a semester exchange program, part of a larger trend to save costs by partnering with foreign ally counterparts.

The academy has the goal of sending about 500 midshipmen abroad every year. The highest number the institution has sent abroad in one semester is 450 students.

This year, due to limited funding, 300 midshipmen studied abroad. The academy expects to send 125 mids in 2018.

As funding for the international programs dwindles, the academy is looking to work with other allied countries' naval academies in order for midshipmen to get the study abroad experience.

"When they come back, our midshipmen feel like they're better leaders because they've now been questioned about 'Why do you think the way you do? Why is America doing this? Why does your president do that?'" said retired Cmdr. Tim Disher, director of the International Programs Office.

"They get challenged more so than they do here. They learn more about themselves."

At the board of visitors meeting in March, Superintendent Vice Adm. Ted Carter described 2017 as a "fiscally challenging year for the Naval Academy." The academy faced a $6 million cut to its operational budget, Carter said, which is about 13 percent of the overall budget.

Because of this, the academy self-imposed a hiring freeze as well as "sharply reduced" its international programs. Carter emphasized at the meeting that sending students abroad remains one of his "top priorities."

The academy has put a recent emphasis on the reciprocal semester exchange programs since it found it's the most "effective and inexpensive way" to send students abroad, Disher said.

The academy only pays for airfare to and from the country, while tuition, meals and lodging are covered by the foreign academy.

The Naval Academy will send one midshipman to the Republic of Korea Naval Academy, located in South Korea, this fall, and one Korean student will study in Annapolis. The academy plans to eventually increase the number of students involved, Disher said.

The other current naval academy partners include: Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, Japan, Portugal, Singapore and Spain. The academy has plans to formalize deals with Australia, Israel and Italy in the near future, Disher said.

Midshipmen can also go abroad by studying at civilian universities for a semester, and getting involved in summer cultural immersion programs, six-week language immersion programs and other professional training opportunities.

Disher estimated that sending a midshipman abroad costs an average of $10,000, though that number can depend on the program. Sending students abroad to civilian universities is one of the more expensive options, but the academy has seen that the "best value" for midshipmen occurs when they study in a foreign country for a semester.

Since it was first given appropriated money in 2005 for the program, the Naval Academy saw a gradual increase in the number of students who went abroad over the next couple of years, according to academy data.

Disher said the academy was given more appropriated money in 2012, to where the academy had $4 million in government-funded money and $1 million through philanthropic efforts. This all came to a halt in 2013, Disher said, with the government's budget sequestration in 2013.

The academy has been doing the "best we can ever since then," Disher said at the board of visitors meeting.

He added that the alumni association has made international programs more of a priority when seeking donations from alumni.

The Naval Academy Foundation has raised $8.3 million for international programs in about five years, said Kristen Pironis, spokeswoman for the Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation.

The institution hopes to expand the ally exchange program in the coming years, especially with countries where the native language isn't taught at the academy, Disher said. He added that the goal is to have midshipmen "engage with people they'll interact with when they graduate."

The academy was once close to forming a program at the N.G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia, Disher said. But when current President Vladimir Putin took power in 2012, the people whom the Naval Academy was working with left and the relationship "kind of vanished," he said.

The academy has also found opportunities by looking at the diversity of its own brigade. For example, the academy decided to look into a program with the Republic of Korea after realizing that they had dozens of midshipmen who are Korean-American and can speak the language, Disher said.

He hopes these exchange programs help strengthen global relationships in the long run as well as show midshipmen that the U.S. isn't much different from its allies.

Said Disher: "I can't wait for another 10 years when these folks are actually going to be captains within their respective navys to see what kind of benefit we, the United States, have and what their respective countries have."
