About Us
OCS Overview
We oversee a rich portfolio of credit bearing programs, both international and domestic. Students planning to study away begin the advising and application process in our office at the start of their sophomore year. In collaboration with academic advisors and faculty liaisons, we strive to provide students with thoughtful guidance and reliable support throughout the entire process.
Meet Our Staff
Roger Adkins, Ph.D.
Director of Global Education
Roger has been in the field of global learning for more than two decades and has experience managing study abroad programming, domestic off-campus study programming, international student and scholar services and programming, English language learners/multilingual learners programming (including courses), global engagement certification programs, domestic and international program sites and teams, Globally Networked Learning (GNL)/Cooperative Online Intercultural Learning (COIL) programming, faculty and staff development in global learning, and global learning on campus – both across the curriculum and in co-curricular settings.
Allyson Hawkins
Associate Director
Allyson Hawkins holds a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, focusing on Human Security and Intersectional Analysis. Most recently, she served as the Assistant Director of the Boston Consortium for Arab Region Studies (based at Northeastern University), and worked alongside faculty facilitating experiential learning programs in Jordan and Egypt. She brings a range of international education experience to her work, having lived and worked abroad teaching ESL with AMIDEAST Tunisia and supporting refugee programming as an Advocacy Project Peace Fellow for the Collateral Repair Project (Amman). She has also worked for the World Peace Foundation (Tufts), the Consortium on Gender, Security, and Human Rights (UMass Boston), and Layalina Productions, Inc. in Washington DC.
Sue Forbes
Administrative Program Assistant
Sue joined Colby and the Dean of Students Office in the summer of 2005. She has been in Off-Campus Study since 2008 where she coordinates and manages the off-campus study office including the administrative process for Colby programs and the Global Entry Semester (GES). Prior to Colby, Sue and her husband lived in Nashua, NH, for 20 years where she worked as an Office Coordinator at the MITRE Corporation in MA and as an Executive Secretary at BAE Systems in NH. They returned to the Waterville area in 2005.
More than two-thirds of Colby students participate
in one or more global experiences during their time on the Hill,
enhancing their undergraduate experience.
Mission and Principles
The Office of Off-Campus Study (OCS) is committed to making a substantive off-campus study opportunity available to every eligible student. An understanding of cultures that differ from one’s own is an essential component of global learning at Colby.
The opportunity to study off campus fosters a shared experience between Colby students and members of their host communities, which in turn provides deep and enriching connections in their personal, academic, and professional lives. OCS ensures that students participate in academically rigorous programs and are provided with rich intercultural experiences through foreign language learning, connected learning experiences off-campus to their program of study at Colby, and meaningful engagement in distinct cultures.
Consistent with the educational philosophy of Colby College (The Colby Precepts), OCS adheres to the following principles in approving, reviewing, and recommending education abroad programs and applications:
• The off-campus study experience should be part of the student’s overall academic plan developed by the student with their academic advisor and OCS faculty mentor
• The off-campus study experience should enhance the student’s program of study at Colby and their postgraduate plans, specifically via research, civic and/or targeted cultural engagement
• Principal educational advantages of education abroad are in-depth cross-cultural exposure and language learning, and approved programs should maximize these benefits;
• Education abroad should provide a cultural experience substantially different from the student’s own and enhance both awareness of and perspective toward a student’s home culture;
• Financial aid should be applicable to Colby programs, and portable to other approved programs making access to education abroad possible for all students.
OCS is responsible for insuring that Colby’s programs abroad, as well as other programs approved by the college, conform to these principles. The college has a vested interest in the quality of all off-campus programs for which it grants Colby credit. This interest centers not only on the academic part of the program, but also on extra-curricular and cultural aspects since exposure to and knowledge of other cultures is achieved both in and out of the classroom.
OCS therefore oversees a rich portfolio of credit-bearing programs, both international and domestic and administers Colby’s own programs in Salamanca, Dijon, and at the Bigelow Laboratory. We emphasize the student experience in a way that guides students throughout the entire off-campus study process from program selection and pre-departure to the time away from Colby and back to re-entry. In collaboration with academic advisors, faculty liaisons and mentors, advising deans, and the counseling center, OCS strives to provide students with thoughtful guidance and reliable support throughout the entire process.
Grossman 100
(207) 859-4500
[email protected]
Office Hours:
Mon – Fri: 8am – 5pm
Walk-In Hours (will resume September 10th): Tuesday : 2:00pm -3:00pm Wednesday: 1:00pm – 2:00pm Thursday: 11:00am – 12:00pm
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