Benefit-Cost Analysis of International Instructional Methods for Construction Management and Engineering Students

Abstract

In the last five years, the construction management department at Southern Illinois University (SIUE) has offered two semester travel study courses with weeklong travel study trips for students. One trip was to Mexico and one to Panama. The objective of these courses was to provide students with an opportunity to learn about and be exposed to international construction projects and the culture of another country. Two other courses and similar trips are being considered for the future, but SIUE faculty found that trips to international destinations can be challenging to plan and are quite costly in time and money. Are the benefits of a travel study experience worth the cost? Are there less costly alternatives that can achieve similar benefits? In this paper a number of methods for providing international educational experience to students are examined. The fiscal costs of travel studies were found to be readily available, but the benefits were not so easily quantified. Overall it was determined that given the international nature of construction projects in the world today, students do need some type of international awareness and exposure as part of their educational program, but traditional travel study courses may not be the best option.