UK Student Response Prompts Return of Free Passports Campaign
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 12, 2016) — Until Friday , Dec. 16, University of Kentucky Education Abroad (UK EA) is accepting applications from students who are interested in applying to receive their first passport, free of charge. UK EA will randomly select 50 winners who can submit their applications to receive a new passport in early spring 2017.
UK was selected by the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) as one of the few universities in the nation to host its Passport Caravan initiative this fall. As a result of a successful event in November, UK EA decided to extend the campaign and provide 50 additional passports at its upcoming Spring Fair next semester.
“Getting your very first passport is an empowering feeling, so we are really excited about being able to extend the Passport Caravan to another 50 student travelers for spring,” said Miko McFarland, acting director for UK Education Abroad and Exchanges.
The selection and confirmation process will remain the same. The selected recipients will receive instructions via email to complete the pre-registration process, which includes obtaining documents such as birth certificates and completing their passport application. Students are required to do the pre-check in order to ensure their documents are correct and ready to be filed from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, at the William T. Young Library, during the Education Abroad Spring Fair.
The UK EA Spring Fair will allow those students to file their applications with Wildcat Passport Services and also explore their education abroad options all in one place. There will be passport agents collecting documents and UK faculty and staff talking with students about upcoming summer and fall program options that they will be able to participate in by using their new passport.
Approximately 18 percent of the UK 2016 graduating class earned credit abroad at some point during their education at UK. Although UK has even higher aspirations, the current rate is still higher than the 10 percent national average reported by the Institute for International Education for the 2013-2014 academic year.
“It’s our hope that initiatives such as Passport Caravan bring students one step closer to the possibility of studying abroad,” McFarland said. “UK Education Abroad is dedicated to making international experiences more accessible to more students.”
Applications are open until noon Friday, Dec. 16, when the selected winners will be announced. To apply for Passport Caravan visit http://bit.ly/UKYPassport17. To support the Passport Caravan initiative and UK students, visit https://uky.networkforgood.com/causes/5194-education-abroad-passport-caravan-fund.