Study-abroad company merges with UO to boost opportunities.

Byline: Greg Bolt The Register-Guard

A nonprofit company that provides study-abroad programs is merging with the University of Oregon, allowing both to expand opportunities for students to study at foreign schools.

The merger makes Portland-based AHA International a self-supporting academic program of the UO. It will maintain its office in Portland, and its staff of 12 are now university employees.

AHA International has existed since 1957 and has worked with the UO since 1977. The company arranges study programs - finding classrooms, hiring teachers, arranging home stays and excursions for students - for 30 universities in the Northwest, Midwest and Pennsylvania.

Because of its merger with the UO, AHA students can earn academic credit through the university even if they're not from a university that participates in AHA programs. That will allow AHA to expand its offerings into new areas and make them more attractive to a wider audience of students.

The UO will gain the ability to expand its own study-abroad programs and tailor them more closely to the university's needs, said Tom Mills, associate vice president for international programs at the UO. He said about 170 students a year take study programs arranged by AHA, making the UO the program's largest client.

The AHA board approached the university two years ago about the possibility of a merger, seeing the move as the best way to position the company to expand. The university went through a lengthy "due diligence" process, including a full audit, to ensure it wasn't taking on a financial burden before asking the Oregon State Board of Higher Education to approve the merger, which became final last week.

"We looked at it very carefully," said Mills. "Financially, they're very solid. We know they're a good program. We know they have a good administration."

AHA makes enough money to cover its expenses, so the deal won't cost the university anything out of pocket. The company's reserve funds, real property and other assets are being held by the UO Foundation for use by AHA programs.

The newly absorbed company will continue to provide study-abroad programs for five private colleges in Oregon and Washington, 10 in the Midwest Consortium for Study Abroad, 11 in the Northwest Council on Study Abroad and four in the Pennsylvania Colleges in Cologne program. It offers a range of academic programs in 14 countries through partnerships with overseas universities.

The UO will continue its own international programs office on campus, which offers 80 programs in more than 50 countries.

Mills said the demand for foreign study programs remains strong, even in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Enrollment in the UO programs has increased 124 percent in the past 10 years and hit 686 in the 2001-02 academic year.