The Nebraska State College System Board of Trustees approved Wayne State College’s request to enter into an agreement with Trek Ecuador during their regular board meeting in Lincoln on Jan. 12.

 
Trek Ecuador is an outfitting group that will provide assistance to WSC students studying abroad in Ecuador this June.

 
Trek Ecuador’s services include housing, transportation, equipment, tours, English speaking guides and emergency services.

 
This trip is in addition to WSC’s three, already established study abroad options, and it differs in that it is a service learning project and is a shorter, 12-day program.

 
The trip will fulfill six biology credits—three general education credits (BIO 102/104) and also three upper-level biology credits.

 
Dr. Shawn Pearcy is heading the trip, and students will also be led by WSC alum and adventurer Dean Jacobs, whom they will meet in Quito (a sort of gateway to the rainforest).

 
An Ecuador Informational Session will be taking place on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Connell Hall, room 13, which will provide more information about the trip.

 
“It’s really cool,” WSC’s student trustee Matt Mullins said, “but it’s expensive. President Rames is looking for donors to help lower the cost.”

 
The trip is something that Gerald Conway, the director of international education, has been readying with the board for the past two years and really started to see develop in earnest last spring.
Conway said the cost of the trip is roughly $5,200, although that number isn’t quite set in stone yet.

 
WSC has been offering a spring 12-week study abroad program in Greece for the past eight years and another spring 12-week program in Asia for the past four years.

 
The Costa Rica study abroad trip has been around for the past 20 years or so, but was scheduled “sporadically,” according to Conway.

 
Since Conway became director, the Costa Rica program has become dependably available every other year.

 
The Ecuador trip is planned to be available in the alternating years when the Costa Rica trip isn’t offered.

 
There are a limited number of slots available for students wishing to go on the Ecuador trip.

 
A total of 10 students are needed to sign up in order to make the trip feasible, but there will be a cap set at 15. Conway has already received four applications for the Ecuador trip, and is expecting that number to rise quickly.

 
“It’s a great way for students to be immersed in the culture,” he said.

 
Also during the regular January board meeting, a revision to board policy 3500 in the Housing section was adopted that puts an age restriction on students who are allowed to stay in NSCS dorms.
The revision states that no student under the age of 17 will be allowed to take residency in the dorms.

 
“It was discussed in committee that students younger than 17 years old may not possess the maturity needed for independent living which is required of dorm residents,” trustee Bob Engles said.