Before even stepping on a plane, those wishing to travel abroad for extended periods of time must deal with the hassle of obtaining the proper documentation for the country in which they plan to study.

Many Marquette students say they have a hard time with this and that there may not be enough study abroad personnel to assist them.

The university should hire a study abroad documentation coordinator and add a minimal surcharge on all study abroad fees. This way the university and students who choose to study abroad can equally share the responsibility for the new staff member's salary.

Marquette has made some strides to ease the workloads of Kristen Michelson, study abroad coordinator in the College of Arts & Sciences, and Jamshid Hosseini, director of International Business and Study Abroad Programs in the College of Business Administration.

Hosseini said in an interview that the Provost's office has made some funds available in the form of graduate student stipends three years ago. He now has a graduate student and two undergraduate students to help him with duties around the office.

However, these assistants are prohibited from coordinating efforts to get the documentation needed to go abroad. This does not help the two current study abroad advisers. Hosseini is a regular faculty member in the College of Business Administration at a time when the number of students wishing to study abroad has steadily increased. That leaves Michelson as the only coordinator solely dedicated to study abroad programs.

In a Dec.1 Tribune article, Hosseini said the visa process was too complicated for the university to be responsible for it. If this is the case for a study abroad coordinator, imagine how difficult it must be for a student that likely has little experience with the documentation process.

Perhaps having a study abroad documentation coordinator could help alleviate some of the problems for both students and study abroad advisers.

Overall, the average student may spend about $2,000 more studying abroad than studying in Milwaukee, according to an estimate from Hosseini. Each program carries a different price tag and each student may spend more or less on airfare and travel expenses.

We understand that study abroad requires a hefty financial contribution without having to pay for another person's salary. But if a new staff member is able to assist students with necessary documentation it will help them and study abroad advisers tremendously. That would be money well spent.

We live in a global society and in order to succeed in such a connected world, more and more students want to learn languages properly, become familiar with new cultures and increase their marketability in the competitive business world.

Adding a documentation coordinator to the study abroad staff would help give that opportunity to more students.