UA officials are discussing the possibility for the university to become the academic sponsor of Semester at Sea, a study-abroad program that brings students around the world on a cruise vessel while earning university credit.

The program, which has been a part of the University of Pittsburgh for 24 years, is leaving the institution and searching for another school, potentially the UA, to be its new academic sponsor, said Paul Watson, Semester at Sea marketing director.

Kirk Simmons, the executive director of the division of international affairs, said the Institute for Shipboard Education, the nonprofit organization that administers the program, contacted the UA in June about potential sponsorship.

Throughout the summer, UA administrators and faculty held a series of meetings to discuss the possibility of an interest, and Semester at Sea representatives visited the campus twice in September, Simmons said.

Simmons said he hopes a decision will be made within a month to six weeks.

The program is considering about five other schools in addition to the UA, Watson said, and he hopes to make a decision by the end of the semester.

"Arizona demonstrated a really strong commitment to the program (that) we will consider very seriously," Watson said.

Watson said Semester at Sea is parting with the University of Pittsburgh because of a difference in view on direction and how decisions are made.

"Over the last year, the level of cooperation seemed to deteriorate," Watson said.

Although the transition will make some things difficult, he believes the program will stay strong as it has in the past, Watson said.

"It was something we hoped to avoid, but we're excited about moving on," Watson said. "We've survived a change of institution before and we will again."

Watson said when he visited the UA, the political leaders and community were supportive of the university, which was a strong part of the case the UA made.

Simmons said the UA would benefit financially from the program, but he couldn't predict how great that impact would be.

Provost George Davis said it is too soon to think about the impact the sponsorship might have on faculty or how they would be recruited into the program.

To consider a partnership with the program, the UA would first have to answer questions about the legal and academic framework as well as liabilities, Davis said.

Simmons said the UA is ranked fifth nationally in terms of students studying abroad, and a successful partnership would increase university enrollment by 1,800 students annually. The additional students would not affect the ranking because they are non-degree seeking.

During the 2003-2004 school year, 1,466 UA students studied abroad, compared to New York University, which is ranked first and had 2,061 students enrolled that year, Simmons said.

Even though the UA has never been an academic sponsor for a program like Semester at Sea, faculty and students have been involved with the program itself for decades, with up to 60 UA students participating every year, Simmons said.

Jim Van Arsdel, the director of Residence Life, participated in Semester at Sea in 1970 as a student of Chapman University and later worked on the ship in 1975 after graduating.

Before the 20-year-old Van Arsdel enrolled in the program, he had never stepped foot onto a ship or airplane or been outside of the United States, he said.

Afterward, the global experience gave him the knowledge and confidence to travel to another country, Van Arsdel said.

Van Arsdel, who also spent a week on the ship this summer, said the physical nature of the program forces students and faculty to have a higher level of interest and a greater emotional commitment than they have on a regular college campus.

"There is no escape," Van Arsdel said. "You're not going anywhere, so it requires individuals to interact with each other on a level you don't find even in a residence hall."

Van Arsdel said while he hopes the program finds the best university he strongly supports a partnership with the UA.

"I firmly believe that place is the University of Arizona," Van Arsdel said.