The Team

You will interact with different members of our team as you move through your Arcos journey with us. As you move from here to there your relationship with our team moves chronologically from the point of inquiry to arrival to your chosen program destination. Imagine crossing from one end of a bridge to another and the helping hands that assist you along the way. That's the Arcos Learning Abroad Team.

Administration & Advising

Our Administration & Advising team is composed of individuals with a diverse range of backgrounds and experience. All of the team has studied abroad as students. The core team of Brent Hunter, Alejandro Armenteros and Janiva Cifuentes-Hiss have many years of experience working with students in an international setting. This team is a mix of student service professionals, program directors, risk managers, and curriculum developers based in both Austin, TX and abroad. All of the team has studied abroad and been on-site with students. You will interact with this team when:

• Inquiring about the programs

• Advising

• Approving coursework

• Maneuvering the application process

• Preparing for departure

Onsite Program Directors

As you move from the inquiry, advising and application stage toward the role of program participant you will begin to interact and correspond with your Program Directors. Four weeks prior to your program start date you will begin to receive information from the Onsite Program Directors. This indicates the transition from beginning to work more with these team members as they prepare for your in-country programming. Two weeks prior to the start date you will receive your housing details. Once at your program destination these are the individuals who will guide and assist you throughout the experience. On our website each country section contains profiles about the onsite directors. Our programs also have assistant directors that help manage the programs, especially during the excursions and cultural activities.

Homestays

The homestays are an integral part of our team. They are the eyes and ears of the program. The homestays are carefully vetted and chosen by the Program Directors and keep in very close communication to work together to prepare for your arrival and keep abreast of how you are doing during the program. The homestays and our directors have worked together in some cases for over 15 years. We organize meetings with them and make sure to connect periodically to monitor the student’s experience.

Instructors & Academic Coordinators

The instructors and academic coordinators at each or our partner academic institutions are an extension of our team. We are truly partners. We are in constant communication planning and working on curriculum, program structure and academic questions. Our dynamic is to work together to maintain a pertinent and fresh academic environment that meets the needs of our students and affiliate universities. Once in-country, the instructors are one of the main local contacts our students have. The instructors have a very close relationship with our program directors and communicate as to how the students are doing in the classroom and relay to us any issues they may encounter. We work together to support the student academically and plan for their success.