New Ideas and Formats during an Economic Downturn Study Abroad New Ideas and Formats during an Economic Downturn

Stonecoast MFA IN CREATIVE WRITING Ireland

Low residency MFA in Creative Writing Two 10-day residencies at the Stone House on the coast of Maine 90 student capacity

Stonecoast in Ireland

The Stonecoast in Ireland program enables ten current Stonecoast MFA students each semester to spend a residency in Ireland working with Stonecoast faculty and prominent Irish writers. The intense, week-long residency offers a full slate of seminars, workshops, and readings.

Who participates ? 10 Matriculated Graduate Students 2 Stonecoast MFA Faculty members 1 Staff member 2-3 Guest Irish Writers

What do they do? 7 Days in Dingle (summer) or Howth (winter) 2 Workshops every day Seminars by Faculty and Guests Field Trips & entertainment Student Flash Seminars (presentations) Readings every evening

Revenue Enhancement Our iconic facility in Maine has limited capacity Having 10 students enrolled in the residency in Ireland allows us to grow Added tuition is greater than the added cost of the Ireland program Great recruitment tool

http://www.usm.maine.edu/stonecoastmfa/

Our new idea at the University of Southern Maine was initiated by a faculty member with ties to Ireland who wanted to extend our low-residency MFA in Creative Writing program abroad. At the same time we were faced by the economic reality that our enrollment was capped at 90 by our iconic coast of Maine facility. The solution was to add a residency option for 10 students in Ireland. This residency roughly coincides with the summer and winter residency in Maine and can be used by students to fulfill one of their four required residencies during the two year MFA. With this option we can now enroll 100 students in the program. Even with the additional costs of the Irish residencies, we end up with net positive revenue. In addition to the revenue we have also found that having the Irish residency option is a valuable recruitment tool. As I’m sure you all know, the low residency MFA in Creative Writing field is very competitive. Currently 15-20% of applicants mention Stonecoast in Ireland program on their application form as a reason for their interest in our program. Since we started this program in summer 2006 more and more of our peer institutions have started residencies abroad. The program description of this panel mentions that we have Irish students studying alongside American students. This has actually not come to pass although it remains a future option. The MFA program director Annie Finch has considered a model which would allow Irish students to complete 3 of 4 residencies in Ireland and one in the US, in other words reversing the pattern of American students. She is concerned that we will lose the important sense of community which develops in our current model. Also the Irish residency has an academically different texture from those in Maine. It is small and intimate, becomes an incubator for new ideas in student work, and has helped some students to blossom. This has translated back to the States by breaking down barriers between students as only a shared experience can. On the other hand, with only two faculty led workshops and 10 students, it does not have the richness or diversity of the American residencies. Ted Deppe, leader of Stonecoast in Ireland, lives there year round and is a member of the Irish community of writers. Ted is able to invite a wonderful selection of Irish Writers as guest faculty and speakers but has found the culture to be less receptive than expected to an MFA program in Creative Writing. The model works by keeping a very tight control on costs. Of course faculty and students always have lots of great ideas for enhancements and expansion but we try to keep such enthusiasm realistic, as best we can. The program generates some additional revenue and we could probably accommodate up to 15 students in Ireland each time. However, if there were too many more students it would have a negative impact on or overall ability to administrate the program. We try to keep an eye on the both the US and Irish staff capacity for oversight. Our future plans include keeping the Irish residency at least for a number of years, and continuing to explore the idea of enrolling Irish students. Our other thought is that perhaps we will use the Ireland model to start another such residency abroad, allowing us to expand our student numbers more. This again raises a concern about staff capacity for oversight. We may also in time to bring Stonecoast in Ireland to an end and replace it with residencies in another country. So, in conclusion, this is a small success story and has allowed us to grow enrollments and provide a valuable study abroad experience within the confines of a low-residency program.