According to the AZ Central, Mesa Community Colleges spent $324,000 on trips to Europe in the past five years.
87 faculty members, secretaries and staff members took 16 all-expense-paid trips to:
1. visit foreign schools
2. soak up culture
3. create educational partnerships
An examination by the Arizona Republic revealed the school ambassadors stayed in $250-a-night hotels, pigged out often and did the sightseeing thing to the extreme.
An official in charge of the trips said - we've tried to set and example with tight schedules, heavy agendas and successful outcomes."
Credit-card statements and itineraries revealed time for sightseeing and shopping on work days with weekends free.
One 11-day trip involved two days of traveling, three days in meetings and official functions and six days on trips and tours.
Somebody is not telling the truth....
These kinds of trips are indeed important, I think and sightseeing and shopping are part of the experience for understanding the culture of the students that are being courted.
But, somebody seems to be abusing the system here, I think.
What do you think?
Comment Preview