Vote YES on the Highlander Abroad Referendum (HAR) fee before May 2, 2025.
The UCR Education Abroad Office is seeking approval for renewing the Highlander Abroad Referendum (HAR) in the upcoming ASUCR Elections from April 28 to May 2, 2025.
Voting YES will continue to support UCR students’ access to international experiences through a $2.00 per quarter fee. The fee helps to enhance and expand global learning programs that broaden perspectives and change lives.
Since its launch in Fall 2019, the HAR has:
- Awarded $99,000 in travel grants to 150 students. See where they've traveled in our HAF Travel Grant lookbook.
- Employed up to 10 UCR students annually in the Education Abroad Office.
- Hosted student events like the Worldfest Study Abroad Fair, Boba Hours, and Bon Voyage Reception.
- Supported the MyUCR Abroad application portal.
Without renewal, the fee will expire at the end of Spring 2025, resulting in reduced travel reimbursements for students, cutbacks in outreach and events, and potential service disruptions.
While $2 may not seem like much, it truly does a world of good! Let’s keep global opportunities within reach for Highlanders!
History of the HAR Fee
In the Spring of 2019 the student body of the University of California, Riverside (UCR) approved implementation of a Highlander Abroad Referendum (HAR) fee of $2.00 per quarter (Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer) for all undergraduate students in support of expenses related to learning abroad, less the “return to aid” portion (25% or $.50 per student/per quarter off the top).
HAR went into effect in Fall 2019 and is subject to reaffirmation by the student body every five years.
Allocation and Governance
The Highlander Abroad Advisory Committee (HAAC) review proposals to ensure that the HAR funds are used in the way that students intended when they voted.
HAR funds provide:
The HAR fee is intended to fund student services, programming, projects, leadership, employment, and operational support directly related to learning abroad.
The intent of the HAR is to allow the Education Abroad office to expand programming and services to better meet UCR undergraduate students’ needs by:
- Supporting engagement with the campus community with valuable, high-quality and academically sound education abroad programming;
- Providing culturally relevant domestic programs (e.g., study away programs for students unwilling/unable to leave the US);
- Supporting staff to assist students with travel resources, e.g. airfare and room & board;
- Supporting Worldfest Education Abroad Fair and Passport Fair;
- Supporting Peer mentoring and peer education programs;
- Providing support for marketing materials and resources that match rebranding of the Education Abroad office, program offerings, and support services;
- Providing operational support for cultural awareness and adaptation programs as the costs of campus services continue to increase.
