Campus leaders are looking to make it easier for incoming freshmen to take a gap year, and possibly open up the program to all students.
Campus Y officials will expand the eligibility of Global Gap Year Program, started in January of last year, from five to seven incoming freshmen, said Richard Harrill, director of the Campus Y.
And with the support of alumni donations, the program could become available to all students.
The Global Gap Year Program allows incoming students to defer their admittance to the University and spend one year abroad.
UNC established the endowed program through an anonymous gift of $1.5 million, which was donated with the understanding that the program would be limited to freshmen, Harrill said.
He added that the program will probably be extended to all students, with the help of alumni donations that have already been lined up. The $1.5 million provided for the initiation of the program, including its staff and five fellowships for 2011.
Princeton University was the first university to institute a subsidized gap year program, and UNC is the second, Harrill said. The program is quickly catching on at other universities such as Butler University and Stanford University, he added.
Forty students applied for the pilot program, Harrill said.
The program takes students at a transitional part of their life and exposes them to public service, volunteer opportunities and global citizenship, he added.