Undergraduates studying abroad in record numbers Sarah R. Buchholz CHRONICLE STAFF March 10, 2000      There may be "no place like home," but the International Programs Office (IPO) sent a record number of students abroad during the 1998-1999 academic year. And it looks like the numbers will be even higher this year, according to Barbara Burn, associate provost for International Programs.      "We've got 'land office' business," she said. "They're stumbling over each other to get in the door.      "If Chancellor Scott said we want 25 percent of our students to have international experience, then we're trying to hit that 25 percent. We just work like crazy, and that eventually pays off."      The payoff so far includes a 16-percent increase in the rate of participation in International Programs from 1997-98 to 1998-99 with a 21.7 percent increase in participation among undergraduates.      The University's participation rate among undergraduates of 14.7 percent was seventh among top public research universities for 1997-98 according to the Institute for International Education. Among the top seven, only two, Michigan State University and the University of Arizona-Tucson, had higher percentage increases last year in undergraduates studying abroad than this campus.      Burn said there is no official count, but she believes there has been a 10 to 15 percent increase in student traffic through her office this year. Given that the 1998-99 school year had an 18.5 percent participation rate, IPO may top 20 percent participation this year.      "I think it's maybe partly because the chancellor talks it up, and I think faculty are encouraging it, too," Burn said. "When their students come back, they're sort of different people, and they add a whole lot more to class discussion. It also may have a little teeny bit to do with the thriving economy."