MSU Signature Program & Teach Abroad Resources

Program Design & Teach Abroad Resources

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• Why Teach Abroad: Benefits to Faculty & Program Directors

  As a faculty or staff member you have both great personal benefits and personal challenges. Personal and professional advancement can result from your teaching and directing abroad.

  • Professionally, teaching abroad may be counted for tenure and promotion in your area while directing abroad may be counted as service for tenure and promotion. Teaching abroad challenges you to see the curriculum in a new light as you design or redesign your course. See Making Study Abroad a Win-Win Opportunity for Pre-Tenure Faculty, a discussion of the goals of service, teaching, research through study abroad programs.
  • Personally, your own discovery of the location enables growth in independence and a renewed excitement. This informs both the growth of your teaching and of you personally. See the excerpt from Faculty-Led 360 on Personal and Professional Advancement for more.  

  Of course teaching and directing abroad is hard work. These resources spell out the difficulties but also the rewards of teaching abroad.

  • Directing a Program: It's Like Wearing All the Hats, John C. O'Neal & It's Not a Sabbatical, Roberta L. Krueger (Academe 81:5, 1995)
  • The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love: Faculty Find Rewards And Responsibilities in Study Abroad Programs, James F. Hornig (Academe 81:5, 1995).

• Proposal & Approval Process for Signature Programs

  You will complete the following necessary steps as you plan for your Signature Program:

  Step 1: Develop your program

  The Program Development section on this page will assist you as you walk through all the stages of planning for the academics and logistics of your program. The online application will also help you determine those elements you'll need to complete your program application. Consider meeting with the Associate Director for Education Abroad to discuss your ideas and help develop your proposal. Your application does not have to be in its final stages in order to be considered by the Program Review Committee. 

  Step 2: Apply online by January 15th

  Complete the Faculty-Led Program Proposal within the MSU online application system. You may start this application at any time. You can use this handy Help Sheet to walk you through the online application. The January deadline annually is for the following year, so a January 2013 deadline is inviting applications for programs that will run:

  • Winter 2013-14
  • Spring 2014
  • Spring Break 2014
  • Summer 2014
  • Fall 2014

  You will be asked to provide your proposed syllabus and course itinerary ideas, the program logistics, budget, and other details such as the number of students you expect to recruit. The sections below will assist you in developing these details. After submission, the Study Programs Review Committee will review all proposals and issue one of the following for your application: 

  • Approval: Application approved without revisions.
  • Conditional Approval: Application approved with conditions, such as contingent upon approval from your Chair and/or Dean, or revisions to the application required before full approval can be issued. NO applications will be approved by the Committee until Chair and Dean approvals are issued.
  • Not Approved: Applications that are not approved may be due to various reasons, such as a competing application within the same department or saturation of a specific location.

  Step 3: Attend Mandatory Teach Abroad Meetings

  After your application is approved or conditionally approved, you will be asked to attend two mandatory group meetings with other Faculty and Program Directors. 

  Application & Recruitment Meeting. This meeting will provide you with procedures and policy in study abroad for your students, scholarship and application updates to aid you in recruitment, a recruitment roundtable, and other details to aid you in program preparation. The 2013 Application & Recruitment Meetings are: 

  • August 29 & 30 (pick one), 2012, 3:00-4:00 p.m., IIS Conference Room, Woods Hall
  • March 5 & 6 (pick one), 2013, 2:00-3:00 p.m., 5th in the Curris Center Ohio Room, 6th in IIS Conference Room, Woods Hall

  Program Development & Course & Budget Design Workshop. This workshop is required for all NEW Faculty and Program Directors and will cover the design elements of marrying your course and location, how to craft course objectives, resources available to you, itinerary and budget design, and the effect of itinerary on budget and vice versa. This workshop is led by faculty in conjunction with the Study Abroad Office. The 2013-14 Workshops are (pick one):

  • Tuesday, March 12, 2013, 3:00-5:00, IIS Conference Room, Woods Hall
  • Wednesday, March 6, 2013, 11:00-1:00, CC Ohio Room

  Step 4: Recruit Students

  Study abroad recruitment requires your input and energy. You have built it, but they will not magically come to your program. At the Mandatory Teach Abroad meeting we will discuss recruitment with you, but you can get ahead of the game by checking out some guided Recruitment Strategies provided by the Education Abroad Advisors in our office. You have put much time and energy into program planning. Plan to put twice that effort into recruitment in order for your program to be successful. 

  Step 5: Complete Final Budget & Financial Paperwork

  A Signature Program will entail many financial planning details required by MSU that are indicated below in the Budget, Procedure, and Post-Program sections. The Study Abroad Office will assist you with this paperwork to ensure things are done in a timely manner.

  Step 6: Attend Mandatory Orientation

  As an MSU study abroad Faculty/Director, you will be expected to participate in mandatory Faculty/Director and student orientation. Faculty/Director orientation is required of all new Signature Program faculty and directors AND of our veterans every two years. The student orientation is required for all new Signature Program faculty and directors and the break-out sessions are required for ALL Signature Program faculty and directors. Student orientation will consist of an all-program session run by the Study Abroad Office and break-out sessions run by you, the Faculty and Directors of the program. 

  The 2012-13 Faculty/Director Orientation dates are:

  • Winter: November 1, 2012, 5:00-8:00 p.m., IIS Conference Room, Woods Hall
  • Spring Break: February 21, 2013, 4:30-7:30 p.m., IIS Conference Room, Woods Hal
  • Summer & Fall: April 11, 2013, 5:00-8:00 p.m., IIS Conference Room, Woods Hall

  The 2012-13 Student Orientation dates are: 

  • Winter: November 9, 2012, 4:30-9:30 p.m., Alexander Hall
  • Spring Break: March 1, 2013, 4:30 p.m, Curris Center Barkley Room
  • Summer & Fall: April 26, 2013, 4:30-9:30 p.m., Curris Center Theatre

  The 2013-2014 Faculty/Director Orientation dates are:

  • Winter: November 7, 2013, 5:00-8:00 p.m., IIS Conference Room, Woods Hall 
  • Spring Break: February 20, 2014, IIS Conference Room, Woods Hall
  • Summer & Fall: April 3, 2014, 5:30-8:30, IIS Conference Room, Woods Hall

  The 2013-2014 Student Orientation dates are:

  • Winter: November 11, 2013, 4:30-9:00 p.m., Alexander Hall Auditorium, Room 240
  • Spring Break: February 28, 2014, 4:30-8:30 p.m., Location TBA
  • Summer & Fall: April 18, 4:30-9:00 p.m., Location TBA

• Program Development

  Throughout this site you will find links to helpful sites and documents that can assist you with program ideas and guidance. As you get started, you may wish to check out one of these whole program development resources:

  • Faculty-Led 360: Guide to Successful Study Abroad, by Melanie McCallon & Bill Holmes
  • FacultyLed.com A free resource with faculty-led program development ideas and providers
  • The Guide to Successful Short-Term Programs Abroad, Sarah E. Spencer & Kathy Tuma, editors

  Program Leadership. As you develop your program, consider that MSU requires faculty-led programs to have two MSU leaders. Here are the most common scenarios:

  • You connect with an MSU faculty or professional staff colleague in your department or across campus
  • You are paired with a leader designated by the Study Abroad Office
  • In some cases an on-site liaison who will be with the program the entire time has been able to fill the role of a second leader. This is most often been approved in the case of working directly with a university abroad for program arrangements.

  The second leader for your program should be decided early in program development in order to work on design and recruitment as a team. 

  Questions to consider in whole Program Development:

  • Does the program clearly contribute to the achievement of the MSU mission? 
  • In addition to course goals, is the program designed to help students develop global competencies and cultural learning? Is this clearly stated in the program goals?

• Academics & Course Development

  As you begin to consider your course creation, you may choose to either alter a current academic offering within your department or create a new course altogether. Ultimately the overarching question to consider is why offer this course in this location. The marriage of the course content and the program location is vital to the success of the program. For students to make a connection between the academic field of study and the international experience will illustrate whether your program was able to make the marriage work. You must avoid simply picking up a course you offer at MSU and transporting it to the location with the intention of teaching it in exactly the same way. If that is your plan, ask yourself why bother spending valuable resources to offer the same experience as you would at home. Use the location and allow it to transform your course.

  Student Learning Abroad. Much has been made in recent years of student learning in study abroad. What is it that our students are learning and what is it that we're missing altogether? A new resource focusing on student learning provides in its opening chapter, "Student Learning Abroad: Paradigms and Assumptions," an excellent overview addressing the critical need for attention to program design and intentional and guided learning. Students won't learn by being abroad. We must pay attention to course and program construct and guide the learning process for our students. Students need our guidance. Some resources that may help you as you consider program design and student learning are: 

  • Dr. Jim's Tips for Directors of U.S. Students Abroad (As told by students...all learned the hard way.), James L. Citron
  • The Benefits of Study Abroad, Mary M. Dwyer & Courtney K. Peters (Transitions Abroad Magazine March/April 2004).
  • The First Time Effect: The Impact of Study Abroad on College Student Intellectual Development, Joshua S. McKeown
  • Student Learning Abroad: What Our Students are Learning, What They're Not, and What We Can Do About It, Michael Vande Berg, R. Michael Paige, and Kris Hemming Lou, eds.
  • Studying Abroad/Learning Abroad, J. Daniel Hess
  • Writing Across Culture: An Introduction to Study Abroad and the Writing Process, Kenneth Wagner and Tony Magistrale

  Course Choice. Choosing the course to offer is an important decision. Infusing new international content into a current course might mean, for example, teaching International Mass Communications with a focus on Britain for a course to be taught in London for the summer. This course might also be a requirement for all of the majors in your area, giving you a large recruitment pool to work with. Alternately you may choose to create a new course under a Special Topics designation to be offered as an upper-level elective. Some faculty have been successful offering University Studies courses as well. Be careful, however, not to offer a 100-level course. These have not been successful recruiting tools in study abroad. To see what other faculty have taught abroad in recent years, see our online listing of faculty and courses. 

  • Creating an entirely new course for study abroad will follow the regular MSU procedure through your department and Academic Council for approval. Guidelines set for course creation can be found on the website for Academic Council.
  • Proposing your study abroad course for the University Studies thematic category Global Awareness, Cultural Diversity, and the World's Artistic Traditions will require that you submit it for review and acceptance through the University Studies Committee IF it is not already a University Studies approved course. See the University Studies site for guidelines, the proposal process, and the study abroad policy.

  Course Content should be that of your academic area and focus. Study abroad is an academic endeavor and should infuse academics with an international experience. Leave the 'travel' pieces to the orientation and emails and use your class time as academic preparation and cultural integration for your students. Mandatory orientation is the appropriate time to inform students and parents of travel demands.

  Your short-term faculty-led program will either be offered as a winter, spring break, or summer program abroad. All of these options must have an on-campus component attached to them. While abroad there will be many hours of relevant course contact that will be included for your SACS reported hours. As such, you may meet in the on-campus component for fewer hours weekly. In all cases the program abroad is included in the course grade and relevant assignment(s) should be incorporated from the abroad portion of the course. Here are the design features to incorporate into your planning:

  • Winter Program Abroad: This program will include a second-half fall semester course. You will teach this course beginning in October with the start of second-half semester classes. You may choose to meet for 2-5 hours each week with your students for class. The class is followed by the program abroad in December/January.

  • Spring Break Program Abroad: This program will include a full spring semester course. Your course will be taught for a full spring semester with the abroad portion in the middle of the class. Many faculty enjoy this option as it gives you both a pre-departure research and readiness component and a post-program debriefing and application component.  

  • Summer Program Abroad: This program will include a second-half spring semester course. You will teach this course beginning in March with the start of second-half semester classes. You may choose to meet for 2-5 hours each week with your students for class. The class is followed by the program abroad in a summer session anytime between May and the end of July.

  Cultural Content. Though it is our responsibility to teach about culture, we most often shy away from this because of our lack of knowledge. Don't be afraid to admit that you have some learning to do about the location and take this opportunity to do so in conjunction with your students. Utilize the Culture Learning section below for resources on local culture and activities to learn about culture. Also consider requiring your students to obtain a language phrasebook and learn basic history and foreign relations between the U.S. and the location.

  MSU Schedule of Classes. Your class must be inserted into the MSU Schedule of Classes by your department for the relevant time period. Every Study Abroad class MUST have a section number that begins with "A." For example, a CIV class taught abroad would appear as CIV 202-A01. 

  If your on-campus class will be open to non-study abroad students, they must be in a separate class without an A section number. Failure to do so will be in violation of MSU policy and state regulations.

  Service Programs are becoming more popular among academics across the curriculum. Consider utilizing a provider for service projects if you do not already have established contacts in order to avoid repeating services provided by a previously well-intentioned group. 

  • Balancing Risk and Reward in Service Abroad, Eric Hartman (International Educator, July/Aug 11)
  • International Service Learning: Conceptual Frameworks and Research, Robert G. Bringle, Julie A. Hatcher, and Steven G. Jones, eds.
  • Educating for Global Citizenship Through Service Learning, Eric Michael Hartman

  Questions to consider in Course Development:

  • Does the course meet MSU academic standards as defined by SACS?
  • Are the academic goals feasible?
  • Could this course be taught anywhere in the world, including domestically, or is it intricately tied to the location? How is the course tied to the local culture and utilize it to meet its goals?
  • Are learning outcomes clearly linked to the international experience? Are there cultural learning goals incorporated into the course?
  • Does the program take full advantage of the cultural resources of the country to enrich the course?
  • Are the academic resources needed for successful implementation of the course adequate (e.g. space, computer/internet access, library access)?

• Culture Learning (for you, too)

  "knowing the world better is knowing the self better" - John Engle

  As Faculty and Program Directors we first must be able to admit to ourselves that we don't know everything - shocker, yes. But when it comes to culture, we must demand our own flexibility and learning as much as we demand this from our students.

  Despite how badly we wish it were so, study abroad participants (and leaders!) do not automatically integrate into the local culture, or even appreciate it. They must be introduced to it and given tools to do this for themselves since we cannot be next to them for every step while abroad. In an ideal world we have the opportunity to help students with this process before departure, while abroad, and after they return home. Here are some resources to help you infuse cultural integration activities into your course as well as to help students reflect on the choices they are making in relation to their study abroad experience.

  Articles

  • Culture's Unacknowledged Iron Grip, John Engle

  Books

  • The Art of Crossing Cultures, Craig Storti
  • A Beginner's Guide to the Deep Culture Experience, Joseph Shaules
  • Exploring Culture: Exercises, Stories, & Synthetic Cultures, Geert Hofstede, Gert Jan Hofstede, Paul B. Pedersen
  • Intercultural Press has loads of resources that include understanding cultural differences in general as well as texts on specific countries such as China, Germany, France, and Japan. Texts are also available on: intercultural activities, development of intercultural awareness and communication, host families, and much more.
  • Maximizing Study Abroad, R. Michael Paige, Andrew D. Cohen, Barbara Kappler Mikk, Julie C. Chi, James P. Lassegard. Includes a student guide and an instructional guide, which can be purchased together or separately.
  • Study Abroad: How to Get the Most Out of Your Experience, Michelle Marie-Dowell & Kelly P. Mirsky
  • Teaching About Culture, Ethnicity, & Diversity: Exercises & Planned Activities, Theodore M. Singelis
  • When Cultures Collide, Richard D. Lewis

  Web Resources

  • Country Insights. Provided by the Centre for Intercultural Learning section of Canada's Foreign Affairs and International Trade division, this site allows users to search by country to gain more detailed cultural information (some countries are more detailed than others). 
  • The Thiagi Group, a FREE resource providing hands-on activities to engage groups in culture learning and group dynamics.
  • University of Kentucky Faculty Toolkit, Anthony C. Ogden. An excellent FREE resource providing hands-on detailed activities to get students engaged in the culture one-on-one. Dozens of tools are available with specific goals and step-by-step plans for utilizing the tool with your student.

  Course Texts. No matter the academic content of your course, you might also consider these opportunities for students to learn more about the location as part of your course. Incorporating the location is the only way your study abroad program will be successful. Consider adding one or more of these as requirements for your students:

  • Culture Smart is a series of books that are country-specific and contain an overview of a country and culture
  • Autobiographies of U.S. American experiences living or traveling in the location often help to inform students of the types of things that might challenge them on-site and help them understand that their experiences are not abnormal. It also tends to get students interested in the location and enables them to experience the program in a deeper, more meaningful way once on-site.
  • Travel Guides. The current generation of students most often fails to obtain location knowledge for their free time. Requiring a travel guide or a travel guide smart phone app and creating an assignment around designing their free time can assist with their maximizing the program while abroad. Popular options include DK Eyewitness, which often include pull-out maps, and Rough Guides.
  • Language Phrasebook. Phrasebooks are compact and can be found with location-specific dialect. Lonely Planet has an excellent series of small and user-friendly phrasebooks that come highly recommended from MSU faculty and students. Rough Guides has a free phrase audio download for several languages.
  • Atlas. An atlas or class mapping activities will help students visualize where they are going. Let's face it, they don't always know where other countries are. Make sure they know the bordering nations and where the location fits geographically before you stick them on a plane and take them there.
  • Current Events. Have students find location-specific newspapers/news sources online and read/listen to them prior to program departure.
  • Basic History. Find a basic history text that your students may use as an overview, informing their experience on-site.
  • Foreign Relations. What is the history of US-location relations? How will this inform your program? Providing context for your students about the relationship between their nation and the foreign nation will further understanding of their possible integration with the locals. Keep any international student participants in mind in this endeavor and allow them to focus on their home nation.

• Program Dates & Length

  In considering when to offer your program key factors will be travel and program expense and your own availability. Certain times of the year are considered high or low season for your study abroad location. If possible, you may wish to seek out the lower season in order to secure lower prices for your students. 

  Your time is valuable and there are many considerations for you personally in determining when to offer your course abroad. If you are teaching two new classes, which require new course preparation, then you may not want to add a study abroad to that semester or the following one. If you are a single parent you will want to consider the best time of year to secure additional child-care and the length of time for which you feel comfortable doing so. If you are taking a sabbatical or will be on leave for any reason from the institution, that will adversely affect your ability to recruit. As such you should not plan to apply to teach abroad in a sabbatical/leave year. Other considerations will come up for you as you discuss this opportunity with your Chair and your family. Be open and honest about your own ability to juggle all of the requirements you already shoulder along with study abroad. Many faculty choose to incorporate a 2-3 year rotation in order to have the incredibly rewarding experiences of study abroad but also balance the demands of study abroad and work/home life in the process.

  Length. The length of your program abroad is very flexible, though there are several considerations for MSU. 

  • All programs of 1-3 weeks must include the on-campus course pre-departure.
  • Summer programs of at least 4 weeks in length may be self-contained abroad without an MSU pre-departure course.
  • One week programs cannot include two countries. Programs splitting time between two countries should be at least 12-14 days in length.
  • One week programs cannot be counted in the Honors Study Abroad requirement.

  You will include course contact hours abroad to meet SACS requirements in addition to the pre-departure and/or post-program hours you meet on-campus. Relevant course contact hours abroad will be any and all activities that are related to your course. For example, a Nutrition course that visits an olive grove, receives a lecture about the growth and production of olive oil, and has a tasting will include those hours in the course contact hour report at the close of the program.

  Questions to consider regarding program dates and length:

  • When is high/low season in the country of study?
  • What are the current work/life demands on my plate? 
  • When can you get away for 1-3 weeks? How will your work/life be affected by leaving? Is there a time of year that would be better or worse for you to be out of the country?

• Activity & Itinerary Development

  Your course will define your program itinerary from day one through the end of the program if you're paying attention to the academics as intently as you should for study abroad to be an academic endeavor. In some cases you may be joining a pre-existing program with some activities pre-determined. You may view those activities as cultural enhancements to your program or with some research you may find they fit in well with the content you have planned.

  In working with a provider or designing the itinerary on your own, you will need a list of activities to choose from. You may start with some serious time on google and/or travel guides online or in print (yes, they still exist) to guide your searches. You likely already have some ideas about things that would be relevant and beneficial for your course. Make a long list of sites, activities and excursions along with relevant contacts. You may also find relevant walking/boating/guided tours and companies that would work for your class. Next consider the proximity of these activities to one another and sketch out a lumping of activities that could work. Submitting these ideas to a provider with your top priorities indicated will help determine what ultimately ends up in your itinerary. If you are designing the program on your own, then you can do the planning with the vendors abroad to determine what will work for your program.

  Price and time will make many of the decisions for you after your wish list is done. You can work with the Study Abroad Office once you have some pricing ideas to determine what price range would be viable for the program. You can negotiate with the provider or determine yourself which activities to cut depending on expenses for certain activities.

  Class time abroad can be built into your itinerary via traditional classroom setting or in a more 'trenches' environment on the bus, in a museum, or other on-the-go activity. One way to accomplish this is by having your students meet daily over breakfast at the hotel/housing. You accomplish not only course prep and daily debrief but also ensure students are actually eating. Other possibilities may include other program meals, use of conference meeting space at the hotel for class time, lecture and group discussion on a longer bus ride en route to an activity, outside park/green space to sit and rest/debrief/snack post-activity. Be creative. Don't plan to have students sit in a classroom for hours a day on a short-term program. They will resent it and ultimately the program will not succeed. Build in a healthy balance of shorter traditional time and on-the-go time to meet your course goals.

  Questions to consider in activity and itinerary development:

  • How does each activity contribute to the learning outcomes for the program? 
  • How much class time do you need on the ground? Where/when will that be accomplished?
  • Can you replace one more expensive activity with two less expensive activities to get more out of the program?
  • Are you willing to stay in less expensive/lower class accommodations in order to include more activities?
  • What is the proximity of desired activities to one another? Lump activities that are close to each other on the same day(s).

• Logistical Arrangements

  Logistical arrangements include literally everything that will need to be in place from departing Murray to returning to Murray. You may choose to make these arrangements on your own or you may choose to request the Study Abroad Office help locate a provider for your program. A provider will be the go-between for you and most or all of the arrangements on the ground, meaning you will work with one person instead of many as the provider will make ground arrangements on your behalf. This most commonly means that you will pay a fee to the provider instead of to individual companies.

  You should include the following:

  • Housing
  • Breakfast daily for 1-2 week programs or for any program on which students cannot make their own breakfast in apartment-style housing
  • All required class activities and excursions
  • Local transport to all required class activities and excursions
  • Local transport pass, if feasible and available
  • Travel insurance: the Study Abroad Office incorporates this requirement into every student application. Your program participants and you will all be on the same group travel insurance.

  You may consider the following optional inclusions:

  • Airport shuttle stateside to and/or from the Nashville airport
  • Airfare: if your program is recruiting students from various universities/locations throughout the country, you may wish to opt out of a group flight. Keep in mind that the management of flight problems for short-term programs can turn the first couple of days on-site into logistical soup so be prepared for that possibility.
  • Other group meals

  The MSU Study Abroad Office will:

  • Bid out the program to a provider in order to provide you with a company that will make all logistical arrangements for you if you wish. You may, of course, make these arrangements on your own.
  • If included in your program fee, arrange the shuttle to and from the Nashville airport.
  • Provide cell phones for program leadership. The cost for these will be included in your program budget.
  • Purchase program leadership travel insurance.
  • Bid out flight prices for any group flight requests and make the final purchase. You must choose the final flight and check every detail of it to ensure we got it right prior to purchase.
  • Assist with making sure your vendor payments get completed, though you must start this paperwork and follow up.

  No matter how involved the Study Abroad Office is in program design and development, it is ultimately up to you to make sure you have every detail you need prior to departure. It is highly suggested that you create a file or a notebook that is used only for program planning. Keep detailed notes about all logistical arrangements, assurances, confirmations, prices, etc., so that you can refer to this as any complications or questions arise. Do not rely solely on multiple other departments, offices, providers, or companies to provide all of the detail you need or to read between the lines for what you need or want for your program. Follow up regularly and stay on top of arrangements to ensure the greatest design success for your program.

  Questions to consider in Logistical Development:

  • Is the housing location in close proximity to course activities? If not, will a transport pass be included in the program fee? Is it safe to walk between housing and course activities? 
  • Is transport safe? Can it be arranged ahead of time? How will transport be paid?
  • Is there clear evidence of the reliability of a program provider?
  • Does the program provider have adequate insurance protecting you and your group against liabilities?
  • What details do I need help with from the Study Abroad Office?

• Budget Development

  In developing your budget you will need to consider flights, housing, activities, meals, on-site transportation and anything else that will be a required part of the program. The staples to make sure are included in the program fee are housing (preferably with breakfast daily), all class activities, and local transportation. Other considerations:

  • Flights are always included with winter and spring break programs (though not required), but with summer it varies according to program departure month. If you leave in May right after school is out, include it. If you leave in June or July after students have moved home, think about the students you might recruit who would wish to fly from another city. If you choose a group flight, the SAO will request flight bids for your program but will not approve a flight until you provide final confirmation. 
  • Meals. You may consider including additional group meals, but if possible try not to include them all. Pushing students to seek out their own culinary delights within their own budget is an experience they most often not only enjoy but report learning from both culturally and linguistically.
  • Stateside Airport Transfers. Consider including an airport shuttle from Murray to Nashville and back to Murray. This cost is included for you in the Budget Worksheet should you wish to have a shuttle. Having a shuttle ultimately saves hassle and expense for multiple families involved in your study abroad program.
  • Transport for Independent Activities. If your program provides a local transit pass or housing is close enough to the city or interest points for the participants you can save time and frustration for the students for those independent excursions they want to pursue.

  Developing a budget for your program can be stressful. The Budget Worksheet required with your application takes you one step at a time through the budget pieces you need to consider. The Study Abroad Office can assist and walk you through the Budget Worksheet if our Help Sheet doesn't help as much as you'd like.

  Helping Students Determine Spending Money Amount

  • Meals. Identify how many meals are not included in the program fee. Using your own experience and that of other travelers via online and print resources such as Lonely Planet, TripAdvisor, DK Eyewitness, and many more you can find thru Google, you can create some helpful advice for students on spending for meals and estimate the cost for those not covered with the program fee.
  • Independent Activities. Find some good websites that you can pass along to your students simply by searching "things to do in (city)." Empower your students to use the resources at their disposal to find activities and accompanying costs for those things they want to do in addition to the required program activities. In recent years students have been less likely to purchase guidebooks or have these with them while abroad, but in addition to that they increasingly expect activities to fall into their lap or to follow others along and then express frustration when they discover exciting things other groups did that they were not aware of. It is not your job to tell them about every single possibility available to them, but you can help to let them know what resources exist to give them information and inquire about their independent plans or even require that they submit their personal top 10 to you as an assignment prior to the program.
  • Optional Activities. If your program will have an optional excursion that costs additional, provide that cost to the students with the spending money estimate. 
  • Local Transportation.  If students will not have a local transportation pass as part of the program, then you should give them information about how to obtain one if needed for independent exploration and the proximity to a transport station or commentary on the proximity to the city if a student wanted to walk. Include transport costs in your spending money estimates. 
  • Personal Spending. It is very difficult to give an estimate for what students will spend on gifts, souvenirs, shopping, and alcohol. Consider the cost of living in the location and consider providing a range and/or a minimum that students must have available to them. You can give your students the costs for a bottle of water, a beer, an ice cream, a pair of jeans, a slice of pizza, a stamp. These are things that can help them determine if they would be on the lower end of your range or the higher end depending on how active they plan to be while abroad and what their shopping habits are.

  Faculty & Director expenses should be included in the budget as well. Most common MSU practice is that faculty teach abroad as an unpaid overload, but your expenses should always be included in the program budget so that you are not out anything extra to teach on or lead a program abroad. The Budget Worksheet should help walk you through these expenses, but they should include all related travel expenses for you, including getting to and from the airport stateside.

  You may choose to incorporate a faculty stipend if your course is not incorporated into your regular teaching load. The Budget Worksheet will indicate how to do so and the maximum allowance, which is below the regular overload pay you would receive for teaching on-campus. If you are teaching on a program as part of a team with one or more other faculty, a stipend will not be incorporated into the budget.

  Questions to consider in Budget Development:

  • What is the maximum price point for your audience - in other words at what price will students walk away?
  • Has the budget included reasonable and realistic prices with a cushion for exchange rate fluctuation?
  • Will your department consider your course in-load or offer overload pay? If not, would you like to incorporate a faculty stipend into the budget?

• Student Selection

  in progress

• Personal & Professional Liability

  section in progress

  Faculty Behavior Cases to Consider

  • "Colby Study Abroad Professor Resigns After Alleged Inappropriate Behavior," Missy Gluckman
  • "UNH Students Defend Nicaragua Study Abroad Program," Tim Rogers

• Disciplinary & Student Affairs Matters

  section in progress

  Working with Students with Disabilities

  Students with disabilities can and do study abroad. The Study Abroad Office and the MSU Office of Student Disability Services will assist Program Directors and Faculty planning programs that will be accessible for students with disabilities. We have created and executed programs in England, Greece, Italy, and South Korea that were designed with accessibility in mind. If you would like more information about working with students with disabilities on programs abroad, here are some resources to consider:

  • MSU Office of Student Disability Service. The MSU SDS Office has played an integral role in determining need, defining goals, and working with the Study Abroad Office and faculty to design programs for students with disabilities.
  • Mobility International USA has a variety of resources serving cognitive, hearing, learning, mental health, physical, systemic, vision, and other disabilities. MIUSA is an excellent resource throughout your planning for questions about accessibility, use of language in your program materials, and much more.

  
  

• Health & Safety

  A plethora of resources exist for you as you research your program site and make crucial decisions about housing, transport, and activities. The resources in this section will assist you in learning about safety and health in study abroad, but also more specific details about your program location. 

  Whole Program Health & Safety Planning

  • Guidelines for Creating a Location Safety Assessment Some helpful guidelines for you as you plan your own program LSA, required for all MSU Signature programs.
  • Understanding & Managing the Risks of Short-Term International Programs, by William P. Hoye, United Educators 2008. This FREE resource helps faculty understand the challenges facing all constituents in study abroad and managing the risks for their students, themselves, and the university.
  • Travel Wise: How to Be Safe, Savvy and Secure Abroad, by Ray S. Leki, US DOS trainer and professor at American University's Graduate School of International Service
  • SAFETI Clearinghouse. This online FREE resource provides online orientation courses, a program audit checklist, and an amazing and quite comprehensive Health & Safety Issues A-Z Index that covers discussions, articles, and additional resources on everything from alcohol in study abroad to mental health to water safety. You won't be disappointed by the input and guidance of field professionals compiled here.

  Mental Health

  • Depression & Suicidal Behaviors in Students Studying Abroad: Identifying Students at Risk, JED Foundation

  Site-Specific Health & Safety

  • The Department of State has a section on travel with Country Specific Information guides that are free and downloadable and provide a quick look at areas to avoid. Their Students Abroad section provides user-friendly information directed at students traveling the globe.
  • The Overseas Security Advisory Council online and phone contacts will provide clarification and assistance with routing you plan to use, terrorism reports, and local travel risks
  • The Association for Safe International Road Travel provides road safety facts and travel reports and is an excellent resource for faculty designing their own programs in determining the safest routes and road rules of the location
  • Centers for Disease Control will provide a location breakdown of health issues to be aware of, including vaccinations you and your participants may wish to consider

• Crisis Management & Emergency Response

  in progress
  

• Guidelines for Accompanying Family Members or Companions

  A companion rate for Signature programs can be determined based on the participant rate. Consider taking children under 16 only if you will have another adult on the program who can assist with them in case of illness or emergency. Teaching/Directing abroad requires a great deal of attention while abroad, so the idea of a family vacation is not an accurate view of what your availability will be like with your companions, especially if an emergency occurs. Additionally your companions may opt-out of many of your class-related events in favor of items on their personal to-do list.

  Please note the following when bringing companions:

  • All companions must complete the online MSU application as a participant - one for each member of the family.
  • All companions must purchase the mandatory travel/health insurance for the program. MSU currently utilizes CISI. Details on the coverage plan for MSU is linked within the application.

• Procedures for Faculty & Program Directors

  You will be asked to follow guidelines and complete additional materials for the Study Abroad Office per MSU study abroad, accounting, billing, and procurement procedures. All of these requirements are linked in the Post Acceptance step of your online application. These items may include:

  • Guidelines for Creating a Location Safety Assessment - You must create a LSA to apprise participants of known local risks and considerations as well as available medical attention and emergency response that can be expected on the program. Multiple resources are provided in the attachment to assist you.
  • Purchasing Card Application - To allow you to make reservations and purchases for the program before and during the program. Once submitted you will be contacted by Procurement to pick up your pcard and receive mandatory training on pcard usage. Here are some guidelines on pcard usage.
  • MSU Travel Procedures - Please review the MSU Travel Procedures in relation to Group and International Travel in preparation for your program.
  • Group Travel Request - You MUST submit a Group Travel Request (ONE per program) to and have it approved by the Study Abroad Office, which will then submit it to the MSU Accounting Office for travel approval and cash advance. This form must be submitted to the Study Abroad Office BEFORE ANY program purchases can be made. See this Group Travel Request Help Sheet for a walk thru how to complete this form.
  • Using Your Cash Advance - Please note that university procedures MUST be followed when using any cash advance on a study abroad program.
  • Vendor Information Form - This form should be completed by any vendors domestic or international providing services for your program who are not currently established in the MSU Banner System. See this Vendor Information Form Help Sheet for a walk thru on how to complete this form.

• Post Program Requirements for Faculty & Program Directors

  At the conclusion of your program, there are several things that will be required for your program to be considered officially closed and enable your leadership on future programs. These items are also indicated in your online application. Please contact the Study Abroad Office with any questions you may have or guidance as you close your program.

  • Travel Voucher - This form will reconcile expenses with the MSU Accounting Office and your program account. You must submit a completed Travel Voucher to the Study Abroad Office within two weeks of your program end date with all receipts and remaining cash from any cash advance granted prior to departure. See this Travel Voucher Help Sheet for guidance in completing your Travel Voucher.
  • Program Debrief - This one-on-one meeting with the Associate Director for Education Abroad will debrief the program in full, including but not limited to: student disciplinary and health issues, logistics (the good and bad), faculty involvement, location suitability for the program, and the future of the program. At this meeting you will be asked for your completed Travel Voucher and program Log.
  • Program Log - This daily log kept while abroad should note any participant and logistical issues that arise during the program as well as reminders on logistical arrangements to keep or avoid for a future program.
  • Pcard Expense Report - You will receive notification via email when your Expense Report is ready to print and reconcile. Once you receive that notice, you are expected to send a copy of the report and all receipts to the Study Abroad Office for reconciliation with your study abroad account. This and your Travel Voucher enable the SAO to determine the final balance for your study abroad program.

  Your program is not considered closed until these Post Program items are received and a final balance is determined.