Guidelines for Final Approval of Summer Study Abroad Programs

(effective beginning summer 2010)

Background : For the past three summers (07-09), the costs of faculty-led study abroad programs in Liberal Arts have outrun university and college funding for their support.  At the same time, overall enrollment has decreased (294, 190, and 184 students, respectively).  The college wishes to continue to increase the number of students in high quality study abroad programs led by enthusiastic and knowledgeable faculty.  To that end, the following policies apply beginning summer 2010:

Goals :

·         Encourage faculty at all ranks to lead study abroad programs

·         Aim for high-quality programs that appeal to serious students

·         Help faculty design innovative programs that match setting with course content

·         Encourage programs that integrate multiple facets of student learning (e.g., combination of language with non-language courses; foreign internships as part of study abroad programs, etc.)

·         Support faculty efforts to recruit students (program recruitment is primarily a faculty member’s responsibility)

·         Provide 1.5 months of salary for faculty leaders

Guidelines Governing Final Approval for Summer Programs:

·         Programs should have a minimum of two courses taught 100% by faculty leader(s) 

·         Preference may be given to proposals for upper-level courses

·         At least 10 students must be enrolled by 5 p.m. on the Friday following the end of spring break

·         Exceptions to enrollment requirements will be considered for new programs only (those in their first 2 years)

·         Programs should be scheduled for one summer session only and be of 5 – 6 weeks’ duration

·         The number of faculty leaders is limited to one FTE per program for salary purposes (i.e., 1 faculty leader at full pay or a maximum of 2 faculty leaders at ½ pay each) unless the program enrolls 20 or more students

·         Final approvals will be communicated no later than one week after the deadline

Note : Programs funded from other sources (such as grants or foundations) may be exempt from some of the requirements listed above.  In addition, departments or programs may elect to supplement faculty salaries in order to support study abroad programs that are not approved by the College for the following reasons: underenrollment, shorter or longer program length, team-taught courses with fewer than 20 students.  Department contributions would make up the difference between Study Abroad Enhancement Fund (SAEF) allocations and required salary.

Draft updated 09/01/09

Replaces “Basic Guidelines for Faculty-led Programs” (September 2007)