Faculty Opportunities Abroad

Inspire your students by leading them out of the classroom and into the world!

St. John's always welcomes proposals for short-term, faculty-directed programs whether they are stand-alone courses traveling in winter or summer, or as "embedded" fall or spring New York coursework complemented with time abroad. In order to facilitate a faculty-directed program abroad, please follow the steps outlined below.

The deadline for proposing Winter & Spring programs is March 15th of the previous year
The deadline for proposing Summer & Fall programs is August 15th of the previous year

1. Read the Provost's Message from the Provost.

2. Review the Faculty Handbook for Short-Term Study Abroad Programs and St. John's Policy on Family and Visitors.

3. Review the deadlines for Winter/Spring programs or for Summer/Fall programs for an overview of the procedural deadlines once the program is approved.

4. Submit a OIE Faculty-Directed Program Proposal Form to your chair for approval. The form must accompanied by an updated, destination-specific electronic syllabus, a breakdown of the academic contact hours, a draft itinerary with a day-by-day breakdown of the time spent abroad, and an anticipated budget for the program covering accommodations, transportation costs, and program site visits. Once your chair has approved the proposal, you should forward the entire proposal packet to both your dean and to Greg Bruhn, Director of OIE, [email protected].

Tobin College of Business faculty must submit a separate proposal for a Global Destination Course to Dean Sama.

5. Final approved proposal forms are due in due to OIE on the following deadline schedule:

Winter and Spring Programs: March 1st of the prior spring
Summer and Fall Programs: August 9th of the prior summer

Once the approved proposal form has been passed on to the OIE, we will contact you to schedule a meeting to discuss your program at length. At that time, we ask that you be prepared to discuss the logistics, budgeting, recruitment strategies, compensation, and any other questions or concerns that you may have.

The Role of Faculty DIrectors

As faculty directors, there are several key steps that you must take in order to help make your global program a success. We've outlined below the three phases of the study abroad experience.

Pre-Departure
Prior to your departure, faculty directors have certain program obligations. Please keep the following in mind:

Provide the OGS with a draft itinerary of your time abroad.
Provide the OGS with a detailed, final itinerary at least one month before departure. The final itinerary should include the names, telephone numbers and addresses of accommodations abroad and the name of the emergency contact person(s) in the host country.
Attend the Provost-mandated program director pre-departure orientation. An invitation will be sent from the OIE.
Coordinate and lead site-specific pre-departure orientation for your students in order to outline the academic and cultural expectations of the program.
Review pertinent information from the CDC, the Department of State, and best practices in the field of education abroad.

During the Program
Once you have reached your destination abroad, please keep in mind the following expectations:

Faculty must be accessible to students at all times (unless you are traveling to our Rome or Paris campus). Make sure students have your contact phone number and designate a meeting spot in case of emergencies.
Contact the OIE as soon as all students have arrived safely at your destination.
Report any emergency situations to the OIE
Accompany students on all program-related site visits and excursions.
Keep all receipts for reimbursement. Faculty will be provided with a Concur manual to explain the reimbursement process.

Post-Program
Once the program is complete, there a few final housekeeping items that you will need to complete.

Submit grades in a timely fashion, generally within 72 hours of last day of the program.
Submit a T&E form within 30 days of program completion. Late expense reports may not be accepted by Business Affairs.
Stay in contact with your students. Send your group a brief message sharing your thoughts on the experience. You may even want to include a group picture or other photos from your time together.

To help ensure a successful program, below are some tools for success:

Be proactive in the recruitment of students.
Welcome students who have applied to your program (OIE will provide you with weekly enrollment updates which will include email addresses) by sending them information about the program and about yourself.
Work with OIE on creating information sessions where you will have a platform to sell your program to students.

Role of the Office of International Education

OIE will assist you with every step of your program. Below are just a few of the many items you can expect our office to handle. OIE will..

Provide Public Safety with information about your program to ensure that your location has been vetted through the State Department and other experts on local safety.
Set the program fee, which typically includes accommodations, meals, local transportation, and site visits. Student airfare and tuition are separate costs.
Assist with all program logistics.
Register students for their courses abroad, where appropriate.
Assist with student recruitment by developing a program webpage, scheduling information sessions, and sending e-blasts.
Prepare weekly updates on course enrollments for your review.
Offer general pre-departure orientations for students and pre-departure orientations geared for faculty.
Arrange, schedule and attend site-specific, pre-departure orientations.
Provide you with students' emergency contact and medical information.
Enroll you for international medical and emergency evacuation insurance.

How am I compensated?

As part of the budgeting process for all faculty-directed programs, faculty will meet with the Director of Global Studies and the Manager of Global Financial Affairs as a first step to discuss compensation and expenses.

How many students are needed for each course?

The target enrollment for all faculty-directed programs is 10 students. The recruitment goal will be for 12 students, understanding that a few may withdraw after they've confirmed.

When will I know whether or not my program is running?

The Office of International Education will contact you first to let you know that your program has been given the green light, typically 8-10 weeks before departure or sooner, depending on the number of confirmed students.

If your program does not reach the enrollment goal, it runs the risk of being postponed. Our office will work with you to make any decisions regarding program postponement.

What is the site-specific orientation?

This pre-departure orientation is meant to be led by the faculty director(s) once the program is greenlighted and about 4-6 weeks prior to departure. The orientation gives you the opportunity to meet your students, go over your academic expectations, discuss the details of your program, and distribute materials for your course. The OIE can schedule the orientation and help secure a location, if needed, though we recommend hosting the orientation in your home department. A representative from the OIE will also be present to answer questions of a more general nature.

I have directed programs abroad in the past. Do I still need to submit a proposal form?

Yes, faculty-directed programs must receive annual approval of the departmental chair and college dean, through the submission of a proposal form, an updated syllabus, a program itinerary, and a proposed budget.

What if I have an emergency abroad?

The chance of an emergency occurring during your program is thankfully rare, but rest assured that you will not be alone if a situation does arise. OIE has someone on-call at all times! The university has protocols in place that are designed for a range emergency situations and we can assist in connecting you to the proper resources both on campus and abroad.

Are all of my expenses covered while I am abroad?

The Office of International Education will cover the costs of your airfare, accommodations, meals, local transportation, international cell phone plan up to $50, international health insurance and site entrance fees. Please be mindful of keeping all receipts for all of your expenses abroad in order to be reimbursed. To help keep you organized, Concur offers a smartphone app to help keep track of your daily expenses.. Once your faculty-directed program is complete, you must submit a Travel & Expense Report through Concur within 30 days.

Are students from other colleges and universities eligible to participate in my program?

Definitely! We always welcome visiting students on our summer and winter programs and work with several partner institutions nationally. You may also wish to promote your faculty-directed program to colleagues and departments at other universities where you have contacts or participate in listservs.