You are invited to utilize student study abroad activities to enhance your courses where appropriate. If your activity is open to students other than those in your classes, the Director of Study Abroad will be glad to assist you in planning ways to publicize your study abroad activity to other students. If you wish, it can also be promoted to students at other SC institutions.
Gaining Authorization for Study Abroad Activities
Every faculty member who wishes to lead a group of students abroad, without regard to the grants described below or the time of year, must obtain University approval via the following procedures:
- Discuss your ideas with your department chair.
- Complete the Request for Study Tour Approval form and have it signed by your chair. This request for approval must include a brief outline plan that lists the Lander course(s) which will be taught. Please mention the dates and the places to be visited and suggest an approximate travel cost.
- After receiving the approval of your department chair, submit the form to your dean. The dean may take up to two weeks to review the proposed activity, and may wish to discuss it with you and/or your chair. Upon approval, the dean will submit the form to the Director of Study Abroad, who will review it. Upon approval he will then submit your request to the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
- Please do not advertise or announce your study tour until you have received university approval.
NOTES:
- A Study Tour to a country which is under a “ Do Not Travel” warning by the U. S. Department of State will not be approved. A Study Tour to a country where English is not widely used (Russia, China, etc.) must involve the use of an experienced multi-lingual travel guide so that any emergency situation can be successfully resolved.
- If two faculty members are involved in planning/leading a study tour, each must proceed through the approval process with their chair, dean, etc.
- If credit is to be given for courses in more than one college then a copy of the proposal must be given to the dean of the second college.
Preparing a Detailed Plan and Handling Money The Director of Study Abroad will assist the faculty member(s) in changing the brief outline plan discussed above into a detailed plan. The Director of Study Abroad has traveled widely and can usually assist faculty members in planning the details of their study tours. The Director of Study Abroad must be involved in setting the final tour price and the payment deadlines. Faculty members may build the cost of their own travel into the fee charged to each student, or they may pay for a portion or all of their travel from their grant (if any - see below) or from other personal resources. Faculty members are not authorized to make any salary or stipend payments to themselves from the study tour funds paid by participants.
All travel funds paid by students and faculty members and other participants must be deposited to the study abroad account in the Lander Foundation. A photocopy of each check or cash payment must be furnished to the Director of Study Abroad.
The study abroad program office will assess a $100 fee from each student's study tour payment. This will purchase the required CISI insurance for each student (usually $31). The remaining amount will be used to reimburse the Lander Foundation for the administration of funds and to build the study abroad account that is used to make air travel and hotel deposits for present and future study tours.
A few weeks before the study tour, the funds remaining in the study tour account after all travel deposits and payments have been made will be disbursed to the lead faculty member for use during the study tour. The lead faculty member should keep receipts for all travel expenditures incurred during the tour.
Upon their return, the lead faculty member should return any funds remaining to the Lander Foundation study abroad account for distribution to the study tour participants.
Grants to Faculty for Summer Study Tours
A number of $1500 grants will be made each year to faculty members who are planning summer study tours. All requests for approval of study tours which are submitted to the deans by the first day of classes in the fall semester and to the Director of Study Abroad by two weeks later will be considered to be proposals for these grants. Awards will be made by the Director of Study Abroad after consultation with the Dean of the Faculty. Approximately 3-5 grants will be made each year.
The grants will be awarded to successful applicants in a three-step process:
- When the detailed plan is complete, a $500 planning grant will be awarded to the faculty member as a salary stipend.
- The Director of Study Abroad will assist each faculty member in promoting their Summer Study Tour. Please note that all posters and other handout materials must be approved by the Director of Study Abroad before they are printed. Each faculty member grantee who enrolls 8 or more students in his/her study tour course by March 1 of the spring semester (or other agreed upon date), and who completes all final arrangements (collecting funds, conducting briefings, making final travel arrangements) for the study tour will then receive a second grant stipend of $500.
- Upon the completion of the study tour, the faculty member will receive the final grant stipend of $500.
Two Student Tuition Options (and faculty pay options): - If students are asked to pay summer school tuition, then the faculty member will receive summer school pay based upon Lander's summer pay rules pertaining to class size, etc.
- If the faculty member wishes to allow summer study tour students to enroll for credit during the following fall semester (as a part of the student's regular tuition for a full load), then the faculty member will receive fall overload pay based upon Lander's pay rules pertaining to class size, etc. This option requires the approval of the appropriate college dean.
- NOTE: All students participating in a particular study tour must be governed by the same option (#1 or #2 above).
Financial Support for Students for Summer Study Tours A limited number of scholarships are available for students who have significant financial need. Scholarships up to $500 are available for students in those summer study tours which require the payment of summer school tuition. Scholarships up to $200 are available for students in those summer study tours which do not require the payment of summer school tuition. Awards will be made by the Director of Study Abroad after consultation with the Office of Student Financial Aid.
NOTE: Only study tours that are required as a part of a Lander course are eligible for consideration for extra financial aid. Financial rules are very complex, and you should not attempt to interpret them. Refer each student to Lander's Office of Financial Aid for advice.
Grants to Faculty for Spring Break Study Tours
Similar grants of $1500 may be awarded to faculty members who organize spring break study tours as a part of a spring semester course.
Two additional details regarding Grants to Faculty for Study Tours
If after the initial award of $500, the faculty member cannot recruit 8 student participants the study tour may proceed, but the Director of Study Abroad has the authority to allow the remainder, a portion, or none of the remaining grant amount to be paid. At a later time they may wish to try again to recruit 8 student participants for the same study tour. If they are successful they will be awarded the second and third grant payments of $500 each.
If the recruiting process for a study tour results in 16 or more student participants, the lead faculty member may wish to choose a second Lander faculty member to assist them in leading the study tour. The second faculty member will receive a $1500 grant to help offset their travel expenses.
Financial Support for Students for Spring Break Study Tours
A limited number of $200 scholarships are available for students who have significant financial need. Awards will be made by the Director of Study Abroad after consultation with the Office of Student Financial Aid.
NOTE: Only study tours that are required as a part of a Lander course are eligible for consideration for extra financial aid. Financial rules are very complex, and you should not attempt to interpret them. Refer each student to Lander's Office of Financial Aid for advice.
Providing Appropriate Legal Information to Each Student
We have a legal responsibility to provide appropriate information to every Lander student who participates in a study abroad activity. This applies to all international activities led by or recommended by Lander faculty or staff members. The required procedure is outlined below. The Director of Study Abroad will assist each faculty member and student in complying with this procedure:
- Give each student who will participate a copy of Some General Information Regarding Traveling and Living Abroad. Although this is written more for the student who will be spending a semester at an academic institution abroad, the travel suggestions will be generally useful to students who are participating in shorter study tours. Specifically, ask each of your students to read the very important warnings about drug and alcohol use in other countries which are posted on the U. S. Department of State website. They should also read any travel advisories which have been posted for the countries that you plan to visit.
- Give each student who will participate a copy of the information (available from the Director of Study Abroad) about the medical and emergency insurance offered by Cultural Insurance Services International. This insurance is required by Lander University. CISI insurance is included in the cost of each Summer Study Tour, but each student who participates in any other study abroad activity must purchase this insurance. Click here for more information about this insurance.
- Give each student who will participate a copy of the Lander legal form. The student should sign this form after they have read it and discussed it with their parents or guardians. If the student is under 18 years old the parent or guardian must also sign this form.
- Arrange a suitable time for the Director of Study Abroad to meet with you and your students for about one hour for a pre-travel briefing. Each student should bring the Lander legal form and their passport to this meeting. A Notary will be present to witness signatures. Each student must attend one of the briefings held by the Director of Study Abroad or his designee - merely reading and signing these forms is not sufficient.
An Important Note Regarding Personal and Professional Liability The legal procedures outlined above are designed to remove as much of the liability from Lander University faculty and staff members as possible. These procedures are for your protection. Please give the Director of Study Abroad every assistance in carrying out these procedures.
NOTE: These legal procedures are also required of each student when any study abroad activity is recommended to Lander students by staff or faculty members even if the activity is not led by Lander personnel. Examples of this include joint faculty / student participation in a summer mission program, student participation in any study abroad program that was recommended by a Lander faculty or staff member, and many other situations. If in doubt, please ask the Director of Study Abroad for clarification.
Conducting a Spring Break or Summer Study Tour
At least one preliminary meeting of the group must be convened by the faculty leader(s). At this meeting the academic purposes of the study tour must be clearly explained, and advance readings (if any) assigned. At this meeting, each student must be provided with a written syllabus for each course for which credit is being offered. If the number of credits exceeds the number of weeks of travel then additional pre-travel discussion meetings and/or post-travel papers or presentations should be included.
A spring break study tour may leave up to two days before spring break begins OR may return up to two days after classes resume, provided that no student is asked to miss more that one class session in any course. The same rules apply regarding faculty and student responsibility to notify other affected faculty members as is required of coaches and students in the case of team travel to athletic events.
Faculty members who lead a study tour will traveling in close association with students for an extended period of time. It is very important for each faculty member to maintain a professional teacher / student relationship with all students during the tour. Students should be expected to show the same respect to the faculty member(s) as if they were on the campus. Students should use the professional titles "Dr." or "Professor" when referring to or addressing faculty member(s), rather than first names. The behavior of the group and of each member of the group reflects upon Lander University, and each faculty member should lead by example.
At least one post-trip meeting of the group should be held. Students should be asked to evaluate the study tour experience using the IDEA process.
If the information given above does not answer all of your questions, please contact Dr. DeWitt Stone, Director of Study Abroad, at (864)993-7866 or email studyabroad@lander.edu.