Faculty Pre-Departure Checklist

Develop a budget for your study abroad program using the resources available in this UD Study Abroad Faculty Resources folder. 

Deadlines

Approved preliminary budget is required to open a program for student applications. 

Students purchase their own plane tickets for study abroad. Programs begin once the group arrives at the site. Below are three options for how you and your students can get there:

• Recommended Flight: We select and announce a recommended flight. Faculty either fly with students on this itinerary or meet the flight at the airport in-country. Students are strongly encouraged (but not required) to buy these tickets via a web page set up by our preferred travel agent, Student Universe. 

Good for: Easy itineraries, shorter programs and/or smaller groups. Faculty who want to go early or come back later.

Pro: Students who want to travel with the faculty can do so. They have the flexibility to go early or stay late, and there is no deadline for buying tickets.

Con: No guaranteed space or price on specific flights.

• Group Flight: As per your requested itinerary, we reserve space on group flights for Winter Session programs only by March 1. To request a quote, complete the Travel Preferences Form in your Study Abroad Portal. Log in and navigate to “Faculty Director” - “My Programs” - “My Checklist.” Please note, we do not recommend this option for Summer programs as enrollment is small and students often fly independently. Faculty travel in both directions with the students. Students are strongly encouraged (but not required) to buy these tickets via a web page set up by our preferred travel agent, Student Universe. They must do so by a set deadline (August 15 for many of your programs). 

Good for: Complicated itineraries with big groups.

Bad for: Easy itineraries where students can get cheaper flights on their own.

Pro: Greater control with space held for everyone, a set price and the itinerary you want.

Con: Ten passengers constitutes a group. If at least 10 students choose not to buy the group flight by the deadline, we could lose the entire reservation. Faculty and students are often assigned a seat at random.

• Independent: We do not hold group space or recommend a flight. Students are responsible for meeting the group on-site by the program start date.

Good for: Easy itineraries, shorter programs and/or smaller groups. Faculty who want to go early or come back later.

Pro: Students and faculty have full flexibility.

Con: Students with limited travel experience may need guidance.

Schedule at least two interest meetings. To schedule your meetings, submit a Classroom Reservation Request with the Registrar’s Office or create a virtual meeting using Zoom. Once your location has been confirmed, please email your program coordinator to have the meetings posted on your program’s website.

Review sample interest meeting presentations in your Study Abroad Faculty Resources folder.

Deadlines

Winter Programs: February 15

Summer Programs: September 1

Investigate if your students will need visas to enter your program country.

Given ample funds in the program budget, CGPS will fund a teaching assistant for single-director programs that enroll at least 18 students and for co-directed programs that enroll at least 32 students. 

We'll cover the assistant's expenses (airfare, single room accommodations and whatever else your program fee includes) if appropriate and financially feasible. 

The assistant should be an undergraduate or graduate student at UD. Individuals with some other status at UD may be considered to serve as an assistant on a case-by-case basis, but the assistant may not be a student enrolled in the program. The spouse or child of a faculty director is not permitted to serve as the assistant to that faculty member's program.

TAs must register with us in order to be accepted. Please forward your assistant these online instructions.

CGPS will create a website for your program and produce a package of promotional materials, including an 11 x 17” poster (print and pdf) and social media assets. A full social media toolkit can be found in the Study Abroad Faculty Resources folder. 

Every Fall and Spring semester, CGPS also hosts a Study Abroad & Global Studies Fair, where faculty are invited to promote their programs. 

Then, it's up to you to get the word out. Share program information with students in your classes and those of your colleagues. In addition, leverage department and college events, email lists and social media accounts. When possible, rally past participants to share their experiences and help you recruit from their networks. 

Effective promotion can take considerable time and effort. The S-contract for Administrative Service is intended to help compensate you for this time.

If the number of applicants is less than 80% of minimum enrollment 10 days before a program’s final closing date, the CGPS coordinator will initiate discussion with the faculty director(s) regarding the possibility of program cancellation, or measures that must be taken to ensure the program’s feasibility. CGPS reserves the right to cancel any under-enrolled program one week before the stated application deadline in order to allow students time to choose another study abroad option.

For a full list of appropriate acceptance criteria, please visit our Study Abroad Interviews page. Faculty are encouraged to develop their own rubric for rating applicants on all or some of these criteria that are relevant to their program. The use of criteria and a rating system allows for more objective decision-making and a fairer process for students; it also gives faculty a written record of how decisions were determined, should these ever be called into question. When possible, applicants should be interviewed before the application deadline so that acceptance decisions can be made immediately thereafter.

When your program closes, you will receive an email from CGPS with a list of applicants. Please note your acceptance decisions (Accepted, Not Accepted or Waitlist) in the email's table and forward it to your program coordinator by the stated deadline. In this list, indicate your rank order for the waitlisted students.

Your coordinator will enter each student into the database and notify each of their acceptance status. There is no need for you to email the students. CGPS will send an official acceptance letter to each student and provide them with links to all of their pre-departure tasks.

Once accepted, a portion of the program fee will be charged to the student’s UD account. If students contact you about refunds or withdrawing, refer them to your coordinator.

Deadline for all programs

2-3 days after application deadline

UD students, faculty and travel assistants are covered by GeoBlue Health Insurance and Drum Travel Assistance Insurance. Familiarize yourself with coverage, exclusions and more.

To schedule rooms for your meetings, submit a Classroom Reservation Request with the UD Registrar’s office or create a virtual meeting using Zoom. After receiving confirmation of your meeting locations, email your program coordinator, who will post details on your program website.

Deadlines

Winter & Spring Programs: September 1

Summer Programs: February 15