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Faculty-Led Programs Oakland University faculty may organize faculty-led international
programs offered within their own departments or Schools, and the Office
of International Education is eager to advise on the necessary
planning, to assist on publicity and participant recruitment, and to
facilitate the safe and successful completion of these programs. Please contact
the IE Office as soon as you begin planning an international course or
program.
The current Faculty Handbook is undergoing revision but is available here. (Note that some processes and procedures described in the handbook have never been established with the associated offices, e.g., Student Accounts. In situations in which information in the handbook is contradicted by information below, the information below is current and more reliable.) Below, you will find an overview of the process (which varies depending on the nature of the program and on the ways in which services are contracted by the program organizer), with links to both necessary and recommended forms. The most recently proposed revision of University Policy1220 offers an overview of the required procedures involved in proposing and running international programs, which are explained in more detail below. SETTING UP OU SUPPORT 1. Develop and submit a proposal: All programs must be reviewed and supported by the faculty member's department chair and dean, and then proposed to and approved by the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost via the Office of International Education. The proposal should include the dates and locations of the program, a projected itinerary with information about program content, an explanation of the academic purpose and rationale for the program, a budget, a description of the potential pool(s) of participants, and the estimated price of the program per participant. Expenses for the travel and accommodations of the faculty director should be figured into the budget as administrative overhead and distributed among the participants. Names and contact information should be provided for any contractors or agents who will be making arrangements for the program. The Office of International Education is happy to consult with you as develop the proposal. 2. After the program as been approved, to create sections of the course(s) associated with the program, complete and circulate for signatures Special Credit Offering Form if the program or a special section of the program will be offered for credit. Once the Special Credit Offering Form has been filed, enter the course(s) associated with the program into BANNER. 3. Begin publicity and recruitment. Complete and send to the OIE this questionnaire so that we can include your program in our directory. If the program will be open to participants outside of your department, please send copies of publicity flyers and/or URLs to program websites so that we can publicize the program and help you to recruit participants. If you would like to publicize the program at the Study-Abroad Fair in late September, please let us know. If you would be willing to accept students from other universities into the program, let us know: we anticipate beginning to advertise OU's programs in some study-abroad clearinghouses. 4. Set up a dedicated sub-account for your program. If you will be collecting money from participants and then paying program organizers, educational consultants, overseas partners, or other bills for goods and services, you must establish a dedicated OU account into which to deposit participant money and from which to pay providers of goods and services. Have your administrative assistant or business manager contact Judy Dorchock, (x2118) if you need assistance. If participants will be paying directly to travel agents, flight consolidators, or other vendors, no OU account is necessary. Specialized agencies that will work with you to organize a customized itinerary and package, complete with accommodations, admissions, air travel, and ground transportation are becoming increasingly common. Some of these agencies will allow you to arrange for participants to pay them directly, eliminating the need for an OU account. A list of such agencies is being compiled in the OIE. 5. Set up a Marketplace Shop for your program: If you would like participants to be able to make online payments for the program, arrange to set up a "Shop" for your program on OU Marketplace linked to your program's dedicated account. See the OU Marketplace Home to get started or contact Dominic Williams (x2637) to initiate this process, which can take up to three weeks. Marketplace allows participants to pay with an ACH debit card or with an electronic check without additional fees. 6. File Travel Authorization request. If you anticipate substantial out-of-pocket expenses in the course of the program in country, you should file a request for a Travel Advance. PREPARATION 1. Have your participants create accounts and complete applications on the OIE website. You can provide us with your custom application questions and forms. The default application package requests an academic and a personal reference, which you do not need to include if you prefer not to. Applicants also are cleared by the Office of the Dean of Students. You will be able to review applications and change applicants' statuses from "Review" to "Accepted" once their applications are complete. Participants will then be prompted to complete pre-departure forms online, including the following:
Note that students may apply for financial aid to support their participation in the program. Should a student be applying for assistance, please help them fill out the Financial Aid for Study Abroad form, sign and date it, and give them a letter signifying their acceptance into the program. They will need both the signed form and the letter of acceptance in order to apply. 2. At least two months prior to departure, call OUPD for a Clery Act compliance review pertaining to what your duties are as Campus Security Authorities while abroad. 3. Hold at least one pre-trip information meeting and orientation for participants at which you offer advice on packing; preparation for immersion in foreign culture; local laws and customs in the destination; practical matters like money handling, electrical outlets, and cell phones; and acting as good representatives of the USA and of Oakland University. If possible, give participants information about how family and friends can contact them in an emergency while they are abroad. Offer them guidelines about safe behavior at your destinations as well as reminders about safe behavior anywhere (E.g., "Don't get into cars alone with strangers.") 4. File your itinerary, with contact information (cell phone number, addresses and phone numbers of offices and accommodations) and a roster of participants with copies of the information sheets (with emergency contacts and medical information) with the OIE, the OUPD, and the Office of Risk Management. 5. Remind participants to register individually with the Department of Risk Management's International Travel site, after which they will enroll in the University's International Travel insurance with HTH Worldwide. They will be prompted to do this while completing the pre-departure materials on the OIE website. 6. Review emergency procedures for faculty-led programs in the following document and complete pre-departure emergency measures as described in the following document: Faculty-Led Program Emergency Procedures. Print, complete, and file the Emergency Contact Form for faculty directors with the OU Police Department: Emergency Contact Form. 7. Once you have collected the passport numbers from your participants, register your group with the State Department by creating a group account.
IN COUNTRY 1. Appoint one participant as your back up and give them the phone numbers for your local organizers as well as for the OIE and the Office of Risk Management. This person's primary function is to step up should you become incapacitated, gather the group, and contact both local agencies and OU for assistance. See emergency procedures. 2. If you obtain a new cell phone number upon arrival, email it to the OIE and to the Office of Risk Management. 3. Offer an on-site orientation. Provide participants with phone numbers of and directions to emergency services. Identify a gathering spot in case of emergencies. Conduct a cell-phone drill to see how long it takes to account for all participants. 4. Should an issue arise with the conduct of a participant, consult the Student Conduct Guide for procedures. 5. Should a local or regional event occur which might elicit concern from participants' families or friends, please facilitate all participants' immediate communication with family or friends, and please let the OIE know the status of the group. UPON RETURN 1. Have students complete a program evaluation. 2. Pay remaining bills and submit receipts for reimbursement. 3. File a short trip report with OIE. Your comments on vendors, partners, service providers, travel agents, as well as on OU processes, will be both appreciated and useful. 4. Consider scheduling a de-briefing and reunion for participants within two weeks of return. PAYMENTS AND ACCOUNTING If you work with a partner institution or agency which provides services, you will need to have the contract approved and signed in the Office of the General Counsel. Send the contract to Jennifer Swiatowy in the Legal Affairs office for routing and assignment. Once you have a signed contract, you should send a copy to the Maria Ebner Smith in Purchasing and complete and submit a Purchase Requisition form. Once your vendor submits an invoice, you will submit a Payment Voucher form. If the payment needs to be wired overseas, you will need to complete a Wire Transfer Form along with the Payment Voucher form. If you will be hiring guides or teaching assistants abroad, you will need to have an Oakland University Services Agreement approved. When appropriate, you may request the waiving of the insurance requirement for service providers by contacting Mary Konicki in the Office of Risk Management. If the consultant is a non-US resident, then he or she will also have to fill out a W-8BEN form. Once the consultant's work is complete, he or she should submit an invoice. If you will be wiring the money to the consultant overseas, you will need to complete a Wire Transfer Form as above. Upon your return, you will need to complete a Foreign Travel Expense Summary. |
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