Education Abroad

Education Abroad Programs

1. Education Abroad proposals must be completed by a faculty/staff member (hereinafter, “Program Director”) and approved by Department Chairperson and Dean. Final approval to implement a proposal will be determined by the Associate Provost for Global Engagement. The EA proposal can by found on the Global Engagement Office Education Abroad Program Proposal D2L.
2. PASSHE has existing system wide contracts with travel service companies (Vendors) for reserving international flights and in-country program arrangements. The Global Engagement Office is required to use these approved Vendors when arranging WCU travel programs. These Vendors provide 365/24/7 emergency management and response. Authorization to use an outside Vendor (non PASSHE approved) will require a separate contract which could take up to a year for approval. If requesting to use an outside Vendor not approved by PASSHE, a Program Director will need a two-year window before they will be able to run a program. The first year is for the contract approval process and the second year is for student recruitment and travel.
3. Two Program Directors are required per program.
4. It is recommended that first-time Program Directors shadow a program led by an experienced Program Director first, find a co-leader who has previously led a program coordinated by the Global Engagement Office, or has experience at another institution.
5. Education Abroad credits are awarded in accordance with the Student Credit Hour Policy.
6. If the EA program is a course, a Course Description must be submitted with the proposal.
7. EA experiences are intended to be intensive academic programs involving complete concentration and almost constant contact between the Program Director(s) and students. Therefore, guests (family members, community members, and alumni) are not permitted to accompany the group unless participating as an enrolled student in the course associated with the travel.

1. Program Directors are required to develop and submit a completed program proposal found on the Global Engagement Office Education Abroad Program Proposal D2L; the call for proposals is announced the first week of the spring semester and ends on March 31st.
2. Program proposals are reviewed and approved continuously. Once the proposal is approved, the information is entered in Via TRM which is the education abroad management system and the student recruiting process begins. Program directors are responsible for marketing the program and recruiting enough students to ensure sufficient enrollment. This is often the most challenging part of the process. The following are suggested recruitment strategies:
• Announcing to students in your department and college
• Department website
• Speaking to classes, clubs
• 1-1 conversations with students
• Campus fliers
• Interviews
3. Program Directors are required to develop a program itinerary to work within program dates and establish a budget.
4. Program Directors are required to inform participants regarding academic expectations, highlights of program, etc.
5. Pre-departure: Please note that regardless of whether students are required to be enrolled in a course or not, we strongly encourage at least 1 pre-departure meeting with program participants prior to departure. The purpose of the pre-departure meeting(s) is to provide students with 1) the Program Director’s policies for the EA program, 2) the opportunity to ask questions, and 3) the opportunity to prepare for their cross-cultural learning experience. Topics to cover include but are not limited to the following:
• Academics/course registration (if applicable)
• Health and safety
• Travel, packing, and logistics
• Communication abroad
• Culture, culture shock, and re-entry.
6. Program Directors are required to travel to/from program site with students.
7. Program Directors are required to supervise students and all activities while abroad.
8. Program Directors, in consultation with the Global Engagement Office, help facilitate and manage quarantine requirements (e.g., COVID-19) for the student group throughout the travel experience which might require communications with the airlines, travel provider and insurance company.

Financial Responsibilities

1. Application. Students must submit an application for the EA program. The application is here.
2. Payments. Upon submitting an application, students will be responsible for the $100 non-refundable application fee. Upon confirmation of student commitment to participation in Via Global, the balance of the program fee will be billed to their WCU student account. If a student withdraws from the program after confirming participation, they may still be responsible for some, or all, of the costs associated with the program as determined by the deadlines established by the Vendor, travel service provider, and the Bursar’s Office. All program costs must be paid to the Bursar’s Office prior to departure.
3. Withdrawal. If a student wishes to withdraw from a faculty/staff-led program after confirming participation, it is their responsibility to do the following:
1. Withdraw their application from Via Global.
2. Withdraw from any WCU course associated with the program.

Notification of withdrawal to the Program Director and/or the Global Engagement Office is not sufficient, and failure to complete both the withdrawal steps noted above may result in financial costs for the student. It is the student’s responsibility to understand the financial implications of withdrawal and to ask for clarification from the Global Engagement Office, as needed. Any tuition refund will be dependent on the Registrar’s tuition adjustment and withdrawals.

Withdrawal after payment for travel (airline, accommodations, activities, etc.) is subject to Vendor and travel service provider travel reimbursement terms and conditions. For faculty/staff lead programs, withdrawal deadlines follow the WCU semester deadlines. These programs are paid and reimbursed through the student’s Bursar account.

Student Conduct

1. University Policies, Education Abroad Website, and Program-Specific Expectations. Students are responsible for knowing and abiding by the rules, policies, regulations, and expectations outlined in this agreement as well as all WCU policies including those detailed on the following websites:
• WCU Student Code of Conduct
• Education Abroad Website
2. Local Laws and Customs. Students must abide by the laws of the host country/countries and be considerate of local cultures and customs, treating hosts and local communities with respect and dignity.
3. Conduct Review. The Global Engagement Office will review the conduct history of applicants, as provided by the WCU Office of Student Conduct. If a student has one or more of the following sanctions, they will be ineligible to participate in an EA program: a) Disciplinary Reprimand, b) Disciplinary Probation, c) Final Disciplinary Probation, d) Disciplinary Suspension, or e) Disciplinary Expulsion. If such a sanction occurs after EA application acceptance, the student must withdraw from the program in accordance with this policy. Students must abide by and adhere to WCU policies, the program itinerary, and Program Director rules while participating in the program. Program Director policies will be presented during the pre-departure meeting.
4. Disciplinary Action. Violations of this policy, other WCU policies, or any policies, regulations, or expectations outlined by the Program Directors, host institution, and/or on-site provider(s) may result in disciplinary action. Such disciplinary action may occur on-site and/or upon return to campus may include academic consequences (impacting grade and/or received credits), removal from the EA program, and/or suspension or expulsion from WCU.
5. EA Program Removal. If it is determined that a student’s continued participation is likely to impede the achievement of program objectives or activities, or that a student poses a danger to the health or safety of themselves or others, the student may be removed from a program. The decision to remove a student from a EA program is the joint responsibility of the Office of Student Conduct and the Global Engagement Office. Any decision to remove a student from a program is final and takes effect immediately. WCU will assist with arranging transportation back to the United States. However, no refund will be issued, and all expenses associated with housing and transportation back to the United States are the student’s responsibility and will be billed to the student’s account.

Student Eligibility for Education Abroad

To be eligible for an Education Abroad experience, students must be officially enrolled at WCU as either a degree-seeking or non-degree student. All students must sign the Waiver of Liability and Risk Form in the student's Education Abroad portal, prior to travel.

Graduating Student Participation Guidelines

Students graduating in May can only participate in May travel programs that are associated with a spring academic course for credit. Students graduating in May are not permitted to participate in May travel programs that are not associated with a spring course.

To participate in a summer travel program after graduation, a student must enroll as a non-degree student at WCU and enroll in the course associated with the summer program. Students that have graduated are not permitted to participate in a travel program after graduation that is not associated with a course.

The Global Engagement Office (GEO) curates a diverse range of Education Abroad programs including traditional semester, winter, and summer experiences; internships; research; service learning; performances; and teaching experiences. GEO maintains a database of over 720 education abroad programs and facilitates the application workflow, deadlines, visa requirements, payments, and travel logistics. GEO also works with PASSHE approved Education Abroad providers and travel management organizations to assist faculty, staff, and students navigate the planning process, program options, and travel logistics. GEO collaborates with the Bursar’s Office, Financial Aid, and the Registrar’s Office on all aspects of student billing, scholarships, and the transfer credit approval process and manages the study abroad cost centers and payments for all custom programs. In addition, GEO will:

1. Assist with program design.
2. Coordinate flights, lodging, overseas program events.
3. Assist with processing student applications.
4. Coordinate student billing with the Bursar’s Office.
5. Review GEO study abroad scholarship applications.
6. Facilitate international travel insurance enrollment process.
7. Assist with marketing materials.
8. List program information in the study abroad portal (Via TRM).
9. Coordinate the annual Study Abroad Fair.
10. Provide a list of accepted students to the Student Conduct Office for review.

While GEO has a role in assisting students in all of these functions, it is the responsibility of each student to understand the risks, benefits, requirements, and conditions associated with the EA experience that they have chosen, and to meet all the requirements of that experience.