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Study Away Resources for Faculty

We are so glad you are exploring teaching a course with a study away experience! Below you will find information that will help you start and finish the process of submitting a study away proposal. These processes have been established through the Study Away Review Team and in alignment to the Standards of Good Practice through the Forum on Education Abroad.

Plan, plan and plan!

Preparing and leading a study away experience is roughly a two-year process. The first year is focused on developing and approving the proposal with the second year focused on student recruitment and facilitation of the experience.  

The below eligibility and standards may be reviewed and revised at any time.

Faculty eligibility

  • Must be full-time classroom faculty. 
  • Is in good standing with the college (does not have an active professional improvement plan).
  • Can demonstrate their ability to effectively coordinate and lead students on a study away trips.
  • Meets the educational qualifications to teach the course for the study away experience.
  • Has previous travel experience, ideally to those destinations being traveled.
  • Can provide financial oversight, student consultation and overall risk management.
  • Understands the following policies: Clery, College Sponsored Student Travel, Employee Reimbursement, Purchasing, Sexual Misconduct, Student Code of Conduct and Travel
  • Understands the role the Department of Experiential Learning has in the support of faculty facilitating their travel experiences and supporting students.

Curricular standards

  • The course being proposed for the study away experience is either part of a program and/or meets a general education requirement.
  • All instruction and travel are required to be within the confines of the official semester start and end dates.
  • Contact Hours must be appropriately distributed before, during and after the trip.
  • The course has an updated Course Document.
  • The syllabus being used is in the approved college template and clearly states the policies and procedures related to evaluation, awarding of credit, grade appeals and academic integrity.
  • The proposal clearly explains the curricular benefit of teaching the course in the desired location(s) while meeting course outcomes.

Travel location standards

  • Any location being considered for travel and identified as a "Level 4" by the US State Department will not be considered.  
  • When traveling internationally, ideally all travel is within a single country. In some cases, travel may be permitted between two countries.  
  • All travel must be within the confinement of two weeks. 

Study away proposal

GRCC approves study away experiences through an annual proposal process.  

Step 1:  Submit the Study Away Pre-Proposal. This step essentially captures the essence of the experience.  Faculty are required to submit the pre-proposal to their Dean by Nov. 1. This allows the faculty member to gain feedback and support. The Program Director and/or Department Head should be included as part of the review/support of the pre-proposal.  Once the Dean and the Program Director and/or Department Head has agreed to support the pre-proposal, the faculty member then submits the pre-proposal to the Director of Experiential Learning by Dec. 1 who will verify the support.

Step 2: Submit the Study Away Full Proposal. Once the pre-proposal has been approved, faculty may begin to flesh out the entire experience (alignment of course outcomes to the itinerary, budget, etc.). The faculty member will submit the full proposal to the Director of Experiential Learning by March 1. 

Step 3: Proposal Review. All proposals submitted by March 1 and meet the above standards will be moved forward to the Study Away Review Team. Faculty will be provided an opportunity to attend the final review team meeting to provide a general overview of their proposal and answer and questions. The team will make final recommendations to the Associate Provost, Instructional Support and Institutional Planning.

Proposals are scored under the following categories:

  1. Student Learning and Development & Academic Framework
  2. Organizational and Program Resources
  3. Health, Safety, Security, and Risk Management

Additional contributing factors include:

  • A new experience that has never been offered.
  • Likelihood of the trip to recruit students.
  • Direct impact on student's careers and professional practice.
  • The number of trips going to the same county.
  • The number of trips being offered in the same discipline.
  • Is the trip/course available to all students?
  • It describes creative ways to reduce the cost to students.
  • Successful facilitation of previous trips.

Proposal documents

The pre- and full proposals are combined into the below Google template.  Simply copy the template and create your own google doc.

Study away support

Faculty are best prepared when they have met with Sean Mackey. Sean provides leadership for supporting faculty in their effort of proposing a course with a study away experience and facilitates the professional development offerings. Sean supports faculty in their successful completion of the Study Away Proposal. He specializes in the following topics:

  • Preparing a Study Away Proposal
  • Working With a Third Party Provider
  • Preparing Students for Study Away
  • Minimizing Risk during Study Away

Contact information

  • Sean Mackey, smackey@grcc.edu
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