Traveling with a faculty or staff member on a study abroad program may be one of the most impactful and gratifying experiences of a student’s academic career at the University of Michigan. This guide outlines key considerations to help you create an instructor-led program that meets your academic or co-curricular learning objectives while providing students with a safe and culturally rich experience. The purpose of this guide is to supplement sponsoring school, college, or unit processes for developing instructor-led programs and to guide program leaders who may be interested in developing new programs or fine-tuning existing programs. The guide covers the lifecycle of program development, including: 
1. Research and Plan
2.Develop your Program
3.Create your Recruitment Plan
4. Implement Pre-Departure Arrangements
5. Manage the Program On Site
6.Complete Post-Program Follow-up
At the University of Michigan, there is no central study abroad office. Rather, schools, colleges, or units have an office (or multiple offices) dedicated to supporting education abroad activities, or staff members whose role is dedicated to supporting education abroad activities. Some schools, colleges, or units have defined proposal processes for instructor-led study abroad programs, while others may have more informal processes. Be sure to work with the school, college, or unit that is sponsoring your instructor-led program to outline processes and create timelines for each step. For the purposes of this guidance, the definition of Program Leader includes any faculty or staff who is assuming some responsibility for a cohort of students on a University of Michigan Related Travel experience abroad. See definition of “Group Travel” in the International Travel Policy for more details. The school, college, or unit sponsoring the experience may have other names for faculty and staff who are leading programs abroad.
Consult with the U-M sponsoring school, college, unit, or collaborator that you hope will be the key partner as you develop your program. Program leaders can only run a program if it is supported by the sponsoring school, college, or unit. This could be the unit that is hosting the credits for the experience, or may be the unit that is providing the majority of funding or support. Program leaders must consult with sponsoring units, which may be International Travel Dean’s Designee, department leads, or Education Abroad Units within your school or college as well as potential hosts, coordinators, and institutions/collaborators abroad. Please note that some U-M offices may already have connections in certain locations to recommend to you if you are looking for an on-site coordinator/partner.
Consult with the sponsoring school, college, or unit to establish how far in advance you will need to prepare for this type of experience. Note that each school, college, or unit may have different recommendations, and credit-bearing experiences may need a longer timeline.
What are the purpose and learning objectives of the program?
Will this experience be for credit or not for credit?
Who is eligible for the opportunity, and who is the ideal candidate?
Where will this study abroad program take place (country, city)? Why is this the best location for this program?
When designing a program, focus on inclusive program design
from the beginning rather than as an afterthought.
Will you be utilizing a study abroad provider or collaborator? If so, what is their role? Providers are external or third-party companies that facilitate a range of services for study abroad programming (i.e. logistics, transportation, health and safety, local activities, housing, curriculum support, partnerships with local entities, etc.). Consult the list of Education Abroad Provider Affiliations already in place at the university level.
If your program is traveling to multiple destinations, will there be onsite support at each location?
Which parts of the program do you plan to manage on site? i.e., logistics, curriculum and instruction, emergency support, etc. Are there any gaps where additional support is needed?
Are you familiar with the university’s Guidance Regarding Companions and Dependents for education abroad program leaders and staff members?
What is the optimal duration and term for this trip?
How will I determine the program’s budget and student fees?
Will students have scholarship options, or will there be funding to offset costs for
students?
Consider applying for program support from the New Faculty-Led Education Abroad Program Grants or other university or school/college-based opportunities.
Advise students to search for other scholarship opportunities, such as Funding Opportunities on M-Compass.
Have you or should you conduct a Program Viability Plan for Health, Safety, and Security for this location? Completing the plan is recommended for proposed travel to a U-M Higher Risk Destination.
Include course objectives, content, outcomes, and assessment plan.
Consider how the course can contribute to Global Learning Outcomes.
Articulate the relationship between the host country and the course.
Draft budget including all anticipated housing, flight, and activity
expenses (Draft Budget). Submit to the sponsoring school, college, or unit
for approval, if necessary.
Confirm program dates and locations (which dates will you be in specific locations).
Develop your projected itinerary, including travel, classroom time, field work/excursions, and possible guest speakers.
Compile information describing any collaborating institutions and service providers and whether U-M has a pre-existing agreement with them. Ensure that the appropriate agreements (i.e. MOU, clinical agreements, contracts for vendor goods and services) are in place. Learn more about Types of Agreements and Establishing Agreements on Global Michigan.
Provide an overview of U-M logistics (selection of housing, classroom space, etc.) and onsite support (transportation, excursions, emergency response, etc.) including a description of your role as program leader and any other U-M co-leaders. Which aspects of the program are the responsibility of the U-M program leader or co-leader?
Provide an overview of external logistics or on-site support, i.e. a third- party provider, tour company, host university or organization. Which aspects of the program are the responsibility of the collaborator?
Before marketing the program and recruiting students, ensure that you are following the sponsoring school, college, or unit’s processes for offering a instructor-led program and complete any approval processes, if any. For questions, consult with department leads, Education Abroad Units within your school or college, and/or International Travel Dean’s Designee.
Based on the eligibility criteria for your program, consider what level of outreach you need to recruit students.
How do you plan to recruit students?
For experiences that did not use M-Compass to collect applications, register the student’s travel with the U-M Travel Registry by completing the Group Travel Request Form on Global Michigan.
Ensure that all students are enrolled in GeoBlue before travel. Some units enroll the students through the GeoBlue roster enrollment process. Other units provide students with instructions to self-enroll. See the UHS Travel Abroad Health Insurance page for details.
Communicate with students the public health requirements for participating in the program. Requirements may include having vaccinations required for entry, such as a Yellow Fever vaccination.
Submit Group Safety Plan, if necessary.
Are students responsible for booking their flights? If so, by what date are they expected to arrive? If not, who in your office will book flights?
Will there be transportation from the airport to their final destination? If not, what instructions will you provide students so they can travel to the program site? See “Travel Tips – Packing List and Arrival Plan.”
Will any transportation need to be booked to take students to activities? If safe and reliable public transportation is unavailable, book your transportation through a reputable company before the trip and/or identify reliable taxi and rideshare services.
Attend a U-M program leader workshop managed by the U-M Global Engagement Team (GET). These workshops are typically held in Winter term and announced through the International Education Network.
Consult the Program Leader Resources and the Program Leader Workshops to develop information to share with students during pre- departure orientations, before travel, on-site orientations, and in the event of an emergency.
Invite students to voluntarily share their accommodations, dietary, medical, and other needs.
Refer students to support resources as needed. Details are available in the Program Leader Resources.
Conduct virtual or in-person orientations for student participants. Common topics include:
Follow your arrival procedure. See “Travel Tips – Packing List and Arrival Plan.”
Communicate with your U-M administrative contact upon arrival in the host country and maintain regular communication throughout your time abroad.
Review the U-M General Emergency Protocols with students.
Set aside time for reflection with the students as a group. This can be at meals, while on transportation (e.g. bus), or dedicated time for reflection.
Meet with students on a regular basis one on one to see how they are doing as the program progresses.
Submit all program expenses to school/college/unit.
Submit grades by the required deadline, if the course is offered for credit.
Submit grades by the required deadline, if the course is offered for credit.
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN RESOURCES:
EXTERNAL RESOURCES:
