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Study Abroad

Department chairs

This page covers the responsibilities of department chairs for faculty-led study abroad programs sponsored by your department. You can use this page as a guide when reviewing faculty-led study abroad proposals, or you can send it to your chair if you are proposing a faculty-led program. UW Study Abroad will also make this criteria available to department chairs during the review process.

Chairs are asked to sign off on the program based on the criteria listed below. We share the proposal with the department administrator(s) to include them in the planning process from the start.

Please read our Faculty-led Program Policies for more information about program requirements.

The sections below follow the UW Study Abroad Faculty-led Program Proposal form.

General Program Information

  • Does the program meet the departmental global education goals and/or requirements?
  • Does the title of the program make sense to potential applicants from your department?

Program leadership

All programs must have two responsible leaders (and program director and a co-leader), both of whom must be UW employees (temporary or permanent). See the Study Abroad Program Policies page for the full policy.

Program Directors

  • Is this program director qualified to lead the program?
  • Does the program director have an appointment?
    • If yes, verify that these appointments will be active during the duration of the program and that the employees can receive salary during this time. Are there any issues with their appointment?
    • If no, it is the department’s responsibility to set up appointments prior to the start of the program.
  • Is this faculty member available to teach during this time?
  • Will this program always be led by one faculty member or is their a sustainable plan in place in which the program can be led by multiple people within the department?

Co-leaders

  • Is this co-leader qualified to lead the program?
  • Does the co-leader have an appointment?
    • If yes, verify that these appointments will be active during the duration of the program and that the employees can receive salary during this time. Are there any issues with their appointment?
    • If no, it is the department’s responsibility to set up appointments prior to the start of the program.
  • Will they need to be appointed for this program? Are there any issues with their appointment?
  • Is this co-lead available during this time?

Do you need to check in with your administrator about program staffing or appointments?
The proposal will also be shared with your department administrator, so please be in communication with them if you have any concerns about program director or co-leader appointments or salary.

Envisioning your program

  • Are the educational goals of this program clear?
  • Does this program fit in with your department’s educational goals and priorities?
  • Do the program leaders have site experience or is there adequate local support to substitute for this experience?

Course information

  • Does the program’s courses meet the department’s educational and learning goals?
  • Can the department award departmental credit for the courses taught on the program?
  • Are the course numbers correct?
  • Do these courses fulfill the department’s major or minor requirements?
  • Are the credits offered correctly designated for areas of knowledge requirements?
  • Are the number of credits appropriate given the curriculum and duration of the study abroad program?
  • Can you verify that the curriculum offered meets the standards of rigor and content of other courses taught by the department on campus?
  • If courses are taught by outside faculty, is your department comfortable with that arrangement?

Students

  • Does this program appeal to a broad range of students or does it cater specifically to majors?
  • Is it important to your department that the program serve majors?

Financial

Spending plan

  • Is faculty member’s appointment and monthly salary accurate?
  • Is the co-leader’s appointment and monthly salary accurate?
  • Have the replacement teaching funds been included if applicable?
  • Ensure that replacement teaching funds are used towards salaries for those faculty teaching on the study abroad program

Additional information about program budgeting for chairs

Zero Balance Policy

  • At the end of the current program cycle (after Spring 2021) UW Study Abroad will ‘zero out’ the accumulated balances in all our faculty-led program budgets (deficits as well as surpluses).
  • Total net balances (surpluses minus deficits) will create the initial reserve in a new Study Abroad Program Assistance Fund (SAPAF) that will provide increased protection against financial losses in programs once study abroad resumes.
  • The SAPAF will act as an insurance fund for all faculty-led programs. The fund will be available to assist programs in case of emergency or unforeseen costs, or multiple student withdrawals, which might otherwise make a program unsustainable.
  • Every iteration of a program will generate a contribution to the SAPAF. This contribution, similar to the current program reserve that many of you are familiar with, will be calculated as 7.5% of total program costs, but these funds will not be available for program directors to spend. Starting summer 2025, the SAPAF will reduce to 5% of the total program costs. 
  • If SAPAF funds reach a UW-permitted maximum amount, to be held for emergencies and program deficits, additional contributions will be used for the Global Innovation Fund, student scholarships, and one-time expenses to support UW Study Abroad operations.

Budget balances (surpluses and deficits)

  • All future program iterations (starting with the Summer 2021 programs) will begin and end with a zero balance.
  • Every iteration of a program will have a separate and independent budget, and all program budgets will be ‘zeroed out’ after reconciliation. 
  • There will no longer be any balance transfers or carryovers (deficits or surpluses) between iterations of a program.

Budgeting under the new policy

  • Program directors and program managers will work together to aim for a ‘zero balance’ of expenses and revenues at the end of every program iteration.
  • The goal is to have an approximately zero balance across all programs, with surpluses and deficits netting out, and the 7.5% SAPAF contribution flowing directly into the assistance fund.

Health & safety

UW Study Abroad and the Global Travel Security Team evaluate and monitor the health and safety of study abroad programs. You are still welcome to weigh in on this aspect of the program.

Housing & field trips

UW Study Abroad and the Global Travel Security Team evaluate the housing and field trips proposed for study abroad programs. You are still welcome to weigh in on this aspect of the program.

  • Do the field trips proposed contribute to the academic goals of the program?

Co-sponsoring a program

If two (or more) departments wish to co-sponsor a program, it will mean that they both have ownership over the academics, pedagogy, and program leadership. Each department chair will be asked to review and evaluate the program components listed above.

Things to note:

  • Courses may be cross-listed with course numbers and titles from all sponsoring departments.
  • There may be a program director faculty member from both sponsoring departments leading the program.
  • Each department would be expected to help with the promotion and recruitment of the program.
  • There would be an expectation that student from both majors would be equally considered for program participation from the sponsoring departments.
  • Since UW Study Abroad manages the finances and budgets for study abroad programs, there are no financial implications for departments sponsoring programs, unless they are keeping their faculty on salary for some part or the duration of the program.