Data on study abroad at Virginia Tech

Faculty-led study abroad programs are initiated and directed by members of Virginia Tech's faculty with support from the Global Education Office. Programs may range in length from a week-long to a semester-long experience, but they all share the following characteristics:

• Is taught outside the United States;
• VT faculty serve as the instructor of record for the courses taught in addition to accompanying students abroad;
• Involves a group of students going to the same location for the same time period;
• Involves students earning VT credit that is taken for a grade, listed on their transcript, and included in their GPA, similar to on-campus courses;
• Is sponsored by an academic unit and supported by the GEO.

VT faculty may propose a summer, winter, semester or embedded faculty-led program.  While many of the processes are similar, here are a few distinctive elements:

• Submitting a proposal to the Global Education Approval Committee (GEAC). Materials for the proposal include but are not limited to a proposal form, a program budget, syllabus, and a draft itinerary 

• Receiving approval from the leader’s department head, college Global Liaison, and the GEAC 

• Coordinating logistics (housing, meals, transportation), including working with an approved provider or vendor if applicable 

• Managing academic components (syllabus, textbooks, guest lecturers, international partners) 

• Promoting the program and selecting participants via GEO’s enrollment system (Terra Dotta or the My Study Abroad Portal) 

• Ensuring students are enrolled in the academic course 

• Working with the program’s fiscal officer to manage the program fund, bill students, and pay vendors 

• Attending GEO Program Leader Training (biennially) per Global Travel Policy 1070 

• Organizing pre-departure and on-site orientations 

• Ensuring compliance with mandatory pre-departure requirements, including submitting the Department Verification and Pre-Departure Checklist at least 30 days prior to departure 

• Submitting travel authorization at least 30 days before departure and completing a travel reimbursement within 60 days of return 

• Responding to issues/incidents while abroad and remaining on-call 24/7 for emergencies 

• Facilitating post-program evaluations and submitting final reports 

• Work with program leaders to design safe, academically sound, and fiscally responsible programs

• Share best practices for study abroad programming 

• Support proposal development and budget development as needed

• Advise as to compliance with university policies and procedures 

• Connect program leaders with relevant resources and contacts, including but not limited to potential providers

• Facilitate training and learning opportunities for program leaders 

• Collaborate with program leaders to set up a brochure page, student payment agreement, and application materials

• Support application review and enrollment updates 

• Help with program promotion, student advising, and pre-departure preparation

• Provide emergency and risk management support 

• Send and manage the Study Abroad Experience Survey to students post-program

GEO facilitates dozens of faculty-led programs from every college. See what programs are in each college or search for programs by location, college, or subject on GEO's program database.

The Global Education Approval Committee (GEAC) is charged with reviewing and approving all faculty-led programs and ensuring that VT’s faculty-led programs are in alignment with the global mission of the university.

The Global Travel Oversight Committee (GTOC) is charged with providing ongoing assessment of the countries or regions where Virginia Tech community members travel.  GTOC develops international travel guidelines to ensure the health and safety of all travelers, and reviews requests for travel to high-risk destinations.

Faculty-led programs are ultimately owned and operated by the sponsoring academic department and college. Ultimately, the sponsoring academic unit is the governing body and responsible for program oversight and administration.