Leading Programs Abroad
Faculty and staff are key to the success of study abroad at Virginia Tech - guiding students' learning and development in remarkable ways. Program leaders are the frontline for study abroad promotion and are the cornerstone on which programs are created and run.
How do I...
We recommend you start planning 12-18 months out from the term for which you are proposing.
The first step is to get the conversation started with your department chair, your college’s Global Education Liaison, and GEO's Assistant Director for Faculty-Led Programs. These contacts will let you know about specific deadlines and procedures and can assist you with budget and proposal development.
All programs must be led by at least one Virginia Tech faculty member. A volunteer can be designated at the secondary support individual. University policy requires that an additional support individual be designated for every 15 students in group size, and it is highly recommended that even for groups of less than 15 there be a second designated individual who can be called on in an emergency situation.
Virginia Tech Policy 1070: Global Travel Policy requires university employees leading either credit-bearing or co-curricular student groups abroad to complete training every two years in order to lead students abroad programs. To meet this requirement, faculty leaders will first attend New Program Leader Training and then every two years attend Program Leader Community Update. These trainings are offered several times a semester and the dates for the training are published as a Campus Notices in the daily email.
Search Virginia Tech's faculty-led and faculty-facilitated program portfolio here. The search tool supports program promotion as well as student advising and can help you identify existing programs to avoid overlap when proposing new ones.
A third-party vendor or provider can assist you with the travel logistics in various ways, including but not limited to booking hotels, planning transportation, booking excursions, etc. If you’d like to work with a third-party organization, you can search for VT’s approved faculty-led vendors and providers.
If you aren’t working with a provider, please reach out to the Controller’s Office Travel team at travel@vt.edu or at 540-231-0944 during the planning process to learn about how to navigate bookings, make reservations, organize group flights, etc.
The study abroad local fund request is incorporated into the Global Education Approval Committee or Global Non-Credit Approval Committee program approval process. Once approved, the Controller’s Office will create the new local fund and notify the fiscal contact.
All faculty- or staff-led non-credit international programs involving student participants must submit a Non-credit International Travel Planning Assessment for review by the Global Non-Credit Approval Committee (GNAC), chaired by VT Engage Director. Program directors (VT faculty/staff) should submit information several months in advance of when their program is proposed to leave.
