Winter Study Travel Course Guidelines

The Winter Study Program Committee strives to ensure that every department has the opportunity to organize and offer travel courses.

Who can teach a travel course?

Faculty, administrative staff, and adjuncts can teach a travel course (final approval of the instructor rests with the Committee and Dean of the Faculty).

  • A member of the professional staff who wishes to teach or join a Winter Study travel course will need approval from their supervisor. Prior arrangements have to be made with the supervisor regarding the staff person’s absence during the Winter Study period.
  • A department can choose to use one of its paid adjunct slots to sponsor a travel course taught or team-taught by the adjunct.

Enrollment Limit

The Committee recommends that the upper enrollment limit for travel courses be no more than 10 students, or 15 if the course is team-taught.

Enrollment Preference

Proposals should explain how students would be selected to enroll in the course. (The Winter Study Program Committee recommends that students petitioning to enroll in a travel course be asked to provide the instructor with a statement of purpose or rationale for going on the trip.)

Travel Advisories

If the course includes travel to a destination that is a level 3 or 4 on the State Department’s list of “Travel Advisories,” the College reserves the right to cancel the trip.

Budget

Proposals should have a preliminary budget, indicating all items to be charged to student participants. The Committee does not allocate money to cover the costs incurred by the instructors. Instructors should add an appropriate amount to the costs of each participant to cover their own course related expenses.

  • The Committee encourages proposals that will be accessible financially to a large portion of our students (there is limited funding available to support financial aid students who participate in these travel courses). The Committee encourages proposals that have a lower cost per student (up to $3500), but it will review all budget requests.
  • Airfares should be estimated assuming standard round-trip economy fare.
  • Proposals should include specifics on housing, as well as funding for any single accommodation requests.
  • If your proposal is approved, you will be expected to submit a more detailed, final budget in August. If that budget is significantly higher than your initial estimations, the Winter Study Program Committee reserves the right to cancel your course due to limited funds available to underwrite costs.

Itinerary

Proposals should provide an itinerary including a general outline of all daily activities. Please keep the following in mind:

  • A “tour” of a given area, a “lecture,” or a “meeting” will involve only a few hours of a student’s day.
  • Proposals should include specific contacts with individuals in the area to be visited along with a reason for the visit.
  • Proposals should also include names of organizations to be visited along with evidence that preliminary discussions have been held about what they might be able to do with the students.
  • Please meet with Christina Stoiciu, Director of Global Education and Study Away, who can advise you on your itinerary.