· Term and Dates

Term and Date Guidelines

Why go abroad during the fall or spring term rather than summer?

• Most students use up all of their federal aid eligibility during the regular academic year, leaving private loans as their only funding option;
• All federal loans and some private loans require a minimum of 6 credits of enrollment during the summer;
• Any program that is offered during the summer would most likely be paid for out-of-pocket, unless students enroll in at least one additional course. This essentially adds 6 credits worth of tuition to the cost of the program, even if your course is only 3-credits, and the student may be taking an additional class for enrollment purposes that he/she does not need;
• Fall and spring term programs do not have any additional costs for tuition related to participation as long as the students are already enrolled full time.
• The student must complete a separate application to apply for summer financial aid.

August Abroad

To ensure compliance with the federal regulations, the start/end dates cannot extending more than two weeks beyond either side of the standard term.  Therefore, time abroad may take place within 14 days of the beginning of the fall semester, no earlier.

Course Credit Options:

• 1-credit Summer, could be offered online or on a variable schedule during one of the summer sessions (total of 12.5 contact hours and 25 out-of-class hours). Note:  Federal student loans would not be available for the summer credit unless the student enrolled for 5 additional credits.  2-credits Fall with the majority of contact hours taking place abroad, but additional coursework and several classes done upon return and completed by the last day of fall semester (total of 25 contact hours and 50 out-of-class hours)
• 3-credit Fall, this option will require the use of mandatory meetings in the summer that would not count towards contact hours, but that would help students prepare for going abroad. A maximum of 2-credits could be obtained during the two weeks abroad, however there would still need to be at least 1-credit worth of coursework being done during fall semester.

• Holidays (Much of Europe is on vacation during this period)
• Weather
• Length of flight (a 2-week time frame is perfect for locations that take a lot longer to get to and for flights that are more pricey)

January Abroad

To ensure compliance with the federal regulations that state start/end dates cannot extending more than two weeks beyond either side of the standard term.  Therefore, time abroad may take place within 14 days of the start of spring semester.
 

Course Credit Options:

• 1-credit Fall, most likely with a partial semester schedule starting in October and meeting weekly until the end of the semester (total of 12.5 contact hours and 25 out-of-class hours). 2-credit Spring with the majority of contact hours taking place abroad, but additional coursework and several re-entry classes done upon return (total of 25 contact hours and 50 out-of-class hours).
• 3-credit Spring, this option will require the use of mandatory meetings in the fall that would not count towards contact hours, but that would help students prepare for going abroad. A maximum of 2-credits could be obtained during the two weeks abroad (total of 25 contact hours and 50 out-of-class hours), however there would still need to be at least 1-credit worth of coursework being done during spring semester (total of 12.5 contact hours and 25 out-of-class hours).
• Regular 3-credit Fall course with a 1 to 2-credit Spring abroad co-requisite to enhance a course that already exists. If your department already has a course in existence that could be enhanced by the addition of an experience abroad, then this would be a viable option. Not all students who are enrolled in the fall course would be required to go abroad, but all students in the abroad course would be required to enroll in the fall course.

• New Year's Celebrations/Holidays
• Weather
• Length of flight (a 2-week time frame is perfect for locations that take a lot longer to get to and for flights that are more pricey)

Spring Break

Course Credit Options:

• 3-credit Spring, A maximum of 1-credit can be obtained during the time abroad (total of 12.5 contact hours and 25 out-of-class hours), with at least 2-credits worth of contact hours being done during spring semester (total of 25 contact hours and 50 out-of-class hours). It is recommended to meet once a week for 2 hours each all throughout spring semester.
• Regular 3-credit Spring course with a 1-credit Spring Break abroad co-requisite to enhance a course that already exists. If your department already has a course in existence that could be enhanced by the addition of an experience abroad, then this would be a viable option. Not all students who are enrolled in the 3-credit spring course would be required to go abroad, but all students in the spring break course would be required to enroll in the spring course. There would be separate course meetings for the 1-credit abroad course to help the students prepare for departure.

• Weather
• Length of flight (is the destination too far to fly during such a small timeframe or the cost too high for the little amount of time in country)

Summer

Time abroad should take place during the regularly scheduled summer semester. 
 

Course Credit Options:

• 6-credit Summer, the contact hours can be obtained a variety of ways, but most likely this would be more of a stationary program with the majority of contact hours taking place during classes on-site. Could partner with another department to split the teaching load abroad or locations. Lots of variety within this option.
• 3-credit Summer, very similar to above, however many students would also have to register for another summer course to use aid/loans. Timing of program should allow for that option.

• Holidays (Europe is on vacation during portions of this period)
• Cost related to high tourist season
• Weather
• Travel flexibility is available for students who would like to continue their own independent travels at the end of the program.