Faculty Leader Duties & Responsibilities

Education Abroad offers support, guidance, and resources throughout the entirety of your international experience (planning, execution, and evaluation). It is important to understand your responsibilities as a faculty leader to lead an effective and efficient program. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact the WVU Education Abroad staff listed below:

• Vanessa Crandall Yerkovich, Director of Education Abroad
• Amanda Morgan, Faculty-led Program Specialist

BEFORE DEPARTURE

• Express Interest: Interested faculty should contact educationabroad@mail.wvu.edu for a preliminary development meeting to discuss program feasibility, available partnerships, expected timelines and workload.
• Proposal: Complete the online proposal.
• Course Creation: Work with the Global Affairs SLI, Amanda Morgan, to add your WVU Course Abroad to the BANNER schedule.
  
  • NOTE: Courses may only be offered two times as a Special Topics before it MUST be reviewed by the Faculty Senate
• Recruiting: Recruiting students is essential for a successful program. Education Abroad can offer assistance through classroom presentations, Navigate communications, and our bi-annual education abroad fairs, which reach thousands of students annually.
• Student Selection: WVU Education Abroad aims to create access to global programming for all WVU undergraduate students in good standing with the academic prerequisites to gain from the experience. Students with a 2.5 or higher GPA and clear student conduct record are conditionally approved by Ed Abroad staff upon completion of the program application. In the event that a program cannot accommodate all eligible student applicants, the faculty-led specialist will work with the faculty leader to determine the appropriate prioritization. These often include class rank, academic need, and previous participation. WVU Degree seeking students receive priority over visiting students. Note: Students with a GPA of 2.0-2.49 may be accepted into a program with available spaces on the recommendation of the faculty leaders.
• Pre-Departure: All students are required to attend a virtual pre-departure session offered by the Education Abroad staff. Faculty leaders are encouraged to attend. In addition, faculty leaders must hold a program specific pre-departure (virtually or in-person) to cover program specific requirements such as local cultural information, airport meeting points, packing lists, course syllabus, etc. We encourage groups to meet socially at least once before departure.
• Program Finance & Budgeting: Faculty leaders are responsible for completing all necessary documentation  involved with their program’s finance and budgeting.
  • You must complete all necessary documentation and training pertaining to your WVU P-Card and Research Corp (cash advance) card. All documentation must be completed promptly, and failure to do so can and will likely result in a delay receiving your cards. 
  • You must attend all budget meetings prior to program departure.
  • All salary documentation must be turned in to the Education Abroad office 30 days prior to departure. Failure to do so may result in your salary payments being delayed.

WHILE ABROAD

• Student Well-Being: It is the faculty leader’s responsibility to monitor student health and safety while abroad. Unfortunately, unplanned events can occur. Faculty should ensure that all students receive adequate medical attention if needed abroad. It is the faculty leader’s responsibility to know and understand how to access WVU’s emergency management provider, InternationalSOS, and the services that they provide. Please consult the WVU Travel Information.
• Budget Management: Faculty are responsible for remaining within budget limits. All program deficits will be reviewed with the Education Abroad office and your departmental business office upon completion of your program.
  • It is imperative that receipts for all purchases and payments must be kept for reconciliation. If receipts are unattainable, expenses can be recorded on a log sheet.
• Troubleshooting: Unfortunately, sometimes unexpected events happen during international travel. These can be as common as flight delays or as rare as government shutdowns. We ask that in these situations faculty keep Education Abroad informed, but actively work to create alternate plans if issues arise. Education Abroad will be in contact if specific information is required.
• For health and safety emergencies, start with our emergency assistance provider, ISOS at +1 215 942 8478
• WVU offers a 24/7 emergency line in case of emergencies or unforeseen events. In case of such an event, please contact 304-293-9456.
  
• Student Behavior: Students are expected to abide by the WVU Student Conduct Code at all times. Students are also expected to abide by the laws of their host country. Please use your best judgement and discretion when dealing with behavioral issues abroad; if the behavior becomes disruptive to the group, or presents a health and safety concern you may work with Education Abroad to return the student to the United States immediately. In the event that a student is returned home, the WVU Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities will be contacted.
• Keeping WVU Informed: While you’re abroad we ask that you keep us informed and aware of any issues that may arise. Please use your discretion to evaluate the urgency of any issue, and use email for non-urgent issues. We require that you provide us with a method of contact so that we can reach you while you are abroad.

UPON RETURN

• Follow-Up Meeting: Once your program has concluded we will schedule a meeting to review and discuss your program. This will include any student issues that arose, lessons learned, and future programming possibilities.
• Financial Reconciliation: All receipts and documentation will be collected at the follow-up meeting. At this time we will review all outstanding balances from vendors and begin the reimbursement process, if needed. 
• Evaluation: After your return, we will email you a link to complete an online evaluation of your program, from start to finish. This will include your insights of the entire program process, and your feedback will be used to reevaluate processes and procedures, as well as to demonstrate success stories to the university community.