Gustavus Adolphus College

• Eligibility and Compensation
• Responsibilities
• Pre-Program
• During Program
• Post-Program
• Application Procedure
• Course Guidelines
• Application Form

  Right: Phil Voight, Faculty Director of the Semester in India program, 2003

Eligibility and Compensation

Gustavus presently has three semester programs led by Gustavus faculty (Term in India, Term in Sweden, Term in Germany). The role of faculty director is open to all tenured faculty and administrators who hold appropriate academic qualifications and have been employed by the college for at least six years. Compensation for a member of the faculty or an administrator serving as faculty director is full salary and benefits for the term of the program and payment of all direct program-related expenses other than personal and incidental expenses.

Each applicant for faculty director is asked to designate an assistant director in the application and to include information on the background and qualifications of that person. Responsibilities that the faculty director will share with the assistant director include all non-academic components. The assistant director receives a stipend, partial benefits, and payment of all direct program-related expenses other than personal and incidental expenses. Transportation expenses for children of the faculty director and assistant director, who are nineteen years of age or younger and who have not matriculated at the college level, will be covered.

Responsibilities

The faculty director is a key person in the success of the program. The faculty director has primary responsibility for the academic components of the program; however, the faculty director and assistant director assume numerous other roles. Therefore it is crucial that the faculty director work closely with the Director of the Center for International and Cultural Education. Most communication to persons in the host country should be routed through the CICE. This will make many of the following responsibilities less burdensome. The semester spent supervising the faculty directed program along with activities on campus in the semesters before and following the off-campus program count as one half of the teaching load for the academic year, typically the equivalent of three courses taught on-campus.

• Pre-Program Responsibilities
  • Develop a course. The faculty director is responsible for developing one course within his/her discipline giving special attention to unique educational, cultural, and/or geographical aspects of the field-supervised program.
    • Full course proposal due 16 months preceding program.
    • Course is sent to the IDPC and then to the full faculty for approval.
  • Recruit students. The CICE Director, program advisor, and faculty director share this responsibility. General promotion is handled by CICE, but faculty directors must actively promote the program to ensure program enrollment. (Often the faculty director is an important draw for student participants!)
    • Faculty director attends fall and spring Study Abroad Fair organized by CICE and takes part in an interest meeting planned by the returning group from the previous semester's program.
  • Select program participants. The faculty director, assistant director, program advisor, and past faculty director, as well as two returning student participants, form a selection committee. The Director of CICE functions as an advisor, as needed. The committee is chaired by and final decisions are made by the faculty director.
    • Each student submits an application form, a transcript, and two letters of recommendation.
    • The list of students is provided by CICE to the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students will notify CICE of students about whom they have concerns.
    • The list of students is provided by CICE to the counseling office and the academic support center. These offices will initiate conversations with students about whom they have concerns.
    • When student files are complete, the committee interviews each candidate and makes recommendations on each student to the CICE who then informs each student of the status of their application.
  • Orientation prior to departure.
    • Faculty director and assistant director attend orientation retreat and orientation sessions.
    • Both work to develop esprit de corps among students.
• During the Program Responsibilities
  • Provide information to overseas coordinators/instructors as needed. All correspondence with local coordinators and host institutions is initiated by or coordinated through CICE.
    • Director of CICE is responsible for informing local academic coordinators of due dates for grades and ensuring their timely transmission to Registrar.
  • Logistics. Travel, room, and board arrangements are preplanned and in most cases prepaid (handled by CICE).
    • Faculty director and assistant director have day-to-day responsibility for supervising group activities, confirming onward flights, and serving as general liaisons between host coordinators/institutions, travel agents, Gustavus students, and CICE.
  • Finances. Program budget is developed by Director of CICE.
    • Faculty director and assistant director are responsible for day-to-day monitoring of financial expenditures.
    • Expenditures must be consistent with college-wide policies and must be consistent with program budget developed by Director of CICE.
  • Student Adjustment. The faculty director and assistant director ensure that students adjust as quickly as feasible to group living, family stay(s), culture(s), etc.
  • Instructional Responsibilities.
    • Teach one course.
    • Help students integrate other course work through discussions and other appropriate means.
    • Monitor other courses in program.
    • Report final grades for own course and all other courses to CICE.
    • Keep students informed of course requirements, due dates for independent studies (in the rare instances these are approved), drop deadlines, etc.
  • Support service to students. Faculty director and assistant director must at times act in roles of Dean of Students, counselor, financial consultant, health advisor, etc.
  • Explore new program options. The faculty director and assistant director may be asked to explore such program development as recruitment of new faculty, accommodations, excursions, or field experiences.
• Post-Program Responsibilities
  • Evaluation. Since international offerings are not only courses but also on-going programs, they need to be reviewed carefully and from a broad perspective.
    • Soon after returning to campus, the faculty director submits final report to Director of CICE on all aspects of the program, including academic, housing, transportation, field trips, excursions, finances, site coordinators and student group.
    • Students evaluate logistical aspects of program, and these may be reviewed by the faculty director.
    • The faculty director evaluates the program. He/she is strongly encouraged to solicit student input regarding own course using the standard Gustavus Adolphus academic evaluation or an instructor-prepared evaluation tailored to the program and the individual course.
    • The faculty director’s report and student evaluations contribute to ongoing Gustavus Adolphus assessment programs and are a basis for planning by the Program Advisory Committee, CICE, and faculty director for following year’s Program.
    • Faculty director shall attend re-entry meetings and activities. Assistant director is invited and welcome to participate.
    • Activities include i) welcome back dinner; ii) reentry meeting—faculty director, program director, Director of CICE, and returned students meet once or more to review program and discuss reentry issues; iii) interest meeting—conducted the following semester by returned faculty directors and students.
    • Returned faculty director is a member of committee to select students for next program.
    • Returned faculty director attends orientation retreat as resource person.
    • Returned faculty director and assistant director revise handbook, if there is one for the program.

Application Procedure

Faculty director position openings shall be announced to faculty at least three years before the start of the program. Applicants will be asked to complete the Faculty Director/Assistant Director application, which includes a brief statement about interest in the program, qualifications, and a general description of a course the applicant proposes to teach. The Director of CICE receives applications and forwards them to the selection committee.

Each applicant shall be interviewed. The interview committee will include the Director of CICE, two program directors for faculty-led programs, at least one returning student from the same program, and the chair of IDPC who will chair the interview committee. The committee will make its recommendations for appointment to the Provost of the College. Final responsibility for appointment rests with the Provost of the College.

If the committee recommends a candidate who is an administrator who does not have affiliation with an academic department, the Provost of the College in consultation with the appropriate department and division chairs will confer faculty status according to the provisions for part-time faculty appointments.

In making selections, the committee shall take into account these factors:
a. Anticipated strength of applicants to work with a group of students over an extended period of time in stressful situations and under differing cultural conditions.
b. Availability of applicants to participate in student recruitment, orientation, and re-entry in the academic year prior to and the semester that follows the study abroad program.
c. Expertise in program content, geographic, and cultural knowledge of host site(s), or the potential for this expertise to develop.
d. The appropriateness and strength of the course proposed to be taught by applicants.
e. Professional development considerations, including the potential for strengthening the on-campus curriculum and programs as a result of the study abroad experience.
f. Potential for strengthening international programs at Gustavus Adolphus through continued involvement and support across the campus.

The department’s, department chair’s and the Provost’s support of a faculty applicant to be faculty director are important. For the professional welfare of faculty leading a field-supervised program, departments are encouraged to consider the significant professional benefits that program participation can have for individual faculty, for the academic programs of the department, and for the students, faculty, and curriculum of the college as a whole. The faculty director applicant must address the issue of how and if they will be replaced during their period of absence from the College.

Interested faculty are encouraged, as a first step, to talk with the Director of CICE at least a month before the application deadline about their interest in applying, and request information about the positions and application forms. Applicants should submit the complete application to the Director of CICE by the stated deadline.

Course Guidelines

Although general college policy discourages requiring work of students prior to the beginning of a course, a certain amount of preparation is essential for students intending to participate in a study abroad program. They spend time filling out applications, being interviewed, attending orientation sessions, meeting with their group, and meeting individually with their faculty directors. In addition, they can be expected to do preliminary study (familiarizing themselves with the history, geography, and cultures of the countries to be visited) before departure. It should be assumed, however, that in the summer months before a program begins, most students will be committed primarily to earning money to cover their expenses.

The faculty director, in planning his or her course, should take into account constraints that the study abroad environment places on students’ academic work. In particular, access to library resources will be very restricted, students will have fewer large blocks of uninterrupted time for reading and research, and their motivation will be divided between “academic” and “experiential” components of learning. On the other hand, the faculty director can expect exceptionally high enthusiasm and a determination to learn and to get as much as possible from the program. Although students’ time is often fragmented, there is time for reading and writing. In addition, there is a unique sense of an “expanded classroom,” in which virtually everything the student encounters can become relevant to the concerns of courses.

Faculty directors are asked to consider the following specific recommendations:
a. Courses should be designed to capitalize on resources and opportunities special to the program and, if appropriate, to suit the transient nature of the stay in each location. It is best to seek advice from former faculty directors on this matter, preferably early in the planning process.
b. If research projects are required, they should be compatible with the computer and library facilities that will be available to students abroad. In the absence of adequate computer and library resources, field research may be the only practical alternative.
c. Because students’ time will be fragmented and because they will undergo a
continuous barrage of new information and experiences, some traditional methods
of evaluation, such as a single, large research paper or one major final
examination, may not be effective. Alternatives, such as journals, notebooks, and
shorter, more frequent examinations or papers should be considered.

Application Form

 

All material on the Information for Faculty pages is derived from the IDPC Program Manual approved by the faculty on May 5, 2008.