Welcome!
In order for you to study off-campus with us you will need to read through the following orientation guide section by section, utilizing all the links provided, and complete a brief exit evaluation on Moodle. (You must receive a score of 100% on the evaluation in order to have final approval to study off-campus.)
Please take this seriously, as the old Off-Campus Study Orientation took nearly four hours. This information session will take you less than three hours with a concentrated effort. You will need to click on ALL the links supplied in the different sections. (All of these links are located in the 'Required Links' section.) You should also supply your parents with a link to this site as they may be interested in keeping up to date with all of this information.
Dear Student,
Congratulations on your approval to apply to an off-campus study program during the current academic year. We applaud your wise choice and are eager to work with you in preparing to gain the most success from this exciting experience. A part of making the program successful is to manage risk (including health and safety issues) and to be aware of a myriad of bits and pieces of information that will help you to prepare, engage a quality learning experience at the host site, and manage a positive return from your off-campus study to the Gustavus campus.
This year we are doing something new for the orientation process. In the past, we invited parents and students to the on campus orientation. That program usually lasted 4 hours. Although it was beneficial to have students and their parents in one room hearing the same information, the feedback we received from students was that the information was too long, too detailed (or not detailed enough), and at times, not specific to the destination. We are responding to these comments and are now making the orientation available on-line. So in a sense, you will be able to focus on the information that will be the most pertinent to your particular off-campus study program and location.
The orientation web site will be live from noon on Nov. 8 until midnight on Dec. 7th. In order for you to complete your approval process for this program, it is mandatory that you access and read the orientation materials PRIOR TO Dec 5th. You must go through the material in the sequence below in order to successfully complete the orientation. The entire process will take approximately 2 and one-half hours. We will receive a final listing on Dec. 5th of all students who have successfully completed the orientation. If your name is not on that list, you will not have final approval to depart on your program. Remember that you must also turn in your GAC forms prior to Dec. 1.
Note the different directions for off-campus study international and off-campus study domestic. NOTE JANUARY OFF CAMPUS STUDY STUDENTS: international courses follow international links and directions, domestic courses follow domestic links and directions.
The orientation you are about to engage is in 9 parts:
Part 1. Issues pertaining to health while off-campus
Part 2. Issues pertaining to safety and risk management while off-campus
Part 3. Issues pertaining to handling finances and insurance while off-campus
Part 4. Issues regarding cross-cultural learning while off-campus (Allow 1 hour and 15 min. for this part)
Part 5. Issues regarding details pertaining to Gustavus registration, mail, housing, and information technology
Part 6. Packing tips
Part 7. Issues regarding culture shock
Part 8. A handy page with a listing of links required in the various pages
Part 9. A page of additional useful web site links that will go into greater detail regarding your host site and issues connected to all of the above
Please feel free to download or print any of the materials from the orientation site that you feel you would like to save for future reference. For those of you going to international sites, we suggest that the Country Specific Information Sheet from the State Department Website in Part #2 would be particularly good to carry with you to the program site. (GAC Social Justice, Peace & Development in India students have received this handout as part of their acceptance packet.)
Finally, we urge you to share this orientation website with your parents. It will help them understand the issues you are confronting and the methods you will use to manage your risks while studying off-campus.
