This email was sent to all IU faculty academic appointees. | | |
Dear colleagues:
Providing a rich array of education abroad opportunities, including study, internship, and service learning abroad, is one of the central pillars of our commitment to integrate international and intercultural perspectives into the IU curriculum. Such high-impact programs also align with the IU 2023 goals.
The 2022 Open Doors Report details the education abroad activity that took place while institutions across the United States were grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic. While many institutions made the decision to stop sending students abroad--some for nearly two years--IU found ways to safely and effectively support students in this endeavor.
Today, we continue to increase the numbers of students going abroad and have bounced back to near pre-pandemic rates. Many thanks to the faculty members and administrators who develop, promote, teach, and support these activities. If you are interested in beginning such activities, there may be funding to support you. | | |
Updated approval processAnyone planning to take students abroad in 2023-24 on previously approved IU programs needs to have those plans reviewed by IU Education Abroad, whose staff, in consultation with the Overseas Study Advisory Council, will assess the program’s plans related to safety and health. Please contact IU Education Abroad at least six months prior to departure, and earlier for credit-bearing programs.
Individual travel by graduate students during 2023-24 requires the submission of an international travel form for each university-affiliated trip. For further information regarding global mobility at IU, please consult the current travel policy.
For anyone who is planning to engage IU students in study- or travel-abroad activities in the future, I am setting out below important information regarding the approval process, which is designed to maintain the integrity of IU’s study abroad programs. The most important thing to bear in mind is that all activities involving IU students studying or traveling abroad with institutional assistance must be approved by IU Education Abroad.
This means that all Indiana University individuals involved with directly arranging activities that take place outside of the United States for IU graduate, undergraduate, or pre-college students must submit a proposal to the university-wide Overseas Study Advisory Council (OSAC). Those arranging programs that were previously approved but were not implemented in the last five years will need to resubmit their program for OSAC review.
Examples of such activities include:
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exchange programs;
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courses with an overseas component designed by an IU faculty member, school, or campus;
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opportunities abroad for which IU directly facilitates local arrangements, including internships, research, conference attendance, and independent study;
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non-credit-bearing activities abroad arranged by an IU office, department, or organization that involve clubs, choruses, or teams engaging in volunteer work, sports activities, music ensembles, theater outings, etc.
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Please note that there is an abbreviated proposal process for student activities involving conference attendance, field research, sport activities, or music performances organized or designed by IU faculty and staff. Moreover, if students are traveling alone, based on a faculty or staff recommendation or encouragement but without their direct involvement, no proposal is needed, even if the students have IU funding to support their travel.
The Council’s approval procedure provides consistency in the process of granting credit (where relevant) and ensures that overseas activities adhere to IU’s high academic standards. It also helps to safeguard the health and safety of all IU participants. The process also serves to introduce best practices to all program organizers, including how to minimize risk.
The Overseas Study Advisory Council, chaired by the Associate Vice President for Education Abroad, Jennifer Engel, must approve all proposals before any recruiting, advertising, or scheduling for the proposed program begins.
Proposals are reviewed as they are received. Applicants are advised to do advance planning in order to allow sufficient time to complete all necessary arrangements both at IU and abroad.
Many thanks for your attention to these procedures, and, again, for your work in expanding these opportunities for our students.
Sincerely yours,
Hilary E. Kahn, Ph.D.
Interim Vice President
Associate Vice Chancellor for International Affairs, IUPUI | | |
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