Studies Abroad Program

Approval
An instructor (program director) who is interested in sponsoring a Studies Abroad Program must first prepare a formal proposal. The proposal must reflect all information related to the program including:

1. Nature and purpose of the program;
2. Type and number of credit/noncredit hours and contact hours, course title and number, examples of course-related activities and excursions outside the classroom and whether the course is undergraduate or graduate;
3. Projected number of students and faculty;
4. Projected cost to each student (tuition, matriculation, room and board, insurance, etc.);
5. Projected budget to include non-instructional and instructional income and expenses using and exchange rate based on the previous 365 days average and amount and source of faculty compensation;
6. Faculty salaries must be paid from instructional funds
7. Faculty travel and expenses should be paid from instructional funds. If inadequate funds exist in the instructional project, then funds may be transferred from the agency project to the instructional project to cover these expenses.
8. Programs should budget between 5 - 20% of program fee as reserve fund
9. Program affiliations;
10. Security and travel arrangements;
11. Countries and cities to be visited;
12. Insurance and risk management information;
13. Any information and/or agreements needed from the college abroad;
14. Program must follow the Study Abroad Committee process and adhere to GT deadlines for registration, tuition payments, etc.

In addition to the written proposal, a "Request for Approval for Studies Abroad Programs" form must be completed and submitted to the following persons for approval in the order listed below:

1. Departmental Chair/Director of unit sponsoring the program
2. Dean of the College
3. Executive Director of the Office of International Education
4. Vice Provost for International Initiatives or his designee
5. Executive Vice President for Administration & Finance

Registration of Students and Payments of Fees
The Program Director is responsible for ensuring that the Studies Abroad courses are properly included on the On-line Student Computer Assisted Registration (OSCAR) system. Also, the Director must properly advise students of any and all special arrangements that must be made in order to participate in the program. The student has the ultimate responsibility for registering for the course that he/she wants to take.
The Office of International Education (OIE) is responsible for submitting all information relating to the registration of students to the Registrar's Office. Georgia Tech credit will be awarded to students who properly register for Studies Abroad courses listed on the OSCAR. If students choose to participate on a non-GT study abroad program, non-Georgia Tech course credits are subject to the college credit transfer policies outlined in the Georgia Tech Catalog.
Fees for the Studies Abroad Program should be paid to the Bursar's Office. The Program Director is responsible for ensuring that the proper projects have been established by the Controller's Office to accommodate deposits made for the respective program. The sponsoring faculty member and/or department should have previously requested the establishment of projects by following instructions in "Establishing An Agency Fund Account".  Study Abroad programs that require a Tuition Revenue project should contact the Budget Office to set up the appropriate project.
Cross-registered students from other colleges may not participate in Studies Abroad Programs sponsored by Georgia Tech. Those particular students must apply and be accepted by the Admissions Office as transient students in order to participate in such programs. Acceptance requirements for the cross-registered students should be coordinated between the Admissions Office and the OIE. These students must also pay tuition and fees for the program directly to the Bursar's Office.

Accounting for Revenues and Expenses
To comply with instructions issued by the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Fiscal Affairs at the Board of Regents on June 13, 1994, all Studies Abroad Programs will be accounted for as follows:

An Agency Fund project will be established for each Studies Abroad Program and will be used to collect and disburse funds for the program. These projects will be established by the Controller's Office at the request of the program/department sponsor. A signed copy of the "Request for Approval for Studies Abroad Programs” form should be included as an attachment to the request to establish the project. By agreement between the Board of Regents and the State Audit Department, all funds for a Studies Abroad Program must be expended or transferred within eighteen months from the beginning of the program. Applicable tuition and fees, and any other instructional fees, will be transferred by the Controller's Office to Resident Instruction as initiated or requested by the department. All instructional salaries and benefit costs must be paid from the sponsoring units within Resident Instruction, based upon the approved budget. All other costs can be handled in Agency Funds. Examples of costs processed in Agency Funds include the following: travel, supplies, printing, materials, tours lodging, insurance, rental of meeting places, and exchange rate variance cost. Promotional materials must include a statement indicating the type of expenses that will be paid from program fees. Rules and regulations related to the documentation of travel and reimbursable expenditures shall be followed according to procedures established in "Travel". Reasonable cash advances may be made by the Institute, but they must be supported by appropriate documentation at the conclusion of the program. The fee for each Studies Abroad Program will vary depending upon the feature of a particular program, but all must include matriculation fees and applicable tuition (non-resident) fees. The fee for non-resident students has been established at $250 for all Studies Abroad Programs (except for GT Lorraine's undergraduate program, which has a $3,500 non-resident fee) by the Board of Regents while the matriculation fees will vary depending on the number of credit hours taken. After all expenses for a Studies Abroad Program have been paid, but no later than eighteen months from the beginning of a program, any excess funds remaining in the Agency Fund Project must be transferred to an Institute Project. Any deficit incurred as result of a Studies Abroad Program must be funded by the sponsoring school/department.