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University of Denver Policies for Off-Campus and Overseas Faculty-led Academic Programs
The University supports faculty-led courses for academic credit that are held off-campus in the U.S. and overseas through its individual academic units as well as under the auspices of the Cherrington Global Scholars Program. The policies listed in Section A below govern all such programs. Section B deals with faculty-led Cherrington Global Scholar programs.
General Terms and Duties of Faculty Employment for all short- and long-term academic programs conducted off-campus and/or overseas:
- Duties of the Program Director: The Program Director shall perform
preparatory, curricular, administrative, and advisory duties associated
with the delivery of a University academic program, in addition to
crisis management and other duties unique to delivering that program
off-campus and abroad. The faculty responsibilities include, but are
not limited to, the following:
- Determining the format and goals of the program in conjunction
with appropriate academic and other offices of the University.
- Consulting with the Office of Internationalization in organizing
all overseas courses. This Office acts on behalf of the University
as a clearing house for all overseas programming.
- Obtaining appropriate academic approval for any new coursework.
- Obtaining appropriate budgetary approval for all program expenditures
in advance of financial commitment.
- Observing and recruiting for minimum/maximum enrollment for the
Program by the deadline set by the University.
- Attending an orientation, if going overseas, conducted by the
Study Abroad Office together with University Counsel and Risk
Management.
- Conducting an academic course in a manner and of a quality consistent
with similar and equivalent programs offered by the University.
- Providing support, guidance, and any necessary assistance for
student participants and reinforcing the Student Code of Conduct
along with guidelines provided by the Study Abroad Office.
- Maintaining appropriate contact with the University while off-campus
and overseas.
- Serving as the administrator for the University in any emergency
or crisis situation affecting the well-being of any participant
in the program, both in transit to or from its destination
and in the course location. The Program Director must be available
to students during any crisis situation and must maintain regular
contact with the University at such times, remaining available
to University officials when necessary.
- The Program Director should be thoroughly knowledgeable of the
Crisis Communication Plan attached as Exhibit A and incorporated
herein, and should implement the Plan during any crisis. If
the University determines that a crisis or emergency situation
exists, the Program Director will act in accordance with stated
responsibilities and accept directions from appropriate University
offices.
- The duties of the Program Director described in this policy statement
are cumulative to the Program Director’s duties
as an employee of the University. The Program Director
shall abide by and comply with the practices and policies
of the University while performing duties for the University
off-campus or in an overseas location.
- All of the above requirements are also applicable to any University
Staff, Graduate Assistant, or Adjunct Faculty member involved
in the conduct of an off-campus or overseas course.
- Compensation: The Program Director and any other participating
faculty members for Interterm and other short-term and non-Cherrington
programs will be compensated per agreement with the office budgeting
the program and with approval of the dean of the faculty member’s
academic unit. Compensation may include salary or stipend and coverage
of expenses, either on a reimbursement or per diem basis. Further policy
elaboration in order to achieve clarity regarding such compensation
may be produced either by particular University units for programs
under their sponsorship or on a University-wide basis. Policies governing
compensation for faculty conducting Cherrington Global Scholar Programs
are outlined below in Section B. Policies governing staff compensation
for any program include:
- Exempt Staff who may be involved in an off-campus or overseas
course with approval of their supervisor and the head of their
academic or administrative unit may participate under their
regular salary if their Program responsibilities are related to
their normal responsibilities on campus. If not, they must take
vacation time or discretionary leave of absence for their period
of participation, and compensation will be determined within the
Program budget.
- Utilization of a non-exempt employee in a staff rolefor
an off-campus or overseas program requires advance consultation
with and approval by the Director of Human Resources. Such
participation is normally to be avoided. In order to be approved
the position requires a job description that will qualify for
exempt status, it must be compensated separate from the participant's
regular employment, and the employee must voluntarily take
vacation time or leave of absence from his or her on-exempt
position.
- Dependents: The University will not be responsible for nor provide
for any expenses of dependents/family members or other traveling companions
of the Program Director. The Program Director should notify the Office
of Internationalization if he or she is taking dependents/family members
overseas. Directors of off-campus Programs in the U.S. should notify
their sponsoring offices of any dependents/family members traveling
with the Program. The presence of such persons should not interfere
with the Program Director’s duties pursuant to this policy. Should
the Program Director travel abroad with any minor for whom the Program
Director is responsible, a legally responsible adult outside of the
program must be available on site at all times and the minor must not
participate in any part of the program, including field trips or group
travel. The Director and all dependents must carry appropriate international
health insurance. The same principles apply to any other faculty or
staff who may share in leading a Program.
Policies for Approval of Faculty-led Programs in the Cherrington Global Scholars Program
- Nature of Faculty-led programs under the Cherrington Global Scholars
(CGS) Initiative
- In developing CGS programming, the University’s institutional
priority is to put in place direct relationships with foreign
institutions or international program consortia. The University
recognizes, however, that a limited number of faculty-led programs
serving special programmatic interests may be appropriate for the
CGS Program.
- Faculty-led courses will only be considered for adoption into
the CGS Program if they accomplish academic goals that cannot
be met by direct University relationships with overseas universities
and if they serve a significant academic purpose in enhancing
the educational experience of University of Denver students.
- CGS programs are “owned” by the University and a
specific academic unit, not by individual faculty members, and
should be capable of being sustained over a period of time with
more than one faculty Director.
- CGS programs are exclusively for undergraduates and are of at
least one-quarter length in duration. CGS study abroad does
not take place in Interterm or Summer. Graduate students are not
covered by the CGS commitment.
- Principles for Developing CGS Faculty-led Programs Overseas
- Any Program must have an academic home either within a particular
academic unit and its dean, or, if the Program crosses divisional
lines, under a faculty committee reporting to the Provost.
- Before preparing a formal proposal, faculty members should consult
with their department chair and dean, the Director of CGS Development,
and the Chair of the CGS Faculty Board.
- The Program proposal must include the following details:
- A clear description of the academic and extra-curricular content
of the Program (including full details of all courses included
in the Program) and its relevance to an existing program of
study at the University.
- Reasons why such a Program is relevant for inclusion in the CGS
program, uses the resources of a particular location, and is
not duplicated by study available in a specific overseas location.
- A detailed and fiscally viable Program budget developed in conjunction
with the Office of Internationalization.
- A CGS Program proposal form is available from the Chair of the
CGS Faculty Board. The formal approval process for a new Program should
begin two (2) years before the quarter the Program is initiated.
- Once the Program proposal is developed and before final approval
can be given, any new University course, including any course
custom-arranged and conducted by adjunct faculty overseas, requires
approval by the standard course approval process (Department, Foundations,
Core, Undergraduate Council, as needed).
- The inclusion of courses offered by an overseas university as
part of the Program requires approval by the CGS Faculty Board
before the Program proposal is finalized.
- In developing a proposal for a faculty-led Program, the faculty
member making the proposal normally assumes responsibility
as Program Director, at least for the initial year in which the
program is to be offered, and must work with the Office of Internationalization
in identifying and negotiating arrangements with any facilitating
parties either in the United States or abroad—whether
universities, adjunct faculty, or suppliers of accommodation
and excursions.
- The full Program proposal (including the budget) must be formally
approved by the faculty member’s academic department, dean, the Provost’s
Office of Planning and Budget, and the CGS Faculty Board, in
this order.
- Once approved, the Program is then activated with the Office
of Internationalization.
- Aside from facilitating logistical arrangements, the Office of
Internationalization is responsible for arranging to have the
approved Program and its courses implemented within the student
information system (securing revenue distribution codes, registration
codes, etc.)
- The CGS Faculty Board will annually review and assess all faculty-led
CGS Programs, including academic, operational, and fiscal elements
of the programs.
- Renewal of a Program Director, or the selection of a new faculty
member to serve as Program Director, is the responsibility
of the dean (or Faculty Committee, when applicable) with authority
for that program, in consultation with the Office of Internationalization
and the CGS Faculty Board. This process should be completed
18 months before the program is held.
- The Study Abroad Office, shares responsibility for Program marketing
along with the active participation and initiative of the Program
Director.
- Curricular advising is the responsibility of sponsoring departments,
but the Study Abroad Office is responsible for assisting students
in their registration for the program and in providing procedures
and advising assistance necessary for students studying abroad.
- Both faculty and students involved in the Program are required
to attend orientation sessions administered by the Study Abroad
Office and the CGS Faculty Board (together) prior to departure.
- Faculty Program leaders shall observe all the policies outlined
in A.1.1 above in addition to their normal academic duties.
- Faculty Compensation
- Faculty leading CGS programs overseas normally teach on an
on-load basis covered by the instructor’s normal salary
based in his or her academic unit. If mutually agreed between
the dean and the Program Director, teaching may be carried out
off-load and compensated from the Program’s budget at the
normal overload rate of the Program Director’s academic
unit. (If the teaching is carried out on an on-load basis and
if it is necessary to have replacement instruction provided on
campus, the Program budget will reimburse the Program Director’s
academic unit in the amount of standard overload or adjunct faculty
rates, as applicable to the specific case.)
- Program Director compensation will include an administrative
stipend separate from the Director’s regular salary or
off-load instructional compensation. The criteria for and amounts
of administrative stipends will be set by the CGS Faculty Board.
- Covered Program Director expenses are the reasonable costs
of travel to and from the program site, housing, utilities,
and provision of a cellular phone and internet access where possible.
The Office of Internationalization shall, as nearly as possible,
seek to provide equivalent levels of housing among Program
Directors for CGS programs, but the dollar amounts for such housing
may vary by location and other circumstances.
- Coverage of Program Director expenses may be implemented
by direct billing, or on a reimbursement basis (within a
fixed allocation), or by a per diem established for the particular
Program location by the Office of Internationalization with
the approval of the Controller’s
Office.
- Food and personal expenses are not covered, but the same
expenses as are covered for students on accompanied course
excursions are covered for the Program Director.
- The amounts budgeted for coverage of expenses, but not
instructional or administrative salary or stipends, may be
adjusted for currency fluctuations that significantly change
the value of budgeted dollars.
- For provisions regarding dependents, see Part A: General Terms and Duties of Faculty Employment for all short- and long-term academic programs conducted off-campus and overseas (above).
- Budget and Revenue
- All faculty-led CGS Programs are budgeted in the Office of Internationalization.
The Program Director is responsible for conducting the program
within the budget and in general accord with planned expenditures.
Any expenditure beyond the budget due to unforeseen problems
or emergencies should be approved by the Director of CGS Development
if circumstances permit.
- All eligible tuition revenue (tuition at “effective rate,” less financial aid discount) for CGS faculty-led programs will track first to the individual Program’s
budget maintained in the Office of Internationalization and ultimately
to the overall CGS budget. The first claim on all tuition revenues
is to cover the direct operating and contingency expenses of
the Program. Costs of student housing, meals, and required excursions/field
trips in excess of the on-campus room and board costs will be
provided at no additional cost to students who are Cherrington
Global Scholars. (Student transportation costs to and from the
program site are covered by the CGS overall budget and normally
are not attributed to the budgets of individual programs.)
Faculty/Staff/Graduate Assistant Signature
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Date:
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