Faculty expectations

Faculty members planning to lead Duke-Administered summer study away programs should be committed to providing a quality academic experience for all participants, enriching students’ personal, academic, and professional lives. The following outlines the responsibilities faculty have in the planning and operation of a Duke-Administered study away program. Additional details on the points below can be found in the faculty

Pre-Program

Obtain Program Approval

  • Meet with your department chair to discuss the program design. Program courses should have the syllabi reviewed and approved through the standard course approval process. Remember to include a statement in the course syllabi regarding consequences of academic misconduct.
  • Obtain final sign-off from your department chair as part of the program proposal process.
  • Pending the program’s final approval from the Global Education Committee, commit to teach, assign final grades, and direct the summer program as detailed in your contract.

Engage in Marketing and Recruitment

  • The role of the faculty director in recruiting students is paramount. You must proactively participate in all key events related to program promotion, such as class visits, information sessions, the Global Education Fair, and other recruitment events and activities.
  • Answer student questions about the program. GEO will answer questions and advise students on financial aid, general policies, the application process, housing, etc.

Identify and Plan for Risk

  • Work with the GEO program manager and Undergraduate Experiential Education’s Office of Global Health and Safety (OGHS) to discuss and mitigate any potential health, safety, and security risks.
  • Provide onsite emergency contact information, and final program itinerary including all excursions, to GEO.
  • Disclose to GEO any issues related to health, family, or immigration status that may jeopardize your ability to lead a GEO summer program.
  • Conduct appropriate inquiries into potential health and safety risks of the local environment of the program, including program-sponsored accommodations, events, and excursions.
  • Fully comply with all GEO and Duke risk management policies to protect the health, safety, and security of the students, faculty, and staff involved with the program. Read and become familiar with the crisis response protocols in the faculty handbook.
  • Meet with OGHS and other individuals identified by OGHS or GEO for health, safety, and security training(s).

Support Experiential Learning Components (if included in program)

  • Internships:
    • Collaborate with internship placement staff once students commit to the program.
    • Tasks could include sponsoring pre-professional readiness or networking workshops, consult with internship advisors on individual students, and approve internship placements that meet practicum course requirements.
  • Research (faculty-directed research or mentor independent research projects):
    • Work with research support staff once students commit to the program.
    • Tasks could include: pre-training on research methods and ethics; reviewing students’ research proposals; consulting with students’ academic departments to confirm requirements for graduation; seeking IRB approval; working with on-site or field staff to secure placements, resources, research subjects, etc.
  • Service Learning/Community-based Learning:
    • Secure service-learning designation for course with Duke’s Service-Learning Office.
    • Collaborate with GEO staff to secure service-learning placements that meet course requirements, work with community partners to prepare placements, scaffold reflection, and sponsor training on ethical engagement.
  • Collaborative Projects:
    • Work with GEO staff to build collaborative projects informed by location.
    • Tasks could include: securing local experts to serve as consultants for student teams; sponsor training on collaborative teams, project management, research methods, and/or ethical engagement.

Budget & Finances

  • Develop a realistic budget in conjunction with GEO business and program managers and be flexible in determining program expenses.
  • Attend budget training sessions and budget meetings with GEO Business Managers. You are required to comply with Duke fiscal policies related to travel authorizations, expenditure reports, corporate card expense reconciliation, and the timely submission of receipts for individual and group-related expenses.
  • Communicate with GEO program and business managers any anticipated changes to program expenses which may impact the budget prior to or during the program and as soon as those changes become known.

Prepare Students

  • Provide course syllabi to students and share syllabi with GEO.
  • Working with GEO, plan and manage at least one mandatory pre-departure meeting for all enrolled students on your program.
  • You should cover the following points in the pre-departure meeting:
    • academic and behavioral expectations
    • syllabus review
    • health and safety concerns and issues (including sexual harassment/assault prevention)
    • field trips and excursions
    • housing arrangements
    • program charges and personal budget recommendations
    • required arrival and departure dates cultural expectations, etiquette, cultural adjustment, group dynamics, and cross-cultural topics

Onsite Program Management

Academic

  • Use the program site effectively, keeping the academic mission of the program at the forefront throughout the program.
  • Incorporate cross cultural learning and activities into your program to maximize the immersion aspect of the program.
  • Participate in all of the required activities and remain onsite while the program is in session.
  • Host regular office hours.
  • Encourage students to complete the GEO program evaluation and the Duke Trinity College course evaluations at the end of the program.
  • If your program includes an experiential learning component, provide onsite training as necessary; oversee students’ progress; be accessible to employer/research/community partners; sponsor networking/pre-professional events and other field-based experiences; and consult with GEO staff as needed.
  • Communicate any and all instances of academic misconduct to GEO, such as violations of Duke’s Community Standard.

Health & Safety

  • Immediately communicate any and all instances of behavioral misconduct to GEO, such as violations of Duke’s Community Standard.
  • Follow GEO emergency management protocols. Immediately report any and all instances of student and faculty emergencies, such as illness, accidents, and hospitalizations to appropriate staff in GEO.
  • Support students during health and safety incidents, ensuring they receive proper medical or law enforcement assistance and are accompanied, as needed. In emergencies this could mean late night or weekend action on the faculty's part.

Group Dynamics

  • Commit to nurturing a richly diverse student cohort and a study away community where all members feel empowered, heard, respected, and supported.
  • Foster positive group dynamics and mediation of conflicts that arise.

Budget/Finances

  • Keep all expenses within budgeted amounts
  • Seek approval for any additional or unforeseen expenses
  • Track spending and upload corporate card and cash receipts weekly to Concur

Post Program

  • You must submit a final report. Provide suggestions for program revisions and improvements, and outline any problems you encountered during the program.
  • Post final grades for all program courses within 48 hours from the end date of the program.
  • Debrief your experience with your GEO program manager.
  • Submit all receipts and document all expenses within one week of the program end date.

GEO facilitated program support

The planning, implementation, and management of a Duke-Administered summer program is a team effort between the faculty director and the GEO. GEO is committed to making every effort to providing a quality academic experience for all student participants that will enrich their academic, personal, and professional life. To help program directors achieve success in leading their summer programs, GEO will facilitate the following in support of programs:

Pre-Program

Program Planning

  • Collaborate with faculty director in the preparation of new program proposals.
  • Prepare workshops and handbooks to provide training and support for all faculty directors.
  • Collaborate with students, faculty directors, and overseas vendors to coordinate reasonable, cost-effective accommodations for students who may have dietary restrictions, physical disabilities, mental health concerns, and special needs.
  • Respond to student concerns and questions about program costs, visas, financial aid, scholarships, etc.

Marketing and Recruitment

  • Assist in program marketing efforts.
  • Schedule and attend program recruitment events, such as information sessions and the Global Education Fair.
  • With faculty input, develop and update program webpages and publications including social media.
  • Advise prospective and enrolled students.
  • Promote participation by under-represented groups, including first generation students and diverse student populations.

Application Processing

  • Oversee administrative procedures, including tracking incoming applications, student dean’s checks, financial aid, student billing, and coordinate with other units on campus as needed.
  • Manage the enrollment process and assist faculty director in developing a waitlist if necessary.
  • Send electronic acceptance letters to students.
  • Administer summer scholarships in coordination with the Duke Financial Aid Office.
  • Process student withdrawals.

Planning for Risk

  • Consult with Duke’s Corporate Risk Management office, OUE-EE’s Office of Global Health and Safety , and Duke’s legal counsel to develop, update, and implement GEO’s risk management policies.

Budget

  • Provide faculty training on budget creation and expense reconciliation.
  • Work with the GEO business manager and assistant director of finance and administration to negotiate and finalize vendor contracts.
  • Prepare and finalize program budgets. GEO has final authority to determine feasibility of logistics, excursions, accommodations, etc. in order to maintain the affordability of the program for students.
  • Cancel summer programs if enrollment falls short of what is required to run the program financially as well as pedagogically.

Academic

  • Provide suggestions and ideas on ways to incorporate experiential, intercultural components into your program.
  • Initiate the course approval process for courses with special topics numbers. Faculty will be kept informed of any suggested revisions from Duke’s course committee.
  • Working with the Duke Registrar’s Office, GEO will register all students in their summer program courses.

Experiential Learning

  • Give faculty directors guidance on experiential learning best practices and Duke resources for internships/research/service-learning/project-based learning.
  • Secure vendors or staff to oversee operations and vet local internship/research/service- learning/project-based learning placements.
  • Provide one-on-one advising and training modules for students both pre-departure and through the duration of the program.
  • Assist with application for service-learning designation as applicable.

Preparing Students & Faculty

  • Help faculty design interactive pre departure sessions to foster healthy group dynamics and inform students of program expectations.
  • Assist the faculty director in scheduling and inviting students to pre-departure meeting(s).
  • Review with the faculty director all student health and safety issues and behavioral expectations, administrative policies and procedures, billing deadlines, and other important details.
  • Meet the Student Disabilities Access Office (SDAO) to review students with reported mental health and behavioral concerns as well as students who have registered with SDAO for accommodations.
  • GEO shares confidential information about students with directors on a need-to-know basis.

During a Program

  • Provide support, guidance, and resources as needed while program is in session.
  • Reconcile and clear corporate card expenses, monitoring all expenses on-site.
  • Provide a 24/7 cell phone number that faculty directors can use in case of an emergency.
  • Respond to any real or perceived emergency, and assist the faculty director and program support staff to help resolve any student behavioral incident, accident, or sickness.
  • Support faculty in the event of any incident, such as a natural disaster, that affects the entire group.

Post-Program

  • Gather student program feedback and share with faculty.
  • Go over report and feedback with faculty to discuss potential future changes.