Overseas Study Program Development

Scope

All university units, administrators, faculty and staff members proposing any type of program through which an IU student or pre-college student would study abroad.

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Policy Statement

Before recruiting, advertising or scheduling events for an Overseas Study Program, approval must be obtained from the Overseas Study Advisory Council (OSAC) through a process administered by the Office of Overseas Study.

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Reason for Policy

By requiring programs to be vetted and approved by OSAC, this policy seeks to safeguard the health and safety of participants and maintain the academic integrity of IU Overseas Study Programs. An Overseas Study Program out of compliance with this policy runs an unacceptable risk that, should a health or safety crisis occur, the IU faculty member or administrator leading the trip will not readily have the institutional resources, information, and contacts to appropriately respond to the emergency.

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Procedures

1. The Office of Overseas Study should be contacted for advice and assistance as soon as discussion of an Overseas Study Program begins. At IUPUI, the Office of International Affairs should be contacted as well.
2. The Overseas Study Program proposal should be submitted to the Office of Overseas Study via email to overseas@iu.edu.  The proposal will be reviewed by OSAC or a subcommittee thereof.  OSAC supports the Standards of Good Practice of the Forum on Education Abroad and will use those guidelines when evaluating the proposal.  When submitting a proposal for a study abroad program, please follow the guidelines set forth at https://overseas.iu.edu/policies/program-dev/proposals/guidelines.html.
3. The submitter or faculty sponsor may be asked to meet with members of the Overseas Study staff or OSAC to discuss the proposal in more detail.
4. The submitter should expect the approval process to take at least 30 days.
5. OSAC may approve the proposal as submitted, approve the proposal on certain conditions, ask the submitter to amend and resubmit the proposal, or deny the proposal.

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Definitions

Overseas Study Program: means any university sponsored or administered program taking place outside of the United States, but excludes the following activities so long as they do not involve travel by minors or IU students:

• Faculty research;
• Faculty or staff travel for university business;
• Alumni travel sponsored by the Indiana University Alumni Association; and
• Offshore and cross-border programs within the scope of INT-01, Agreements With Overseas Institutions And Cross-Border Activities.

Examples of Overseas Study Programs include, but are not limited to:

• IU courses involving an overseas travel component;
• Research activities, conference attendance, and other programs outside the United States involving IU undergraduate, graduate, or professional school students under the supervision of IU personnel;
• Pre-college activities abroad sponsored by the university;
• Overseas internships organized by IU units; and
• Overseas trips organized by university student organizations, clubs, or teams.

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Additional Contacts

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History

Some versions of this policy dates back to the late 1960s, but the policy was formally adopted when Overseas Study became a university-wide unit separate from the College of Arts and Sciences at IU Bloomington (https://overseas.iu.edu/about/history.html)

Policy contacts and links were updated June 19, 2017, and again on September 16, 2021 as part of a routine review of all OVPIA policies.

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