Global Experience Seminars can begin as early as 1-2 days after commencement and can end as late as mid-June. We recommend that programs are 3-4 weeks in duration. This may include program activities which occur on campus or domestically, such as pre-departure training or academic work, to scaffold the immersive experience on-site.

For example, a program may have 1 week of academic preparation on campus, followed by 2 weeks in the program location, and meet the minimum requirement of 3 weeks for a Global Experience Seminar.

We encourage faculty to be creative in considering the academic potential of using domestic and on-campus resources to prepare for meaningful immersive experiences.

We strongly encourage that Global Experience Seminars be held at one of Beloit College’s semester-long study sites, with preference for exchange partnership sites. The availability of a local program provider is also preferred. It can be advantageous to have more than one course based on the same location to provide efficiencies of scale. 

The sites are developed with faculty, staff and curriculum development at the center. Exploratory travel to sites may be available during the academic year and is aimed at preparing faculty and staff to offer a Global Experience Seminar. Program development and faculty leader support will be offered by the Global Experience Office.

Proposals will be reviewed by the Global Experience Seminars Committee and the Provost’s Office.

As Beloit College is expanding its networks through our existing local partnerships. These partnerships vary from site to site; please work with the Global Experience Office for more information.

In general, these are the resources faculty have used as they develop short-term programs:

• Faculty experience. For faculty with professional, academic, or personal experience in one of the target sites, we welcome you to use your networks and expertise to support the development of both your program and Beloit College’s partnerships in the area. This may help to keep costs down or build a more flexible, immersive experience for students, but may be more labor intensive in terms of both planning and on-site logistics.
• International university partners. Faculty may choose to work with an existing Beloit College international education partner university in the target site. This format allows faculty to build on existing relationships and ease logistical planning through use of partner infrastructure and resources.
• Third-party providers. Many third-party providers work with colleges to offer customized programs. In this arrangement, faculty can rely on the providers for their contacts, facilities, risk management measures, and logistical support. The contractual payments for services in the host country must be run through a third-party provider. The Global Experience Office will support the arrangements with the provider.

Regardless of the partnerships leveraged during the program, Beloit College faculty are expected to be the primary instructors. Creativity is encouraged as you prepare your course! The goal is to offer students a unique learning experience that may lead to more independent international learning.

If you have any questions, please feel free to schedule a meeting with GEO to explore your ideas further.

While it is possible for a single instructor to teach a Global Experience Seminar, there must be additional personnel to intervene in the case of emergencies, including the possible incapacitation of the instructor.

This individual may be a Beloit College faculty or staff member. The person may be a co-instructor or a Program Assistant (see definitions below). Additionally, the Global Experience Office will assist in identifying personnel in the host country who may be able to help with some logistics and emergencies.

• Instructor/Co-instructor: The instructor(s) are responsible for proposing, developing, and leading the Global Experience Seminar. At least one instructor must be affiliated with Beloit College.
• Staff Co-Leader: The Staff Leader may be a Beloit College faculty or staff member. The Staff Co-Leader may or may not have any teaching responsibilities and is responsible for assisting with logistics and student life for the duration of the program. There is no additional compensation for the Program Assistant but all travel and living expenses are covered. Human Resources and supervisor approval is required.

Faculty

• Single faculty leader, with staff co-leader: $7,000, plus a one-time stipend of $1,000 for program development
• Two faculty team teaching: $5,000 each, plus a one-time stipend of $500 each for program development
• Expenses for travel, housing, and a per diem for meals during seminar trip.

Staff

• Travel and housing are covered and a per diem will be issued for meals.
• Co-Leaders are included in all cultural and academic activities.
• With permission from supervisor, pay continues during program dates.

Because Global Experience Seminars may, depending on how the course is structured, incur costs that far exceed allocated amounts, faculty proposing these courses are strongly urged to work closely with the seminar coordinator to organize costs in ways that will help us price the course appropriately for students. To assist with the planning process, please consult the following guidelines.

Please contact the seminar coordinator if you have any questions regarding this document or the budgeting process.

Students must apply to Global Experience Seminars to enable the instructor(s) to select students who will both thrive abroad and be able to contribute positively to group dynamics.

The minimum number of participants for course viability is 8. The recommended maximum is 12-15. The deadline for students to apply will be December 1st preceding the summer term, and students will be selected by winter break; program promotion will occur in the fall semester. Orientation and pre-departure meetings occur in the spring. 

Pre-proposals are due in August, two years prior to the proposed program. 

Selected pre-proposals are invited to course development workshops in the fall. Final Global Experience Seminar proposals are in December two years prior to the proposed program. 

Interested faculty members are strongly encouraged to communicate with the Global Experience Office well ahead of these date.

• Suggested title of the course
• Name of the lead instructor, or co-leaders, and, if applicable, other instructors.
  
  • The lead instructor(s) must be a Beloit College faculty member(s).
  • If other instructors are not Beloit College faculty or staff members, please include current CVs. If more than one instructor will be teaching the course, please include an explanation of the role(s) each instructor will play.
• Provide a description of the course, including learning goals, outcomes for the course, and a description of the course structure. To what extent will the course involve lectures, discussion, workshops, labs, and/or field studies?
• Explain how the immersive format will be used to achieve the stated learning goals and outcomes and merit at least 1.0 units of Beloit College credit.
  
  • For a unit of credit to be assigned, the learning goals and outcomes of the proposed course should be on par with a semester-long course in the respective program(s) at Beloit.
  • Learning content can be divided into classroom content, structured experiential activities, and unstructured experiential learning, and should maximize collaboration among peers.
  • A standard reflection course, GLBL 150, will accompany the proposed course content to bring the total credit value to 1.5 units. The instructor for this course may be the staff or faculty co-leader.
• Demonstration of appropriateness of the course to the location. Please describe any excursions, immersion, and cite-specific opportunities for this course and discuss their role in advancing the stated learning goals.
  Attach a list of potential titles/authors of core readings.
• Description of how  local resources will be leveraged, including local faculty and student peers, Beloit College alumni living in the area, institutional partners, organizations, and site locations to enrich student learning.
• Describe how the course will be assessed for effectiveness in meeting course objectives.
• A rationale for why this course is likely to appeal to Beloit College students, including target clubs, majors, etc. Also consider the academic credit offered and requirement(s) the course fulfills.
• Explanation of how developing and teaching this course will foster the professional development of the faculty leading the course.
  Description of the prerequisites for the course. Note that Global Experience Seminars should be highly inclusive of first- and second-year students.

Please contact the seminar coordinator if you have any questions regarding the proposal process.

Selection will be based on the following criteria:

• The course content promotes greater student engagement with critical global issues and/or enduring human questions that impact the planet and its population, and adds a global perspective on students’ academic studies and career goals;
  
• The course design effectively uses resources and opportunities in the host site(s) to promote the course learning goals as well as experiential and intercultural learning;
  
• Evidence of student interest. This may be demonstrated in a variety of ways, including extrapolating from prior courses (e.g., if the proposed course is a major/minor requirement or elective; if the course was taught in the past with strong enrollment; if the course is an adaptation or extension of a previous experience) and informal conversations with students and colleagues;
  
• A record of teaching excellence by the instructor(s);
  
• The course design merits 1.0 units of Beloit College credit and takes full advantage of the opportunity a block/immersion format offers to meet the learning goals of the course in creative and effective ways;
  
  • Note: proposed 1.0-unit courses will be paired with GLBL 150: Global Experience Seminar (0.5 units), which is the reflective component of the experience. 
    
• The course has the potential to advance the professional development of the Beloit College faculty member(s) teaching the course; and,
  
• The course is financially feasible from the standpoint of being affordable to students and from its ability to cover most costs associated with the experience