Short-Term Faculty and Staff Led Study Away Programs

Such programs must:

• be led by a Macalester faculty or staff member, and
• include Macalester students, and
• last more than 10 days (but not be considered semester-long study away), and
• involve travel more than 100 miles from campus, and
• be credit-bearing, and
• take place between September 1 and May 31.

Programs meeting the definition of a STiFSSA must provide a proposal, which will undergo the following review process.

1. The STiFSSA leader(s) will submit to the Associate Dean of the faculty a proposal that contains the following elements:
   1. Planned itinerary that includes dates, locations, and brief description of the day’s activities,
   2. Learning goals and a rationale for how the location and planned activities support progress towards those learning outcomes,
   3. A description of the leader(s)’ skills, background, and preparation related to the proposed trip,
   4. A detailed budget that reflects costs such as transportation to site, local transportation, lodging, food, and activity or admissions fees, etc.
2. The Associate Dean will share this document with a STiFSSA Review Committee, which will be composed of:
   1. The Associate Dean of the Faculty (chair),
   2. Two elected members of the Education, Policy, and Governance (EPAG) committee,
   3. A Center for Study Away representative, and
   4. A faculty member with previous experience leading a STiFSSA program. (NOTE: This category may be represented by one of the EPAG representatives.)
3. The STiFSSA Review Committee will make a recommendation to the Provost based on consideration of four factors:
   1. The number of programs being offered,
   2. The academic quality of the proposed program,
   3. The leader(s)’ background and preparation to provide a successful learning experience for students, and
   4. The budget.
4. The Provost will make the final decision on whether or not to approve the proposed STiFSSA program.

Leader(s) of an approved program must work with the Center for Study Away (CSA) to ensure that the following expectations are met:

1. Student participants will be given the contact information for the Title IX Coordinator, along with emergency support information.
2. At the end of the program, students complete a STiFSSA program feedback survey (available from the CSA).  This survey gathers information on both the faculty/staff leader(s) and the CSA staff.

Faculty and Staff Leadership of STiFSSA Programs

• Under ideal scenarios, leadership of programs should comprise two or more Macalester College faculty or staff in cases of no on-site support. In some circumstances, another college-approved adult (who registers as an official volunteer) may serve in this capacity.  This adult would need to work with CSA to register under Macalester insurance, to pass a background check, and to undergo a CSA orientation on Macalester emergency and safety protocols. In some circumstances, it may be possible for a college-approved trained student-preceptor to fulfill this role.
• If it does not interfere with the faculty or staff member’s ability to fulfill their role, family members may be eligible to travel with the faculty/staff member with the expectation that the family member would be registered as a traveler on the trip, is independent of curricular components, and would be self-funding.
• To ensure leaders can anticipate and responsibly respond to student health, safety and security issues, all first-time leaders must meet with CSA to review roles and Macalester Study Away Safety and Emergency Guidelines. Recurring leaders should contact CSA prior to the STiFSSA travel to ensure they are up to date on best practices and related institutional policies.