Developing Blocks Away

ACADEMIC EMPHASIS: The program has clearly stated learning objectives and outcomes which make use of the program site for experiential learning and provide an immersion into the program site that goes well beyond the touristic experience and focuses on the academic core of the course. 

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING AT CENTER: The primary reason to offer a Block Away is to engage in experiential learning, whether that is visiting sites, touring "real world" facilities, engaging with experts, immersing students within a community, or combining academic knowledge with short internship, service-learning, or community-engaged experiences.  If your Block Away is you and your students in a classroom overseas and not primarily outside of a classroom setting, you are missing the key elements that turn Blocks Away into experiential learning opportunities. 

CLEAR LEARNING GOALS: This is true of all courses, but particularly with a Block Away, there should be a clear learning outcome for the type of experiences you build into the course and the type of engagement you develop with the site, the community, and its people.  Not every Block Away has to have the same goals, some are truly focused on intercultural skills development, others perhaps on language immersion, or on interdisciplinary learning. What is important is to have a clear goal for the course, or perhaps 2 or 3, that are expressed through the syllabus, the itinerary, and everything from where students live, how they travel through the location, and who they engage with. 

INTERCULTURAL LEARNING: Yes, we just said that intercultural skills development does not have to be at the heart of every Block Away, but if you are taking students to a new culture, whether that is domestic or international, you want to respect your hosts, engage with the community, and help students build skills that allow them to recognize cultural difference, navigate difference, move through confusion and unfamiliarity, and build resilience.  All of that is tied to intercultural skills, and even for a course that may have a very specific disciplinary goal or focus, the reality of taking students into a new environment means that time must be dedicated to helping the students grow in this way. 

INCLUSION & EXCLUSION: Here we are not speaking about students, but of activities and sites. A well-designed short-duration course does not try to do everything just because "it is there".  For example, a course in Rome on the modern Catholic church should not feel obligated to use 7 days to visit every ancient Roman site, while a course on ancient Rome could just as easily leave the Vatican off their itinerary. Similarly, not every trip to Paris requires a group outing to the Eiffel Tower, and courses on global economics in Hong Kong can build in some purely cultural excursions, but should also have a strong dose of business visits to tie academic study to on-site experiences. 

ASSESSMENT: A strategy for assessing student learning is important, as is a practice of program evaluation that goes beyond the academic components to include student feedback on the orientation program, the itinerary and use of site, housing, and faculty leadership in a non-academic capacity. 

AMPLE PREPARATION: Pre-departure orientation provides students not only with course information, but a program itinerary, flight or arrival information, information on lodging, meals, and transportation as it is planned within the program, clear behavioral expectations, a packing list, and discussion of both local cultural contexts for the location as well as some introductory inter-cultural skills development. 

ON-SITE SUPPORT: All programs should have two (2) responsible adults (non-students) representing the college and/or the program on-site at all times.  This is typically either two co-instructors for the course or a faculty leader and a program assistant.  The Off-Campus Program Assistant (OPA for short) can be another CC faculty member, CC staff member, an external candidate hired by the college just for the duration of the program, or representatives of a full-service international study program provider.  

FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: The program has sufficient financial resources to assure its academic success and the well-being of students, setting a program fee sufficient to provide for all program expenses with even the minimal approved program roster size. 

HOUSING: A strong program will arrange housing that not only suits the nature of the program (a field station in the rainforest is best for one type of program, homestays might serve another, a central city hostel, or a peripheral hotel might be best for others), but should always provide security, some degree of comfort, and the ability to gather the students as needed. Students learn best when they have a place where they feel secure, welcomed, and able to relax. It is also a best practice to ensure that program leaders can easily reach the student housing site if both are not staying in the same facility. 

EQUITY OF ACCESS: The program is available to a wide array of students, with access a significant consideration of any student selection process. Students with special needs are provided for to highest degree possible. Best Practices demands that programs use transparent, publicized, academic standards to determine eligibility. A student's major, academic year, GPA, prior study, academic and disciplinary standing with the College, paired with a first-come-first-serve model is the most objective and equitable selection criteria.  Including in-person interviews, application questions that inquire about attitude, personality, or student demographics are highly discouraged as they can easily lead to bias and potential cases of discrimination. Questions regarding medical history or current medical or mental health needs are both illegal and completely incompatible with any student selection process. 

CLEAR EXPECTATIONS: The program has a student code of conduct and a set of behavioral expectations laid out in pre-departure programming and consistently applied throughout the program. The better a program prepares students for both the experience and your expectations of them prior to departure, the greater the ability for the group to self-regulate, for you to encounter fewer issues, and for you to address any incidents which may occur. Expectations should include both academic and behavioral norms to be followed. 

LEGAL & CULTURAL NORMS: The program operates in accordance with U.S. and international laws, and also acts with sensitivity to and respect for differences between local cultural norms and those of the U.S.. It is important that the leader of a program have a firm grasp of local culture and social norms, but also of any legal issues which may be unfamiliar to the travelers in the group. This information should be part of a well-designed pre-departure orientation as well as ongoing reminders throughout the program. 

HEALTH AND SAFETY: The program has established effective health, security and risk management policies and procedures, including timely provision of an up-to-date itinerary and contact information to the Center for Global Education & Field Study. Reporting of medical and mental health concerns, criminal acts, or potential local or regional security risks to the College, in a timely fashion, is a vital part of the program leaders' role, as is providing students with resources and support when they encounter medical, safety, or mental health concerns. 

FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: The program has sufficient financial resources to assure its academic success and the well-being of students, setting a program fee sufficient to provide for all program expenses with even the minimal approved program roster size. Building a budget that only operates with a program's optimal enrollment ensures issues will arise if the group experiences "melt" prior to departure. 

BUDGETING: As part of the proposal phase, a well-conceived budget, reviewed and approved by either the Director of Field Study (Domestic) or the Global Education team (International) is essential. The final budget must take into account all potential expenses, and be built around a minimal enrollment to ensure that the program will be prepared for any unexpected costs as well as changes to the roster.

ON-SITE FINANCIAL TRACKING: Whether it is payments to vendors and partner organizations, purchases made with a credit or purchasing card, or cash payments, responsible management of program funds, including the tracking of receipts and reporting of cash payments, is key to a program's sustainability and a responsibility of the faculty as the on-site leader of the program. 

RECONCILIATION: Returning from a Field Trip, Block Away, or Semester Away can be an exhausting time for program leaders, but the course, and the duties of a leader, are not 100% complete until the expenditures during the program are reconciled, any reimbursements requests are filed, and any final payments made. Getting these final financial tasks completed wraps up the course and also helps the college lock down the final budget numbers for each program. 

Course proposals for all Block Away courses (Summer and Academic Year) are due early in the Fall term both for Summer Courses and for Blocks Away in the following academic year. Typical deadlines are:

• SUMMER BLOCKS: Due in late September or Early October (Block 2)
• ACADEMIC YEAR BLOCKS: Due in late October (Block 3)

What should you do in preparation for developing a proposal during the time prior to the proposal deadline? 

• Attend a Build a Block Away workshop or complete the Build a Block Away course on Canvas.
• Have at least one 1-on-1 meeting with either the Director of Global Education or the Director of Field Study to review proposal expectations as well as block away requirements, expectations and processes. 
• Explore options for where you wish to take the course, what you wish to do there, who your student cohort would be, and when the best time to be on-site would be. 
• Consider applying for funding to conduct a site visit. This may be personal research funds, departmental funds, the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor funds, or funds from the Center for Global Education and Field Study.  An early site visit can make the course development process much simpler and open up options for how best to use the site.
• Consider working with a full-service international education provider or partner organization. Global Education can provide a list of potential partner organizations and recommend several from whom to seek an initial proposal.
• If not working with a full-service provider, begin to identify a second responsible adult who can work on-site with you and whose skill sets will be a benefit to the program. 
• Work with either the Director of Field Study or the Director of the Global Education team to develop a draft budget.
• Develop a course syllabus to propose to your department, as departmental approval of the course is a requirement for any proposal. 

Summer proposals, due to the short time frame between proposal, approval, and student enrollment, require a draft budget and program fee designated at the time of proposal.  Academic Year proposals do not, as these will be developed with support from Global Education between approval in November and the enrollment period beginning in late January or early February. 

As soon as programs are approved by both the appropriate Director within the Center for Global Education & Field Study and the Dean of the Faculty, advertisement can begin, however, prior to promoting the course, it should have a draft budget and a program fee set in place.

During this post-approval, finalization and marketing period, the faculty leader should complete the following tasks:

• Revision of the budget and setting of the program fee in conjunction with Global Education
• Create program promotional materials (posters, fliers) with support from Global Education's student marketing team. 
• Selection of your OPA (Off-Campus Program Assistant) or approval and execution of a program agreement with a third party provider.
• Active recruitment of students through class visits, materials provided to faculty in relevant departments, information sessions open to all students, and messaging to any student cohorts such as majors & minors, student organizations, or other groups within the target groups. 

December through mid-January (Half-Block) is the primary recruitment & enrollment phase for all summer study away courses.  For Academic Year Blocks Away the primary application window is late January through March 15, essentially blocks 5 and 6. It is highly recommended that students apply during these windows and that faculty use rolling admissions (first-come-first-served) as the primary means of selecting their roster of students. 

While applications can be accepted, or students can be reassigned from the Summit waitlist you will create after the application window, typically late applicants or students reclassified are at a much lower probability of obtaining an aid award for the program. It is important to recruit heavily prior to and during the main application window to try to develop both a roster and a solid waitlist prior to the end date of that window.  

Global Education emphasizes to students that they should apply as early as possible, and always during the application windows to maximize their odds of being approved for the program and of receiving aid if they are eligible. 

For Summer programs, the early Spring is also the best time to both lock in any contracts (housing, partner organization, excursions or tour provider) and to ensure that their OPA (Off-Campus Program Assistant) has applied for the position (if external to CC) and is progressing through the onboarding process. 

This phase, which is quite short for summer programs (Blocks 7-8 only) and can be quite long for blocks in the next year (12 months prior to a Block 8 progam departure) is primarily for finalizing any course details, making bookings and deposits for lodging, tours, and other services, and for orientation of students. 

It is expected that all Blocks Away will hold 2-3 in-person or virtual pre-departure orientation meetings to discuss the course, the travel program, behavioral expectations, cultural differences, and travel planning (arrival & departure, packing lists, itinerary, etc.).  It is required that during at least one of these meetings, materials provided by Global Education, often in the form of video trainings, will be presented and discussed so that all students understand college policies and best practices in study away. 

During this period, all faculty leaders should also plan to attend a Faculty Leader Luncheon sponsored by Global Education (offered 4 times per year), and to complete the required "Leading CC Courses Off-Campus" (Domestic) or "Leading CC Courses Abroad" (International) Canvas course.  OPA hires are also required to complete this online course covering college policy and faculty responsibilities

Finally, Global Education has a checklist of required pre-departure actions which faculty should use to ensure that all required tasks are completed during the 2 blocks prior to departure. 

More details on post-enrollment planning and expectations for faculty are available in the various Canvas courses related to study away:

• Build a Block Away
• Leading CC Courses Off-Campus (Domestic travel)
• Leading CC Courses Abroad (International)