Faculty-Led Programs

Fantastic! Many of our faculty leaders and institutions already have their own great contacts they wish to work with, or have worked with for years. Our goals include ensuring that all logistics are streamlined, payments are made on time, risk is mitigated, and emergencies are handled properly. It’s great when we can collaborate with you and your contacts, whether it be a favorite local guide or a colleague who we can reach out to about arranging a business visit for your group. Know that we respect your contacts as your contacts, and we are not interested in making them ours – we just want to ensure all goes smoothly and it is important that we are all on the same page should changes need to be made during the program.

Perfect, we’re happy to look into housing your group there! Staying in a familiar location can help ensure peace of mind leading up to your departure. We will also be transparent with you if we feel it might not be adequate for your group (dynamics are quite different than when traveling solo or with smaller numbers) and we’ll suggest alternatives comparable to your preference. Please note that sometimes earlier deposits are necessary to guarantee specific lodging.

Yes, they can! The best time for friends and family to visit is before or after the program. If they want to join you during the program, please speak with your program coordinator about working out a guest fee and if there are any limitations to their participation.

We recommend starting between 12-18 months prior to departure. Time flies, and you want to be sure your program is laid out well enough to begin promoting the experience to students. At the 12 month mark you’ll want to start showcasing the opportunity to students, with the hopes of securing the group around the 5-6 month mark. Be sure to check with your study abroad office, as their timelines may differ and might in fact call for much earlier preparation.

Great question! We customize the itinerary to meet your objectives, and thus every program price is unique. What factors are considered in estimating the cost? The length of the program, the time of year you are traveling, the type of housing you use, the number of excursions included, the number of meals included, the type of transportation planned, and the list goes on. The great thing about this is that we can continue to tweak the itinerary so that even the price is customized to your needs. Please let us know if faculty fees should not be built into student costs, or if particular line items such as classroom space and academic visits are to be covered by another budget stream (collaborate with your study abroad office). We’ll be happy to pull out certain portions to reduce the out-of-pocket costs for students, outside of what their tuition and university fees will cover.

Don’t see your destination listed? We still may be able to help you! One of the things our partners love most about us is our flexibility and “can do” attitude. We love a challenge, we have the experience venturing into new countries and the staff to assess the risks involved. So, when filling out your program questionnaire, go ahead, list your preferred destination and we’ll be in touch!

This varies by program depending on the variety and number of arrangements your program entails, as well as the host country business culture. In some places, we may not be able to confirm the exact details of a business visit until a week or two before departure. We know that this can be stressful, but let us worry about it for you! We’ll do our best to keep you informed along the way. Although we will provide a “final” itinerary at least 2 weeks prior to departure, as with all travel, the group should always be prepared for last minute changes, adjustments, etc. Which is again why it’s so helpful to have CIS Abroad staff on the ground to sort out the details!

As a full service organization, we prefer just that – providing it all. There are programs in which we might not manage ALL of the logistics due to the institution’s connections with local exchange partners, for example, but unfortunately we don’t do just airfare, or just housing.

Yes, and as many of our testimonials will attest, most faculty can’t imagine their program without them! We fully recognize a faculty leader may have lived in a particular destination and know it inside and out, but our staff are there to ensure someone is ready in the event of a logistical change, student crisis or larger scale threat. “Ok, but we are sending two people from our institution.” Excellent! We will still have our staff person on the ground. Our on-site program coordinators are trained in student support, international crisis management, and are there so that your faculty leader(s) can focus on teaching the course, while we worry about the rest. Also consider, and it’s happened before, what if something happens to you?

All students who successfully participate on a faculty-led program managed by our team will officially be considered CIS Abroad Alumni, at which point they will have access to our Go Again Grants and other opportunities to continue their education abroad!