4.27 Travel-Study Programs

Piedmont University encourages domestic and foreign study opportunities for its students. To provide these additional academic opportunities, Piedmont University may collaborate with other institutions or companies and the cost of these programs differs. This policy creates a unified approach to tuition and room and board costs in regards to travel-study programs.

Summer Travel Study:

In order to ensure consistency, all programs must be pre-approved, no later than 60 days prior to the scheduled travel, by the Vice President for Academic Affairs in coordination with the President. A detailed proposal is required for each travel-study program including:

• nature and purpose of the travel-study program;
• objectives;
• academic requirements;
• itemized budget showing anticipated revenues and expenses;
• daily schedule of activities related to the program, both on-campus and off-campus;
• specified transportation arrangements utilizing approved vendors; specified accommodations for hotels or otherwise (written agreements or other written documentation must be provided); and
• meal arrangements.

All students who participate in any travel-study program must complete an Information Form to include: passports and visa numbers, including expiration dates, where necessary; documentation of medical insurance covering the participant; indication of any student health problem or other necessary medical information; names(s) and contact(s) in the event of an emergency; and an institutional student waiver form. All documentation and forms must be submitted to the university’s travel study coordinator not later than 30 days prior to the scheduled travel.

Semester Abroad Programs:

 Piedmont University currently participates in two Study Abroad Agreements: one with the University of Nottingham, UK (Nottingham); and one with Universitat Paderborn, Federal Republic of Germany (Paderborn).

All full-time Piedmont University undergraduate students in good academic standing are eligible to participate in semester abroad programs. Other criteria include minimum age of 18 at time of travel, minimum 3.25 GPA, and successful completion of 45 – 75 credit hours prior to semester abroad. Students must also complete an institutional nominating packet before applying to the study abroad destination. The nominating packet is available from the Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences, who serves as the university’s travel study coordinator.

Prior to departure, semester abroad students register for a “placeholder” course at Piedmont University:  IDS 400 for 12 hours.  Students are considered full-time students at Piedmont University for purposes of enrollment verification. When official transcripts are received, course descriptions are reviewed by the Registrar with input from Department Chairs and/or Dean of the appropriate school to ensure the course work and learning outcomes are at the collegiate level and comparable to the institution’s degree programs. Piedmont courses are then created with the correct prefix for either Nottingham (NOTT) or Paderborn (PADB).

• 20 Nottingham module hours = 4 credit hours at Piedmont University;
• 10 Nottingham module hours = 3 credit hours at Piedmont University.

Students must be registered for at least 50 Nottingham module hours to stay in the country and these hours must be equivalent to a minimum of 12 Piedmont University credit hours.

Level 1 and 2 courses are General Education courses or electives;

Level 2 or 3 courses equal major courses for second semester juniors or seniors.

Level 3 courses are comparable to Piedmont University 400 level courses.

The Nottingham grading scale translates to Piedmont University grades as follows:

      70 and above=A; 60-69=B; 40-59=C; and below 40=F (No credit hours).

Washington Center Summer Internship Program

Piedmont University participates in The Washington Center program for summer internships and information on the program is available from the Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences.

Tuition

Tuition for semester abroad programs and The Washington Center program for summer internships is paid to Piedmont University at the Demorest undergraduate rate for tuition, and room & board, including the “19 meals” plan. In the event this tuition and room & board rate does not cover the costs of the travel-study program, the student will pay the difference. The student pays all travel charges. Payment is due before students travel abroad. Students must have financial aid in order by the end of the semester preceding travel. Students will not qualify for unfunded institutional scholarships and grants for travel study programs.

All courses taken at these institutions will be posted on Piedmont University transcripts and included in overall GPA. Also, note that Piedmont University scholarships may be affected for future semesters at Piedmont University if grade status drops below the required minimum overall.

Procedure:

• The Office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs creates an application process and approves students to engage in travel study programs.
• It will be the responsibility of the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs to provide direct cost information to Student Accounts when a student applies for a travel study program.
• Student Accounts shall set payment deadlines to ensure that all charges are covered prior to a student’s departure date.
• Upon completion of a travel study program, it will be the student’s responsibility to provide an official transcript(s) to the Registrar’s Office. Students who fail to provide transcripts will receive an “NR” in any placeholder course work until receipt of official transcript(s).