Faculty Leader Responsibilities for Faculty-Led Programs

The below information outlines the agreed upon responsibilities related to a faculty's role in an approved faculty-led program with the Office of Global Engagement (OGE) at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK).

Faculty Leaders certify their agreement to abide by these policies upon the submission of a Faculty-Led Program Proposal Application and automatically assume these responsibilities once their proposal has been approved by the university.

 ACADEMIC RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Faculty-led programs are classified as off-campus credit-bearing academic courses and all programs will be required to meet the following policies and procedures as such:

 

• Faculty Leaders are the primary persons responsible for ensuring all administrative components of their approved faculty-led program and its associated academic course are implemented correctly and follow the appropriate procedures for faculty-led programming established by the university, their academic college and department, and the Office of Global Engagement. 
• Academic colleges are responsible for a Faculty Leader's pay when teaching an approved faculty-led program and faculty will need to discuss teacher loads and other requirements directly with their Department Chair. Faculty are the primary persons responsible for keeping their department chair updated throughout the faculty-led program cycle.   

 PROGRAMMING RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Faculty Leaders agree to work in collaboration with OGE staff and to communicate regularly with their office in regards to the approved faculty-led program. This includes attending the required meetings throughout a program cycle to review policies, procedures, logistics, budgets and risk management requirements related to the approved faculty-led program.
• Faculty Leaders are responsible for all arrangement of the approved faculty-led program’s logistics (housing, transportation, excursions and possible meals, guest lectures, itineraries, etc.) and required to submit all service proposals/quotes for university approval to OGE prior to entering any contractual agreement with a vendor, program provider, and/or host institution.
• Faculty Leaders are required to follow all Texas A&M University-Kingsville and TAMU System Risk Management policies and procedures as they relate to study abroad and university-sponsored international student travel. Faculty Leaders will be required to submit a program-specific contingency plan that will document the risk management procedures prior to the program’s departure.
• Faculty Leaders are to inform OGE as soon as possible of any accompanied non-participants they are intending to bring with them on their approved faculty-led program to verify feasibility to receive the necessary approval from university administration prior to their attendance.
• Faculty Leaders understand that Texas A&M University-Kingsville reserves the right to discontinue an approved faculty-led program at any time before, during, or after its departure, and at its sole discretion. Reasons for discontinuing or cancellation of a faculty-led program include but are not limited to insufficient enrollment, elevated travel advisories from the U.S. Department of State and/or CDC. OGE will work with the Faculty Leader to determine the best course of action prior to cancellation.
• It is expected that faculty understand the commitment they are making to the university, their academic college/department, global engagement and their students when submitting a faculty-led program proposal and will not withdraw their application for any reason, if approved, with the exception of an emergency situation. Identification of an alternate faculty member will be required on the faculty-led program program proposal in the event that the primary faculty leader is no longer able to perform the duties listed on this document and agreed upon with the submission of their faculty-led program proposal application. In the event that the primary Faculty Leader's withdrawal from their approved faculty-led program has been approved, it is their responsibility to call upon and prepare the alternative faculty member to take over prior to their stepping down.
• Faculty Leaders are the primary persons responsible for the classroom management and general supervision of all registered participants of the faculty-led program and are, among other things, responsible for supervising and monitoring each student’s conformance to TAMUK and other applicable policies, rules, regulations and standards of conduct.

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Faculty Leaders understand that all TAMUK faculty-led programs are wholly self-supporting and all costs in offering the program, including faculty expenses, must be covered by the individual program fee charged directly to the students. Faculty also acknowledge their responsibility for following TAMU System Best Value Practices to help keep student costs at minimum without jeopardizing the quality of the program.
• A primary responsibility of the Faculty Leader is to conduct program-specific recruitment activities to secure the targeted student enrollment as established in their faculty-led program proposal. Faculty will work with their department/college’s administration to promote their program through activities such as classroom visits, email/social media campaigns, and attending OGE promotional events.   
• University policy requires all logistical payments for the faculty-led program are to be made on either the Faculty Leader’s travel card or via wire transfer once the Faculty’s travel request for the approved faculty-led program has been approved in Concur and student monies are available in the program account to cover the expenses. Travel requests can only be submitted once the target student enrollment number for the program has been met and list of registered students has been confirmed.
• Faculty Leaders are responsible for monitoring program expenses to ensure that charges do not exceed the budget included in their approved faculty-led program proposal. Should the estimated program expenses increase once the faculty-led program fee has been approved by the President, Faculty Leaders are responsible for adjusting their budgets or securing outside funding sources to accommodate for any over-expenditures to avoid an overall negative balance to the program account. Over-expenditures due to an emergency require authorization from OGE prior to the charge(s) being made.  
• Faculty Leaders are responsible for ensuring all financial reporting requirements related to the expenses incurred of the approved faculty-led program are meet and completed by the established deadlines listed below: 

Faculty-Led Program Financial Reports Timeline

Financial Report	Due Date	Notes
Concur Travel Request	A minimum of 30 days prior to the established travel date for the international faculty-led program.	Cannot be submitted until an approved faculty-led program has met the target enrollment number listed in the approved faculty-led program proposal.  Only program expenses that will be paid with the faculty leader's university travel card will need to be listed as expected expenses on the submitted request.  No program expenses can be paid for with a faculty leaders university travel card until the travel request has been approved.
Cash Advance Request	A minimum of 10 days before the established travel date for the international faculty-led program.	Only needed to be submitted if the faculty leader is taking cash to cover any program expenses.
Wire Transfers	A minimum of 30 days prior to the listed due date on the supplier's invoice.	Service provider must be an active vendor in JavelinaBuy to be able to process payments.
Cash Advance Expenses Statement	A maximum of 4 days after the return/faculty-led program travel end date.	Submission of any and all itemized receipts for program purchases made with cash advance funds will need to be included with the required Cash Advance Expenses Statement
Concur Travel Expense Report	A maximum of 30 days after the return/faculty-led program travel end date.	Submission of any and all itemized receipts for program purchases made on the faculty leader's university travel card and/or personal credit card will need to be included with the required Concur Travel Expense Report

• A program evaluation report will be sent at the end of the fiscal year to the Faculty Leader, Department Chair, College Dean and Provost for review and will include this information. 

RISK MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES: 

• Faculty Leaders are required to follow all Texas A&M University-Kingsville and TAMU System Risk Management policies and procedures as they relate to study abroad and university-sponsored international student travel. Faculty Leaders will be required to submit a program-specific contingency plan that will document the risk management procedures included in their faculty-led program proposal packet. 
• Faculty Leaders are the primary responsible persons for the health and safety of all registered participants attending their approved faculty-led program. Faculty will be required to attend risk management training prior to the departure of their faculty-led program or jeopardize their ability to travel on behalf of the university. 
• Faculty Leaders are considered Campus Security Authorities (CSA) as defined by The Clery Act and responsible for reporting any incidents of crimes during their faculty-led program. Faculty will automatically be identified to university police once a faculty-led program proposal has been approved and responsible for submitting the annual CSA Crime Statistics Report form to UPD for that calendar year. 
• Faculty Leaders are considered Responsible Employees as defined by the Office of Compliance, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, and the Texas A&M University System and required to report any student sexual assault, misconduct, or harassment that happens during their faculty-led program.  

Expectations of the Academic College & Department include, but are not limited to: 

• Provide preliminary approval to a faculty member interested in developing a faculty-led program and initiating the proposal process with the Office of Global Engagement.
• Review and approve all submitted faculty-led program proposal application packets to ensure the proposed off-campus credit-bearing academic courses meet the following policies: 

• Certifying a faculty member's eligibility to teach the selected academic course offering included in a faculty-led program proposal.
• Academic Departments are responsible for assigning a workload percentage for the faculty member on the department's faculty workload reports reflecting the academic course being taught off-campus. 
• Academic Colleges are responsible for payment of the faculty member's salary for the course being taught off-campus.      

The Global Engagement Office expectations include, but are not limited to:

• Collaborate with the faculty leader(s) to establish the program. Facilitate all components of the faculty leader's proposal application process.
• Collaborate with the faculty leader to develop the program budget and manage funds accordingly.
• Assist with program marketing by developing a program brochure page in Via-TRM and offering the opportunity to exhibit at various global engagement promotional events.
• Initiate and maintain the student billing process in collaboration with Business Services Office. 
• Upload academic courses for confirmed faculty-led programs into Blue & Gold and assist students with the registration process.  
• Host the pre-departure risk management meeting for program leaders to best prepare faculty for emergencies and student behavior abroad, as well as inform leaders about liability forms and insurance.
• Support faculty before, during, and after the program.
• Respond to emergencies as needed.
• Complete program evaluations and submit to the appropriate departments and university administration.
• Facilitate the student online application process and completion of all pre-departure requirements.
• Provide the pre-departure risk management workshop, mandatory for all students traveling internationally on university-sponsored programs.
• Promote all global programs through various marketing campaigns and recruitment events.