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Teaching on a Short-Term Program

Elon offers faculty the opportunity to lead short-term global programs, providing students with immersive study away experiences while integrating academic learning. These programs allow faculty to design and teach courses in diverse global locations. Whether leading a Winter Term course, a summer program, or an travel-embedded semester experience, faculty play a key role in fostering global engagement and cross-cultural learning.

Proposing a Short-term Faculty-led Program

Each year, more than 70 Elon faculty and staff lead short-term and travel-embedded global programs, continually seeking new experiential courses to enhance the program portfolio. If you are interested in developing a new GEC program or modifying an existing one, please begin by following the course approval process outlined below.

Our short-term programs include both a pre-departure seminar and an onsite course. Additionally, we encourage faculty to consider ways for students to continue their learning and reflect on their experiences after returning home.

Submission Process

The Global Education Curriculum Committee (GECC) has adopted an approach designed to encourage collaboration between faculty proposing courses and those with experience in course development. Through this process, faculty can receive developmental program status, allowing them to continue developing the courses while they are offered up to two times before they are permanently added to the academic catalog.

  1. Join an Info Session: Prior to submitting a Global (GBL) course, please attend the spring information session co-hosted by the GEC and the Global Education Curriculum Committee (GECC) or contact the Assistant Dean of Global Education to arrange an initial meeting to discuss course design.
  2. Review GECC Call: Each spring, the GECC announces the call for new course proposals.
  3. Indicate Intent to Submit: Before May 1, indicate your interest in submitting a new course proposal according to the instructions in the call. You do not need to have a fully formed idea at this stage. Expressing interest simply lets us know who is working on a proposal and helps ensure you have the support you need.
  4. Utilize GEC Resources:
    • Conduct a Needs Assessment with the Director of Short-Term Programs: This determines the logistical and support needs to fulfill your academic vision for place-based learning. Often, this results in pairing with an educational provider that has expertise in the region and specializes in creating academic environments for learning outside the classroom.
    • Participate in the Summer Global Course Development Workshop: In June, the GEC and GECC hold a half day workshop to assist you in developing your course, focusing on integrating cultural learning frameworks and aligning your course with the Global Engagement goals.
    • Meet with GECC Liaison: Each proposer will be assigned a liaison from GECC, who will provide advice and act as a sounding board as you develop your proposal.
      Submit: Use the submission guide provided by the Assistant Dean of Global Education. Each course requires a separate proposal (for example, the predeparture seminar and the onsite course for short term programs each need their own submission).
  5. Review: All course proposals are reviewed by faculty curriculum committees.
    • For new developmental course proposals: After GECC approval, you may offer the course up to two times under developmental status. After that, proposals must be submitted for permanent inclusion in the academic catalog by going through the standard GECC and University Curriculum Committee (UCC) approval process.
    • For revised course proposals: Once the GECC reviews and endorses your revisions, they will be forwarded to the UCC for final approval. When the UCC grants its approval, your updated course is permanently included in the academic catalog.

Deadlines:
Intent to Submit: May 1
Submission of Developmental Proposals: The Friday of Planning Week (16 months prior to departure)

Teaching on an Athletics Program

Elon faculty have the opportunity to teach in short-term, student-athlete cohort programs, which integrate academics with NCAA-sanctioned international competition tours. These tours, occurring once every four years per team, are common across NCAA institutions. Elon enhances these experiences by incorporating faculty-led coursework designed to provide deeper academic engagement.

These 2-credit courses are typically offered in the fall or spring, with embedded travel over spring break or Thanksgiving break. As athletic cohort courses, they are closed to student-athletes from specific teams.

Faculty interested in teaching on an athletics program indicate their interest through an application process, which begins with a public call for proposals. For more information on the application process and teaching opportunities, contact Athletics or the Assistant Dean of Global Education.

Teaching on a Study USA Program

Study USA offers opportunities to teach in summer and semester programs that combine courses, experiential learning such as internships, and immersive programming across the U.S. These programs are typically theme-based, such as sports in Charlotte and creativity and entertainment in Los Angeles. Course offerings are more specialized and calls for applications may be more targeted. For more details and application details, contact the Director of Study USA.

Resources

The resources available to Elon faculty in proposing and leading short-term programs include:

  • Consulting the
  • Elon’s Global Pedagogy Workshop, which is announced each spring.
  • Orientation (held during Planning Week) and training available throughout the academic year, announced by the GEC.
  • Support from the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL) and the Center for Research on Global Engagement (CRGE).
  • Professional conferences and workshops, including the .
  • Print resources including The Forum of Education Abroad’s  and NAFSA’s . Additional publications are available in Belk Library and the GEC.
  • The Forum of Education Abroad’s and . Elon is a member of The Forum and all faculty and staff can gain access to Forum resources. Contact the GEC for more information.