Faculty and Staff

• Start by visiting the Office of International Education's education abroad webpage. This page is the best starting point to find out which programs are offered, how much they cost and what academic components they contain. The page also contains other resources for students that may help them explore their options.
• Talk to your advisees and encourage them to think about adding an education abroad experience to their academic career. Here are some topics to talk about from the perspective of your role as their academic adviser:
  • Why should your students study abroad? How will this experience directly impact their chosen field of study or contribute to personal growth?
  • When is the best time for your students to study abroad (i.e., do they have sequential courses or other requirements that would negate a certain time frame in their course of study? Best to go sophomore year? Junior year? Senior year? Spring/fall semester? Multiple options?)
  • Are there major classes that can be taken abroad and transferred back, or would it be better for your students to stick to general education requirements? Conversely, are there courses that cannot be taken anywhere but at UWRF?
  • Will faculty from your department participate in the Experience Scotland, Semester Abroad: Europe or International Traveling Classroom programs? Develop a faculty-led short-term program? When?
  • Can your students complete a semester's worth (12 credits) of undergraduate research, independent study and/or an internship and apply it toward their major/minor requirements? (In other words, would the Semester Abroad: Europe program be a good fit?)
  • Are there any other considerations (accreditation, licensure requirements, similar accreditations in other countries, etc.) that would guide your students toward the best possible education abroad programs?
• Are your students worried about the cost of the program? The Office of International Education and our faculty and staff program leaders work hard to create high-impact education abroad programming that is also conservatively priced, but we understand that any added expense can be daunting for students to consider. That said, many of UWRF's education abroad programs are more affordable than one would think. Please encourage your advisees to speak with a Financial Aid counselor to see what options are available to them and to check our Paying for Education Abroad webpage for additional funding sources. The main message in regards to cost is to encourage them to explore their options before they definitively say, "no, I can't afford it."

Want to know more? We'd be happy to speak with you at any time! Please contact us or stop by the Office of International Education in 287 Rodli Hall to chat with one of our professional staff.

When requesting a presentation, please include the follow information:

• Course number and title or name of organization
• Class or meeting location
• Date and time of presentation (please include alternative options)
• Desired length of presentation
• Available technology in the meeting location (computer, projector, video, etc.)
• Number of students
• Instructor/Contact name
• Contact email
• Contact phone number

Once we receive your request, we will follow up with you as soon as possible to schedule a visit.

Faculty interested in applying to teach with the International Traveling Classroom program should email the below documents to ITC Coordinator, Kayla Klanderman at kayla.klanderman@uwrf.edu.
•    Curriculum Vitae
•    Course Proposal Document 
•    Proposed Course Syllabi*
•    Signed Faculty Responsibilities and Privileges Form 
•    Approval for Application Form with all required campus signatures

*Please note: At this stage, course syllabi do not need to be updated to reflect the Europe-specific activity. The course proposal form will ask for an outline of your intended use of the local environment. If selected to teach in the program, updated Europe-specific syllabi will be required prior to on-site teaching.

Deadline: All application materials should be submitted by February 14, 2025 to be considered for the fall 2026 term. 

Eligibility: Priority will be given to current faculty at UW-River Falls. Preference will be given to faculty who meet the following criteria:

• Courses appeal to a variety of majors and meet UWRF general education requirements.
• Courses can be adapted to utilize the local setting while abroad.
• Faculty is able to teach multiple courses/modules.

The Experience Scotland program maintains a commitment to providing unique international teaching opportunities to not only students at our various partner campuses, but also faculty. Over 300 faculty have taught in the program throughout our history. Faculty play an instrumental role in the Experience Scotland international community at Newbattle Abbey and many faculty have reported that the teaching experience in Scotland has been just as life-changing for them as it is for the students they teach! Explore the "Faculty Resources" section of our Experience Scotland webpage to learn more about teaching in this program and to access the application process.  

Reach out to kelsey.mclean@uwrf.edu for additional information or to request a meeting to learn more about the opportunity.

Whenever students are traveling abroad under the auspices of UWRF, some steps need to be taken to prepare students for their experience, to obtain international health insurance coverage, and to make sure the proper planning is undertaken in regards to safety and liability. This is where the Office of International Education comes in! We're here to support the faculty and staff who are coordinating these efforts for our students so all involved can have a safe and positive experience. 

The Faculty and Staff Handbook (9.6.5 Education Abroad) notes that all students who travel abroad must complete a UWRF education abroad application before they go. Students must complete this application when the education/experience is in any way supported by UWRF faculty or staff or a UWRF department or program (including affiliated programs/experiences). Students must complete a UWRF education abroad application whether engaging in the education/experience for credit or not. 

So how do you make this happen? Contact the Office of International Education at least two months prior to your students going abroad and set up a short meeting so we can walk you through the steps involved. Email us at studyabroad@uwrf.edu to get started!

• Faculty Senate International Programs Committee: The Faculty Senate International Programs Committee (commonly called "IPC") is a Faculty Senate standing committee whose role is to explore internationally-related topics and issues for the UWRF campus. The IPC reviews education abroad course and program proposals, explores faculty leader topics (compensation, selection, etc.), examines issues relating to international students, etc., to manage and maintain standards and make recommendations to the campus regarding international programs. The IPC also strategizes ways to internationalize the campus as a whole, and acts as an advisory body to the Office of International Education. Faculty/staff members will serve three-year terms with approximately one-third being appointed each year.

The Core Fulbright Scholar Program offers teaching, research or combination teaching/research awards in over 125 countries. Opportunities are available for college and university faculty and administrators as well as for professionals, artists, journalists, scientists, lawyers, independent scholars and many others. 

At UWRF, the Faculty and Staff Handbook policy states that, "faculty who wish to accept a Fulbright grant will be continued in their present salary and benefits by UWRF through the mechanism of turning over to UWRF the cost of replacing their teaching services for the duration of the Fulbright" (Article IX: Fulbright Fellowships).

Fulbright Scholars on Campus:

• Matt Vonk, Physics, Nicaragua, 2009, Fulbright Ambassador
• Geoffrey Scheurman, Teacher Education, Norway, 2012
• Gary Onan, Animal Science, Romania, 2016
• Rhonda Petree, Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Estonia, 2018

Adding a Global Perspectives University Requirement designator (a "GP") to your course is a formal way to indicate the internationalized components of that curriculum. GP courses support the campus strategic goal of developing global education and engagement, and also have the added benefit of positively positioning a course that could be under-enrolled within the University and/or departmental curriculum. GP designators are allowable for courses at the 200-level or above which are 3+ credits. The GP works well for on- and off-campus courses. For more information, visit the Faculty Senate Academic Forms page and look for Appendix GP: Global Perspectives.