Systems and Procedures
A Division of The Office of Budget and Finance
A Division of The Office of Budget and Finance
Penn State Education Abroad (EA) is responsible for the development, implementation, and operation of study abroad programs offered on behalf of the University. The general goals of EA are to prepare students for citizenship in an increasingly interdependent global community, to provide an international component to the University's curriculum, to enrich the University's general education program, to complement those professionally oriented programs where a study abroad experience is especially desirable, to support the University's cultural diversity initiative, and generally to promote sensitivity to and appreciation of the world's diverse cultures.
Organizationally, EA rests within Penn State Global. The Director of EA reports to the Assistant Vice Provost for Global Learning, who in turn reports to the Vice Provost for Penn State Global, the Vice Provost for Penn State Global reports to the Provost and Executive Vice President.
Participants in these programs remain registered at Penn State and receive regular academic credit toward their degrees under approved Penn State course numbers.
EA is responsible for developing, operating, and administering education abroad programs out of the funds generated by student participants. The Business Manager of Penn State Global maintains the operating budgets for all free-standing programs, as well as an overall administrative budget for EA.
The Vice Provost for Penn State Global is the budget executive for the program operating budgets as well as the EA administrative budget. The Director of EA is the budget administrator for those budgets.
Individual EA programs are expected to be self-supporting in the sense that all operating costs should be covered by the funds generated by student participants.
The Director of EA and the Assistant Vice Provost for Penn State Global are responsible for negotiating and administering all fiscal and contractual commitments on behalf of the University in the operation of EA programs. The Director and Assistant Vice Provost negotiate formal agreements with international institutions and the Global Collaborations Manager prepares all formal agreements. For faculty-led or customized programs, contract negotiations may occur directly between the Assistant Director for Customized Programs and/or the sponsoring academic unit and the host institution. All negotiated contractual documents must be submitted to the Assistant Treasurer (or delegate) for approval.
After obtaining the Assistant Treasurer's (or delegate's) signature and the signature of the appropriate official at the international institution, Penn State Global retains one fully signed copy and provides one fully signed copy to the international institution.
In rare cases, contracts may be established with individual faculty/staff abroad or independent contractors through a similar process.
To ensure adequate on-site campus support of the University's Education Abroad programs, EA provides student enrollment rosters to those University offices that must provide operations and services in support of the Education Abroad programs. These offices include but are not limited to the Office of the Bursar, Housing and Residence Life, Registrar, Office of Student Aid, Counseling and Psychological Services, and Student Accountability and Conflict Response. This coordination enables these various offices to fulfill their respective responsibilities in support of the University's programs abroad (e.g., ensuring that the student participants are billed properly, that the funds collected from student participants are properly credited to the respective Education Abroad operating budgets, that students' course registrations and academic records accurately reflect their enrollment in and completion of a program abroad, that student’s total study abroad program cost of attendance is accurately updated and students’ federal, state, and institutional financial aid is properly adjusted in compliance with federal Title IV regulations governing study abroad programs, that financial aid support is properly adjusted, that on campus housing contracts are canceled for those who will be leaving the residence halls to study abroad, and that student support and wellbeing services are offered to students prior to travel abroad).
To the fullest extent possible, bilateral student exchanges are operated on a quid pro-quo exchange principle to avoid any exchange of monies between partner institutions. Students pay their standard tuition and fees to their home institution and simply exchange places with an equal number of students at the host institution. It is recognized that circumstances might preclude an evenly balanced exchange of students in a particular year; in such cases, every effort is made to adjust the following year's exchange of students to restore balance to the overall exchange relationship. Exchange agreements generally provide for a multi-year format to accommodate imbalances in any one program year, with a goal of being fully balanced with incoming and outgoing students over the course of a 5-year period.
If imbalances cannot be corrected by adjusting the number of students to be exchanged in subsequent years covered by the exchange agreement, the agreement may be extended upon agreement from both parties and under the condition that only the institution that has been disadvantaged by any imbalance is allowed to send the number of students to the other institution necessary to redress the imbalance. During the course of the extension period, the exchange program will be re-assessed for viability, and if it is determined that program closure is the appropriate course of action, then the financial shortfall attributed to the existing imbalance is absorbed by the respective institution.
As with all Education Abroad programs, the tuition fee payments made by Penn State participants in exchange programs are credited in full to the operating budget for the exchange program in which the student is enrolling. EA posts a tuition waiver in LionPATH to each incoming student, waiving all tuition and mandatory fees and charging them to the operating budget that has been established for that particular program. EA pays resident tuition for the visiting exchange students; the non-resident portion of the exchange student tuition, along with the Student Initiated Fee and International Fee, is transferred via journal entry to the University's Waiver Account 5211510000.
Student participants' tuition and program fees comprise the operating funds for Education Abroad programs.
Students selected for enrollment in Education Abroad programs are assessed their regular tuition (Pennsylvania resident or non-Pennsylvania resident, depending upon residency status) by the Office of the Bursar in accordance with standard University procedures and deadlines. For some semester and all summer programs, a credit adjustment of the non-Pennsylvania resident portion of tuition is made on the student’s account to reduce the tuition amount to the Pennsylvania resident rate by the Business Manager (or designee). Tuition for credits earned on education abroad programs is designated as Study Abroad tuition type in LionPATH. The tuition income is credited to cost center 5211210001 in the University Budget Office. The Budget Office then annually distributes an allocation to Penn State Global equal to the resident tuition rate for all credits taken on EA programs that year. The Financial Officer is responsible for coordinating the transfer with the Budget Office.
Housing and food costs can vary from one program to another. For most programs, housing is guaranteed by the host institution abroad and included in the costs billed to the student on their Penn State Bursar account. In most cases, students are responsible for purchasing a majority of their meals as an “out-of-pocket" expense while abroad, though some programs do include a limited number of meals in the costs billed to the student via Penn State Bursar account. For programs where housing is not available through the host institution, students are responsible for arranging and paying for housing accommodations independently.
Participants in Education Abroad programs sponsored by EA usually pay a program fee as well as a non-refundable EA administration fee approved by the provost (currently $250.00 for fall, spring, and academic year programs and $150.00 for summer programs) to help support the cost of operating programs abroad. Students generally are expected to apply for the program of their choice according to published deadlines; after a careful screening and selection process, which may include a personal interview, EA makes an offer of acceptance to those students who have been found qualified for enrollment. To complete the enrollment process, accepted students must then submit a Memorandum of Understanding and other required "committed documents" in which they agree to abide by the conditions for enrollment established by the University.
Normally, the administrative fee is not refundable after a student has accepted an offer of enrollment (i.e., "commitment"). A portion of the program fee may be refundable, however, in cases of student withdrawal (as outlined in the Withdrawal Policy located on the EA website), in cases of program cancellation, if EA subsequently removes a student from its enrollment prior to the actual initiation of the program (i.e. before classes begin abroad), if EA cancels a program for any reason, or if in the judgment of the Director of EA, the circumstances justify such a refund. In such cases, with the approval of the Director of EA, the Business Manager (or designee) will process a credit adjustment to the Bursar student account.
The Director of EA is the Budget Administrator for grant-in-aid and other scholarship funds established for the benefit of Education Abroad participants. EA may draw upon allocated funds and/or the interest and income generated by these funds to support students in affording costs entailed by enrollment in an Education Abroad program. After reviewing student scholarship applications and/or financial need indices as determined by FAFSA and Penn State Student Aid methodology, the Director of EA (or delegate, such as Assistant Director for Academic Services) utilizes eSteward to award scholarships and grants according to financial or donor guidelines. Gifts to the grant-in-aid funds are received and processed through the University Development Office in collaboration with Penn State Global official representatives for Development and/or Donor Relations.
The Director of EA, along with the Business Manager, annually prepares an operating budget for each Education Abroad Program to be offered during that academic year. Operating budgets are based upon the expenses that will be incurred in offering the program abroad and the income derived from the funding sources itemized above (i.e., tuition, program fee, and EA administrative fee).
All EA program operating budgets are accounted for in SIMBA cost centers 8310305XXX.
EA must cover the expenses incurred in the operation of programs abroad out of the funds credited to its operating budget. Those expenses may include such items as the academic fees negotiated with the host institution, room and board (if provided by Penn State or the host institution as an integral part of the program), on-site administrative support expenses, field trips and excursions, and any other support expenses that EA has authorized to ensure the successful operation of a program abroad. This may include travel expenses that have been approved by the Director of EA for any faculty and/or staff member who must visit a program abroad in support of its operation (e.g., for oversight, supervision, consultation, academic quality control, etc.).
For exchange programs, expenses will also include EA's share of the incoming students' Penn State tuition and mandatory fees.
Approved faculty and/or staff travel in direct support of an Education Abroad program may be covered by the Operating budget established for that particular program. Faculty and/or staff travel in connection with the development of new program opportunities will be charged against the EA administrative budget for that particular fiscal year.
In nearly all cases, students are responsible for making their own travel arrangements to the Education Abroad site.
Payments for services abroad will normally be processed by a Non-PO Invoice. Payments can be in either American dollars or in the foreign currency of the host country, depending upon the nature of the contractual agreement negotiated for the particular program. In some cases (e.g., when a Penn State faculty member accompanies students to the foreign location), a faculty/staff member or an on-site coordinator may be responsible for making payments directly to an institution, agency, or individual on-site; in such cases, an advance will be made available to the responsible individual (faculty/staff member or on-site coordinator), who must then provide receipts and an accounting of disbursements made.
The Financial Officer is responsible for ensuring that procedures pertaining to the accountability and safeguarding of all cash receipts, cash funds, and other assets are established and followed in accordance with approved University policies and procedures. Regular audits relating to advances, cash, travel, equipment accountability, and other expenditures provide a means to protect University assets. The Financial Officer is responsible for collaborating with Internal Audit when audits are being performed in the administrative area. Audits relating to sponsored activities or other audits performed by external auditors may also be performed. The Financial Officer would also be responsible for collaborating with the external auditor and/or a central university office related to these procedures.
University Records must be retained and managed in accordance with Policy AD35 University Archives and Records Management and the University Records Retention Schedules that have been approved by the Records Management Advisory Committee (RMAC), the Office of General Counsel, and Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff. These Records Retention Schedules are derived from - or based upon - federal, state, and local statutes or regulations (i.e., Federal Acquisition Regulations, the OMB Uniform Guidance, Internal Revenue Service, and other regulations governing the auditability and retention of financial records), University Policy, industry standards, and business needs. All University Records must be maintained in such a manner to provide ease of access, establish a suitable audit trail for all transactions, and to be reviewed prior to disposition.
University Records and Transitory/Disposable Records are defined below. See Policy AD35, Definition of Terms for additional information.
University Records - Information that documents a transaction or regularly conducted activity of the University and that is created, received, or retained pursuant to law, University policy, or in connection with a transaction, business, or activity of the University. The term includes documents, papers, letters, books, drawings, maps, plans, photographs, tapes, film or sound recordings, microforms, digital or analog files, information stored or maintained electronically, and data- or image-processed documents.
Transitory/Disposable Records - University Records that have temporary value and, as a result, may be destroyed after they are no longer needed. In no event shall be retained longer than the official copy of the University Records as delineated on the Records Retention Schedule. Examples include photocopies of official University Records, a printed copy of a University Record that is held by the Responsible Party or within a System of Record, a spreadsheet containing data that is exported from an officially resides in another systems, personal emails not related to University business or activity, and/or mass emails or communications.
Upon completion of the retention period, University Records must be disposed of via secure destruction or transfer to University Archives, unless an exception to the disposition process set forth below applies. In many cases, retention periods and disposition methods may be generally determined by comparing the type of record (i.e., reports, correspondence, etc.) to similar records series with known retention periods listed on the Records Retention Schedule. If the disposition method for University Records states "Review by Archives" on the Records Retention Schedule, the Unit responsible for those records should consult the University Archivist for a final determination of disposition. For University Records that must be securely destroyed, units may arrange for shredding services by either contacting the Blue/White Shredding Program or the Inactive Records Center (IRC).
Exceptions to the disposition process are as follows:
To safeguard the privacy of individuals, records that contain Personally Identifiable Information (PII), as defined in University Policy AD53 Privacy Policy, or student records, as defined in University Policy AD11 Confidentiality of Student Records, must be securely destroyed beyond recovery. For additional information regarding privacy and the protection of an individual's personal information, see Policy AD53 Privacy Policy.
Additional questions may be directed to the Office of Records Management.
There are no exhibits associated with this procedure.
For questions or additional details pertaining to this procedure, please contact the Director of EA.
To request changes to this procedure please contact the Office of Systems and Procedures by submitting a GURU Technical Support Request Form.
May 22, 2024