International Education

Academic Affairs Division

Institution FAQs

What prompted the creation of USG Goes Global?
USG Goes Global was created by the staff at the International Education office at the University System of Georgia in response to requests from the European Council (one of the World Regional Councils) and in collaboration with colleagues at the system office. The new model allows for 1) all associated salaries to be paid by tuition funds, adhering to new GASB accounting rules coming into effect July 1, 2019; 2) all teaching faculty to receive equal compensation; and 3) equalized tuition rate for all students.

What is the difference between the five World Regional Councils (e.g. European Council, Asia Council) and USG Goes Global?
USG Goes Global represents the administrative arm of USG consortium study abroad programs. USG Goes Global is pulling the administrative aspect of study abroad programs together to systematically improve the financial and risk management aspects of USG study abroad consortium programs. The councils will continue to exist separately and will also allow World Regional Council members to focus on the academic aspect of planning, implementing and running study abroad programs on-the-ground.

Who will be the fiscal agent for USG Goes Global Study Abroad programs?
To facilitate collection and distribution of student travel expenses and USG Goes Global tuition funding, the University of West Georgia will act as the fiscal agent for the USG Goes Global study abroad programs. This is because USG Goes Global uses a similar financial model to eCore and the University of West Georgia is where the mechanisms for eCore currently sit.

Who is the USG Goes Global Program Manager?
The USG Goes Global Program Manager will assume the role of Budget/Account Manager as well as Study Abroad Advisor for all USG Goes Global study abroad trips. S/he will work with each institution, Program Directors and teaching faculty. S/he will sit at the University System Office in Atlanta and report to the USG International Education office.

USG INSTITUTION FAQs

What happens if my institution doesn’t use eCore already?
This is not a problem. The USG Goes Global program is not the same as eCore and is not distance education. Rather, USG Goes Global has been modeled after the financial portion of how eCore functions and utilizes the same technologies, but participation in USG Goes Global does not require that you utilize eCore at your institution.

What happens if my institution doesn’t use INGRESS already?
In order to make the multi-institution registration system work, all institutions involved in USG Goes Global will need to utilize INGRESS. The INGRESS system also allows for GoVIEW, USG’s D2L Learning Management System for collaborative programs, to function so that teaching faculty can set-up digital classrooms for students from a multitude of USG institutions. We will provide detailed instructions on how to use INGRESS for USG Goes Global programs and set-up the USG Goes Global courses in your course registration system. If your institution doesn’t already use INGRESS, an added benefit to setting it up for USG Goes Global is that the Georgia Film Academy utilizes INGRESS as well.

How do students register for their USG Goes Global courses?
Students will register for their USG Goes Global courses using their home institution Banner system. Registration will begin at the designated time assigned for summer enrollment on your campus.

How much will tuition cost for students?
$199 per credit hour. One of the key features of the new USG Goes Global program is that the tuition rate will be equalized. This ensures that students sitting together in the same classroom abroad have paid the same amount for the course.

How much money will my institution retain for each student who registers?
$20 per credit hour. The remaining tuition will be remitted to the USG Goes Global program to fund faculty compensation for teaching USG Goes Global study abroad courses, institutional program directors, and USG Goes Global administrative functions.

Will my institution still charge the student mandatory fees?
Since USG Goes Global programs currently only run in the summer, pursuant to BOR Policy 7.3.4.2 institutions should waive all mandatory fees.

Do USG Goes Global students from my institution become University of West Georgia students for Open Doors reporting?
No! All of your students who participate in USG Goes Global will be counted towards your institution’s overall numbers for Open Doors reporting. The USG Goes Global program is a great way to boost your numbers of students studying abroad.

Is my institution still responsible for paying teaching faculty? How will I accumulate these funds if tuition isn’t coming to my institution directly?
The teaching faculty’s home institution will receive funding from USG Goes Global to cover faculty compensation for teaching USG Goes Global study abroad courses, and the home institution will be responsible for acting as the paymaster. One of the hallmarks of the new USG Goes Global program is that all faculty will be paid at the same rate.

How much money will my institution retain to pay teaching faculty?
Each teaching faculty’s home institution will receive $4,000 per course taught. All teaching faculty will be required to teach two courses so your institution can expect $8,000 per teaching faculty. It is our recommendation that each faculty receives at least $3,000 per course taught. The additional $1,000 kept by your institution is to cover fringe benefits and other associated administrative costs.

What happens with 12 month faculty?
Regardless of the teaching faculty’s home institution contract (9 month or 12 month), each teaching faculty’s home institution will still receive $4,000 per course taught. It is then up to the institution if, or how much, your institution will pay the teaching faculty.

What happens with 12 month staff?
For qualified institutional 12 month staff assigned as USG Goes Global course instructors, the home institution will still receive $4000 per course taught. It is then up to the institution to decide if and how staff would be paid and/or released from normal work responsibilities.

Can adjunct faculty teach on USG Goes Global programs?
As some part-time and adjunct professors have constraints within their contracts for teaching in the summer and because USG Goes Global teaching faculty apply and commit over one year in advance to the Summer teaching, we recommend that institutions handle this interest on a case-by-case basis.

Does faculty rank come into account whereby higher ranked/level faculty receive more salary than others?
No, all teaching faculty are paid the same rate. We realize that some more highly ranked/paid faculty will not be interested in signing agreements with USG Goes Global and pursue other options. The USG Goes Global program is meant to give equal opportunity across the entire USG to faculty to teach abroad. We also appreciate that USG Goes Global teaching faculty receive additional benefits that include international travel, room and board.

Does USG Goes Global pay my institution’s faculty, or does my institution pay them directly?
Your institution will use the funds received from the USG Goes Global central office to pay your teaching faculty directly.

How will the billing process work?
Similar to the eCore financial model, the INGRESS system will pull the system-wide registrations and the USG Goes Global Program Manager will work with the University of West Georgia’s fiscal department to invoice/pay each institution – taking into account the number of students enrolled, and the number of teaching faculty assigned from your institution.

What if my institution doesn’t want to sign an MOU and participate in USG Goes Global, could my students still participate?
The USG system administration recommends that all USG institutions sign the USG Goes Global MOU and participate in the program. The USG Goes Global programs are not meant to compete with your home institution’s study abroad programs, but rather act as additional program offerings that are available to all USG students. Each institution can decide whether or not to market individual USG Goes Global programs. For example, if there is a particular USG Goes Global study abroad course that is to a destination your institution already travels to, you may choose to omit this option in your Banner registration system. The USG Goes Global programs are an excellent way for faculty, especially early career faculty to obtain international teaching experience abroad. Additionally, USG Goes Global utilizes the ‘power of the system’ to market programs, especially new ones, system-wide, alleviating the pressure to fill an entire study abroad trip from one campus. All that said, if your institution does not sign an MOU with USG Goes Global, your student can still participate by going as a transient student via the University of West Georgia.

PRIVATE INSTITUTION FAQs

Can I send my students on USG Goes Global trips directly from my institution, or do I have to send them as transient students via the University of West Georgia?
Private institutions participating in USG Goes Global will need to send their students as transient students via the University of West Georgia. However, the University of West Georgia will waive admissions and associated transient student fees. In the future, private institutions utilizing Banner may be able to implement USG’s INGRESS registration sharing system, providing the possibility of registering students for USG Goes Global courses directly from your institution, but for now – all private institution students must register as transient students at UWG.

Do USG Goes Global students from my institution become University of West Georgia students for Open Doors reporting?
No! All of your students who participate in USG Goes Global will be counted towards your institution’s overall numbers for Open Doors reporting. The USG Goes Global program is a great way to boost your numbers of students studying abroad.

How can my institutions faculty become involved?
We welcome faculty from participating private institutions to become involved in USG Goes Global programs. In order for the behind-the-scenes financial model to work, these faculty will need to be hired as Adjunct Faculty at the University of West Georgia. In these cases, the teaching faculty will be compensated directly by UWG; the faculty’s home institution will not receive any funding for these teaching assignments.

INSTITUTIONAL REPRESENTATIVE FAQs

How does the USG Goes Global program change things for students?
We anticipate little-to-no changes for the students and their experience in signing-up, enrolling and going on the program. Students will continue to register on their home campus for their courses and will continue to receive initial support from their Institutional Representative and ongoing support from the USG Goes Global Program Manager.

Can students take 1 course while on the program?
No, all students going on USG Goes Global programs must enroll in 2 courses, with the exception being one course is allowable on two week programs.

How do I sell this program to students now that the tuition price has changed?
For some institutions, the USG Goes Global tuition point ($199/credit hour) is less than tuition rates on their home campus. We are aware that the rate is higher than some institutions but with all of the administrative efficiencies we are putting in place, we are hopeful that the Program Charge (fee charged separate to tuition that covers classroom space, lodging, meals, excursions, etc.) will decrease – ultimately reducing the overall cost to the student.

From where can I request funds for marketing purposes?
The central USG Goes Global office will hold a central marketing budget and institutional representatives may request funds from here. Additionally, Program Directors, as before, will have access to a marketing budget that is collected via the Program Charge.