Advisors
Faculty and staff at Tennessee Tech University are encouraged to support study
abroad for your students. If a student comes to you wondering if study abroad is
for her/him we hope you'll encourage them to attend an information meeting or to make
an appointment to visit the Center for Global Experiences.
Prepare Your Students
When a student indicates an interest in studying abroad, there are many things you can do.
- Encouragement is always first. It helps students to hear faculty and advisors say that study abroad is possible and worth pursuing. Also, encourage the student to make an appointment with the Study Abroad team on Tech Connect.
- When advising students, ask if they have plans to study abroad. This is particularly important when advising freshmen because the earlier they begin to plan the easier it will be to find credits that will transfer in to meet general education requirements and possibly major/minor requirements.
- Look at the student's record and outline the general education, major, or minor requirements they still need to fulfill.
- Help the student to frame his/her preliminary questions. Where, when, for how long? Thinking about those questions early will help him/her use time efficiently once he/she gets to the point of selecting a program.
Your Department and Study Abroad
Each college, and sometimes each department, handles the study abroad process a little differently. There are some general principles, however, that the Center for Global Experiences will provide and that you can rely on.
- Study abroad advising
- Course information, or assistance with access to course information, for study abroad programs
- Detailed program information
- Personal attention for the student to help ensure he or she selects the right program to maximize degree requirements and financial aid
- Other preparation materials
Note: Tennessee Tech University now offers an International Studies minor. If students choose to add this minor, they can use all of their study abroad courses to fulfill the requirements.
For information specific to your department, speak with your department head. The answers to the following questions will give you a good understanding for how your department works with study abroad.
- Who approves study abroad credit in our department when a student is planning to go abroad?
- Does our college offer its own faculty-led programs abroad to students?
- Does our college or department have scholarships specific to study abroad?
- Where are the study abroad resources specific to our department that can be provided to students?
Depending on the program the student might have to choose his/her top 3 choices of universities. After the student has a final study abroad placement, then you and the student will choose the final courses. The Center for Global Experiences team will complete a Transfer Credit form and send it around for signatures on DocuSign. Once the form is completed, it remains in the student's file until the transcript is received after the completion of the study abroad term. Then the transcript and form are indexed and processed through the Graduation Office for posting credit.
