V. Pre-Program Orientation

Orientation purpose

The goals of an overseas program orientation are multifaceted. Orientation is a time, first and foremost, for the group to get to know each other outside of the typical classroom setting. In addition to building a rapport between the program leader and the students, another primary objective of orientation should be allowing and encouraging participants to develop the skills to evaluate, analyze, and connect what they experience on their overseas program with their Lewis & Clark experience. The study abroad experience, beginning with pre-program orientation, should foster team building and leadership skills—that can be applied beyond the overseas program—and personal growth in each of the participants.

Orientation should also be a time to establish expectations for the program. What does each individual hope to gain from the program, both academically and personally? What are the group’s expectations for the experience and for each other? During orientation, the group should work to understand their existing perceptions of the host country and be able to discuss anxieties, doubts, hopes, and expectations about the program and the country. Understanding what everyone hopes to achieve on the program will enable the success of each participant and will allow the program leader to facilitate, to the best of their ability, a program that meets the students’ expectations, as well as their own. At the same time, it is also important that a leader be able to recognize when students’ expectations are unreasonable. The leader should make clear what the students can and should expect from the host country and the program itself, and what resources and amenities they may or may not have access to.

Finally, orientation should establish a foundation for the program and provide an introduction to the experience the group is about to have. Because overseas programs are by definition experiential learning, orientation should address both academic and practical issues. Orientation sessions should convey adequate historical and cultural background about the program country so that the group feels prepared to confront the challenges and adventures that await them.

Orientation format

Most program leaders hold an initial orientation meeting soon after all participants are accepted so that students get a chance to meet each other informally. Then the group leader typically arranges 4-8 mandatory orientation sessions throughout the semester prior to the program departure. Orientation usually occurs on a bi-weekly basis, with sessions often held in the evening. It is a good idea to figure out a day and time when all participants are available early on in the semester so that you ensure full participation. Below are some elements of orientation that past program leaders and student participants alike have found especially helpful.

• Topical, interactive, collaborative group research projects. These can range from academic to cultural to practical topics, including geographical / historical / cultural overview of the region, logistics of traveling in the country, money, food, and entertainment. Many leaders ask student participants to take the initiative in choosing and developing the topics to be presented, filling in if essential areas are overlooked.
• Guest presentations by past program participants and leaders. Students have reported that hearing about Lewis & Clark study abroad programs from peers who have actually experienced them was the most helpful aspect of their pre-program orientation. The most effective way to identify potential student presenters is to reach out to past program leaders. Program leaders can also ask the Overseas Office to select possible speakers. It is a good idea to meet with the students you have selected prior to their presentation to the group so that you can provide a framework for your program, if necessary. You should also emphasize that they should speak only from their own point of view, talking about their experience with the program, as opposed to telling the students exactly what to expect from their own program.
• Required readings and written work to create a sense of academic accountability. This can be accomplished before orientation (i.e. summer or winter break reading) and/or over the course of the semester.
• Off-campus activities, such as movie nights, dinners, and other get-togethers to allow the group to get more comfortable with each other. The Overseas and Off-Campus Office provides a small budget for these activities. Each program has access to $15 per student for the orientation program. These funds will be issued through reimbursement. Please bring receipts to the Overseas Office to be processed within 30 days of the expense.

Topics and themes

There are three basic concepts that should be addressed during orientation:

• Expectations
• Logistics
• Historical/Cultural Information

As previously mentioned, it is critical that everyone on the program is clear about their own expectations for their experience. In addition to establishing a baseline of what the group already knows or thinks about the country, it is important to emphasize the fact that students may have to let go of some of their prior expectations. One of the main reasons that students study abroad is to experience another culture. One cannot expect a foreign country to be exactly like the United States, and orientation should remind them of that. Students also need to be aware of what is possible on the program (independent research, traveling, etc.) and what will be accessible (communication, transportation, etc.) to them. Making these expectations clear is your job as program leader. You may have to do some investigating to make sure the information you give your students is accurate, particularly if you are also experiencing your program country for the first time.

In your individual program orientation, you will want to discuss and share information such as health and safety, transportation, and communication resources that are available in your program country. Orientation should also prepare the group academically and build momentum for the research projects, internships, or other academic work the students will be undertaking on the program. You should also prepare students to encounter varied teaching styles and academic systems.

Finally, your orientation sessions will consist of discovering and teaching about the historical and cultural context in which you will be studying as a group for the next semester. The student presentations and the assigned readings mentioned earlier help to achieve this goal. You all want to

get the most out of your experience in-country, and learning as much as you can before you depart will allow you to truly enjoy your semester abroad and engage with your host-country’s culture.

The Overseas Programs office can help you throughout this process.

Examples

See examples of orientation syllabi on our website.

Google Classroom for your program

During the application cycle for your program, you and the applicants/students will be added to a Google Classroom site. This site will be used for all communication between our office and the students, and we expect you to utilize the platform for communication with your group as well. Google Classroom allows you to post PDFs, links, create assignments with a deadline attached, and more! It functions similarly to Moodle in that it is a “home page” for your course.

We are happy to go through the functionality with you if you are not familiar with the platform. Storing all documents, announcements, and materials on one site helps all parties involved stay on the same page during the application/interview process, orientation, and on the program.

Introduce your location and academic program

General information

General information about your program location can include basic information on things such as geographic overview, money issues, modes of transport, weather, and history.

Program academic focus areas

Participants should be made aware of the nature of academic engagement expected from them and assignments due during the program. They should also be given an idea of daily and weekly expected time commitments to the program, including whether or not there is an opportunity for participants to undertake independent travel during the program.

Cultural differences from the U.S.

Participants should be made aware of major cultural differences between their culture and that of the U.S. It is a good idea to contact the International Students and Scholars office and find out if a student from your program location is willing to come and speak to your group. Past program participants and leaders are also great guest speakers on this topic and more. By the end of the program orientation process, students should be aware of any common U.S. behaviors or clothing styles that may be culturally inappropriate in the host country.

Team building exercises

Pre-departure orientation meetings are often just as much about giving participants a forum in which they can get to know one another as they are about gaining knowledge about the program location. Your student participant group members will have to rely upon one another to help cope with culture shock, process intercultural learning, and complete academic assignments.

Therefore, students should be asked to work on something in small groups at least once during each pre-departure orientation meeting. Team building exercises are a great way to get students to interact with one another.

Health information and issues

Vaccinations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers travel health information for all countries. Here, you can find out about common diseases and ailments as well as recommended vaccinations.

Prescription medications

Students taking prescription medications should make appointments with their doctors well in advance of program travel to discuss whether a temporary increase in a prescription is necessary. Students are advised to bring enough prescription medication to last for the duration of the program, since not all medications can be easily found in all countries. It is also necessary to remind students to keep all prescription medications in their original containers and carry them on board with them when flying. For more information on air travel and prescription medicines, please see the U.S. Transportation Security Administration’s page on travelers with disabilities and medical conditions. The Overseas & Off-Campus Programs office will communicate precautions with students who have disclosed prescription medications on their confirmation form. Please notify our office if you learn about any updates in student medical information during orientation.

Health insurance

Students on overseas programs are automatically enrolled in the PacificSource Student Health Insurance plan. Just like any other semester, they will need to opt-out if they have their own insurance provider that they prefer to use. All students are required to have primary health insurance coverage. Undergraduate students traveling abroad on overseas programs sponsored by Lewis & Clark are automatically enrolled in a supplemental travel insurance policy through iNext. Students are covered for only the duration of the program from the day of US departure to the last day of the program. Health plan information for students participating on overseas programs can be found here.

Program leaders are insured through their chosen primary heath insurance provider. Program leaders are also enrolled in the iNext Travel Health Insurance plan.

Students and leaders on domestic programs are not enrolled in travel health insurance.

Title IX

You will have a training session with the Overseas Programs office and the Title IX Coordinator to learn about Title IX and processes for reporting a Title IX situation. The webpage for reporting is here: https://www.lclark.edu/about/title_ix_compliance/

Student identity / student diversity

Lewis & Clark has an Office of Equity and Inclusion that can be an excellent resource for students and faculty who have questions about their identity and how they might experience the changes inherent in living and studying in a location away from the Lewis & Clark campus. The Overseas & Off-Campus Programs office is also ready to assist in this regard.

Student accommodations

The ADA does not follow students abroad. But we do our best to advocate for academic accommodations to be offered on our programs, as they are on campus. The Office of Student Accessibility is our partner in this work.

Passports and visas

The Overseas and Off Campus Programs office will let you know about the necessary travel documentation for your program location and will let you know how you and your participants should proceed to obtain documentation.

Everyone traveling on the program is also highly encouraged to go online and enroll in the U.S. State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). STEP includes an automatic sign up for receiving travel warnings and updates pertaining to your travel location(s) and helps the State Department to assist you in case of emergency. This is a mandatory step for program leaders, as you will be the first point of contact for students should any type of emergency occur in-country.

Planning travel and informing the Overseas office

Students are required to purchase their own flights to and from the program location. Our office and in-country staff will decide on a window of arrival and departure time, and students will be required to submit their travel details to our office.

Faculty leader travel

• You can book your own flight to and from the program location and be reimbursed for the cost of the round trip ticket. If you decide to book your own flight, please send us your tentative itinerary (as well as the cost of the tickets) before you make any reservations. Once we review the itinerary, we will let you know if it’s okay to purchase the flights, and then you can send us the receipts for reimbursement.
• You can book your flight through the Overseas Office. To book a flight with our office, you can contact Kaitlin Sommerfeld (ksommerfeld@lclark.edu). We will send you the finalized itinerary once payment is finalized. Leaders may arrive within 5 days of the program start date, and must move out of provided accommodation within 5 days of the program end date. Please provide the following information in your email:
  • Preferred arrival and departure dates and cities
  • Your legal name as it appears on your passport
  • Date of birth

More information and deadlines on booking travel will be sent out the semester before departure. Leaders who do not book their flights by the deadline may be required to cover the additional cost, as the cost difference of purchasing flights can rise substantially.

Social media and online knowledge sharing guidelines and resources

Social Media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, etc) and blogging guidelines

Online knowledge sharing can prove an invaluable resource for communicating what you and students learn while learning off campus with the greater Lewis & Clark community and, indeed, with the world. However, a few guidelines should be followed to ensure that students are aware that what they post can at times be both widely distributed and irrevocable.

• While participants in all Lewis & Clark College Overseas & Off-Campus Programs have full freedoms concerning academic and artistic creations and publications, they are also expected to maintain a standard of conduct that is in keeping both with the Overseas & Off-Campus Programs goal of cultivating intercultural understanding and with the Lewis & Clark Student Code of Conduct.
• Posting of inappropriate or offensive material on the Internet in relation to a Lewis & Clark College Overseas or Off Campus program is not permitted. Maintain an awareness of cultural norms regarding what kinds of content and information are appropriate to share on the Internet in your host country; do not divulge personal or sensitive information without first obtaining explicit consent.

Academic resources

Watzek Library is committed to supporting the research needs of our students and faculty who participate in L&C study abroad programs. They recognize both the challenges and rewards of conducting research while overseas, and offer their support in the following ways:

• Providing content: Online journals, research databases, and ebooks are directly available using an L&C username and password.
• Providing help: Research librarians are available to help find the information you or your students need - even while overseas. Email and Zoom reference help is available.
• Building collections: Librarians will help curate and acquire materials (books, ebooks, films, etc) for your orientation.

Other resources are innumerable. We encourage you to research to see if you can find specific applications or online resources that may be particularly well-suited to your program location or subject(s) of study. Please contact us for any new ideas you have regarding incorporating technology into your program.

Academic considerations

Re-emphasize opportunities to apply overseas study to majors, grant projects, etc

You may want to invite a staff member from Lewis & Clark’s Career Center to come and speak to your students about the ways in which their participation in your program can be applied to future studies, careers, and community involvement.

Registering for classes the semester following the program

If a student is returning to campus in the semester following the program, they are responsible for obtaining advisor approval and registering for courses at the allotted registration time. It is helpful if you obtain registration information ahead of time to ensure that students do not miss their registration time period. If your program will be on an excursion during registration or will not have access to the internet at your registration time, please contact the Office of the Registrar in advance.

Families

You will want to encourage students to reach out to their loved ones back home once they arrive to let them know that they are safe and settling in. Students can choose to share the program itinerary with parents/guardians depending on their personal preference. You should not give your contact information out to parents unless otherwise advised. Parents will be able to contact the Overseas Office if they have any questions or concerns about the program.

If students are expecting a visit from friends or family while on the program, we encourage them to plan this visit after the official program end date. We’ve found that having family visit while students are in school is disruptive, and doesn’t make for the best family vacation. Assuming there are no visa restrictions on travel dates, we always encourage students to plan any personal travel before or after the program.

Provide a packing list

Use your own travel knowledge along with suggestions from the Overseas & Off-Campus Programs office, past program leaders and in-country colleagues to create a packing list for participants. This list will usually include:

• First aid and health and personal hygiene products that are commonly needed and not reliably available in the host country
• Prescription medications in their original packaging
• Outdoors supplies where applicable, including proper walking shoes, hand sanitizer, flashlight, towels, sleep sheet
• Books and supplies necessary for academic work
• Weather and culture-appropriate clothing and umbrellas and sunscreen if necessary
• Recommended means of bringing spending money - cash (usually at least a small amount is recommended), ATM cards, credit cards - find out what works best in your host country
• Recommended personal items or items to give as gifts in the host country
• Recommended electronics items and necessary power adapters (some adapters are much cheaper in country)
• You should also mention any excess baggage fees charged by the airline used for program travel.

A more extensive packing list is available on our website. Be sure to work with staff in your program country to customize the list for your students.