Approval Procedures | Decisions to add new approved programs are made carefully and involve many steps. Ongoing evaluations are conducted with returning students as are periodic site visits by faculty and Overseas Programs staff. A similar process is used to close programs that no longer meet a Washington University academic need or our standards of quality..

Agreements with study abroad providers (such as the School for International Training, the Council on International Education Exchange, and the Institute for the International Education of Students) may involve joining a consortium and do not generate any additional income or support to the University. Scholarships awarded to individual students by these providers are credited directly to the student.

Although Overseas Programs welcome the visit of staff and faculty of foreign universities or study abroad providers not currently part of our list of approved programs, we request that all such visitors schedule through our office and do not make direct approaches to faculty or students.

Evaluation Procedures | One of the tasks of the Study Abroad Advisory Board’s (SAAB) mission is, ‘To review the quality of existing Washington University programs on a regular basis.” The review process consists of two types of review:

1. Evaluation surveys: Study Abroad participants compete an online survey about their study abroad experience through their sa.wustl.edu account. The data is compiled and reviewed by Overseas Programs staff and the SAAB.
2. Site visits: Generally, the SAAB chooses 2-3 programs or regions each year for review. A team of faculty is selected to represent a cross-section of the disciplines in Arts & Sciences that match the strengths of the foreign institutions visited. Returned students from the program under review contribute their perspectives on the program’s strengths and weaknesses. An Overseas Programs Coordinator may also participate in a site visit to evaluate on-site services and support and become familiar with the program in an effort to better advise students about those programs. The SAAB’s goal is for programs to be visited regularly by a team or Coordinator. After each visit, the team or Coordinator is required to produce a site visit report which includes an overview of the visit, particular strengths of the programs visited and suggestions for improvements and new initiatives. The site visit report is presented to the SAAB for review after the visit is conducted.