Financial Matters

All financial matters related to faculty-led programs are governed by applicable CWU policy and state law. Study Abroad & Exchange Programs staff work closely with the Travel Office, Budget Planning, Purchasing, Cashiers, and the Internal Auditor in an effort to ensure compliance with these regulations. Occassionally policies and laws do change without warning; in these cases, SAEP staff will make every effort to address issues when they are identified.

Faculty Coordinators have an equal responsibility for ensuring that programs operate in compliance with CWU policy and state law and are encouraged to seek clarification should procedural questions arise.

Initial Finances and Budgeting

The program budget is an indicator of the feasibility and affordability of the program. All overseas programs must be affordable for students, in compliance with State law and CWU policy, and financially self-supporting. When developing the program budget, there are two points to keep in mind:

1. identify all costs to participants and the university (even those outside the budget)
2. develop the highest quality program at the lowest reasonable expense to students

The program fee represents only part of the total program cost to students. International airfare, passport and visa costs, meals which aren't included in the program fee and spending money are additional items that make up the total cost of a program. Over 80% of CWU students receive some form of financial aid, so the more economical the program fee, the more likely we are to recruit and retain applicants.

SAEP develops conservative program budgets with Faculty Coordinators, which protects the program in case of unexpected currency fluctuations in the months between initial planning and the actual departure of the group. However, this does not provide for changes to the original budget once the group is on-site. Items cannot be added at that point, because there is no funding available to pay for them. SAEP will assist new Faculty Coordinators with budget development to ensure that typical program expenses are included. SAEP provides continuing Faculty Coordinators with budget information based on their last program to ensure that all costs are accounted for up front.

The final budget for the program is set by SAEP. You should not inform students about possible program cost until SAEP has established this final figure. If you have selected a program provider or vendor, SAEP will obtain the final costs from the vendor. This protects both you and SAEP from possible misunderstandings.

Minimum enrollment
All programs are budgeted based on a minimum enrollment of 10 students. Faculty Coordinator expenses as well as those of the participants are covered in the program fee; a minimum enrollment ensures that the program is not a financial burden on participants.

Programs can run with more than the minimum, and are occasionally able to run with less if faculty are willing to cut their per diem and salary lines to make this possible. Once published, the program fee will not be adjusted to compensate for low enrollments.

Developing the budget
SAEP will work with you to develop a viable budget for your program. The FLP sample budget will help you to include all items which should be part of the program cost, including pre-departure expenses, such as books & supplies, paid newspaper advertisements, and production of marketing materials. Not all items are included for all programs; the sample budget is merely intended to help you examine all options. We recommend that you include as many expenses as are necessary to the program in the budget so that students do not have to carry large amounts of cash with them.

Budget development is critical to the success of your program, and requires some time to finalize with SAEP. Failure to include all items in the final budget could result in those items being excluded from reimbursement. Substantial unexpected costs could result in the cancellation of the program if alternative arrangements cannot be made (for example, if a domestic flight in the program country became necessary but was not anticipated).

CWU tuition is not charged to participants in faculty-led programs.

SAEP fees
Study Abroad & Exchange Programs is 100% self-support funded, therefore we must charge administrative fees for our services. The following fees apply to all faculty-led programs.

Application fee: $50, due upon application to the program. Students pay this at the Cashiers Office in Barge Hall.

Faculty-led program service fee: $200 for programs 14 days or less, $300 for programs over 14 days. This fee is built into the program price.

Emergency Reserve Pool: 3% of total program cost. This amount reverts to an overall reserve pool in the event that a faculty-led program should need it. These situations include emergencies, damage, evacuation, and default of student payments.

Budget adjustments
It's inevitable that your budget will change as you determine the actual number of participants in the program, work more closely with your partners abroad, and monitor exchange rates. Though the budget submitted with your proposal should be thorough and accurate to the best of your knowledge, there will be room for modifications once the program is approved and before a price has been advertised to students. Once a price has been advertised, it will not be increased to cover enrollment shortfalls or other unanticipated costs.

For more information on budget adjustments due to over- or under-enrollment in the program, please see "Compensation" in the Faculty Logistics section.

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