Off-Campus Study Policies & Procedures

Participation on an off-campus program requires approval by the Lawrence Subcommittee on Off-Campus Study and, in the case of affiliated programs, acceptance by the program sponsor. Students must apply using the Lawrence Off-Campus Study Proposal. Each year, the proposal deadline for most affiliated programs for the upcoming summer and following academic year is in early February (a few programs have earlier application deadlines). Applications for the London Centre and the Francophone Seminar in Dakar Senegal are due early in Spring term.

+ Application Evaluation & Eligibility Criteria

Following are the criteria used to determine student eligibility to participate on an off-campus study program and used by the Subcommittee on Off-Campus Study in evaluating applications for such programs.

The student meets all Lawrence eligibility requirements for off-campus study. A student is ineligible for off-campus study in the following cases:
- if she or he will not achieve sophomore status prior to participation on the off-campus program;
- if she or he is on academic probation in the term preceding off-campus study or will not be in good academic standing at the time of participating in off-campus study;
- if she or he is on disciplinary probation in the term preceding off-campus study or will not be in good disciplinary standing at the time of participating in off-campus study; and/or
- if she or he has a demonstrated history of behavioral issues inappropriate for off-campus study.
The proposed program represents a well-defined continuation of the curricular and pedagogical goals of a Lawrence liberal arts education and the individual student’s academic plan. This may include, but is not limited to:
- opportunities to apply, extend, and/or develop specific academic or intellectual skills in a different educational, cultural, or linguistic context;
- opportunities to pursue specific independent research; and/or
- opportunities to apply, extend, and/or develop other kinds of on-campus learning in a different academic, cultural, or linguistic context.
The student’s record shows evidence of college-level preparation and academic achievement appropriate to the proposed program.
In situations where Lawrence limits participation, qualified students proposing their first off-campus program will be given priority over qualified students proposing participation on an additional program.

+ Billing, deposits. & refunds

Lawrence bills program tuition and billable program fees for students participating in LU sponsored and affiliated programs. In the case of Lawrence-sponsored programs, students are charged Lawrence tuition and a program fee to cover fixed in-country costs. In the case of affiliated programs, Lawrence charges only the direct costs billed by the program sponsor plus a nominal administrative fee of $250. Once the student commits to their off-campus program and their LU student account has been adjusted accordingly, this Administrative Fee is nonrefundable even in instances where a student withdraws from the program or does not participate.

Most programs require a confirmation deposit from students to officially accept their offer of admission. For affiliated programs, students pay this deposit directly to the program provider. Students accepted to a Lawrence sponsored program will receive more information about this confirmation deposit upon acceptance. The deposit for an affiliated or sponsored program cannot be billed to a student's Lawrence student account.

Lawrence honors the refund, cancelation, and withdrawal policies of our partner institutions. Once a student accepts placement in a program, the program provider begins preparations for their participation. If, after a student commits to a program, they withdraw or do not participate, most program providers hold the individual student accountable for some to all of the costs incurred on their behalf. Students should make themselves aware of these policies of the organization providing their program.

+ Financial aid and Off-Campus Study

In an effort to promote off-campus study, financial assistance is available to students who wish to participate in one of Lawrence's affiliated or sponsored off-campus programs and who have demonstrated financial need. Merit scholarships, music scholarships, and tuition exchange benefits will not be applied to off-campus study programs, but need-based grants and loans are applicable to all Lawrence-sponsored and Lawrence-affiliated programs. In 2012-13, the maximum Lawrence grant that may be applied is $5,600 for any one-semester or one-term program and $11,200 for any one-year program.

Typically, all government sponsored grants (e.g., Federal Pell Grants, Federal SEOG, and Wisconsin Tuition Grants) are fully applicable to all such programs. Per program policies, students receiving Lawrence Tuition Remission or ACM Tuition Remission will be allowed to apply their tuition benefit toward the cost of Lawrence-sponsored programs. These programs include the London Centre, Kurgan Exchange, and Francophone Seminar in Dakar, Senegal. These benefits are not applicable to Lawrence-affiliated programs.

The cost for many off-campus study programs is greater than the cost of studying for the same period of time at Lawrence. Students should make certain they consider out-of-pocket expenses when deciding whether or not they can afford a given program. Comprehensive cost estimates for all Lawrence affiliated and sponsored programs are available from the Financial Aid office. Students considering Off-Campus Study are encouraged to meet with the Financial Aid office. Some programs (e.g.IES and ISA programs) offer the opportunity to apply for additional scholarship funds.

Any student who will need financial assistance to be able to afford an off-campus study program is encouraged to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as early as possible during the year preceding their proposed program. Even those not qualifying for need-based aid may wish to absorb the incremental expense through either an unsubsidized Stafford Student Loan or a parental PLUS loan and are thus encouraged to submit the FAFSA..

Students are encouraged to pursue outside scholarship opportunities to assist with the incremental cost of off-campus programs. See the Off-Campus Study Funding page for more information about scholarships and funding options for off-campus study.

+ Health advisories, travel advisories, and travel warning

Lawrence strongly recommends that all students avail themselves of the travel information available from the U.S. State Department, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and World Health Organization (WHO) websites. In particular, students should carefully consider the information included in State Department travel advisories and alerts for the country in which they are pursuing off-campus study and/or for any other country to which they are planning to travel during their time abroad. Please note the difference between State Department Travel Warnings and Travel Alerts.

Lawrence will cancel a Lawrence-sponsored program, will withdraw its approval for study on a Lawrence-affiliated program, and will not provide funding or support if a State Department Travel Warning and/or a CDC or WHO travel advisory is in place for the host country. Lawrence does not support students participating on off-campus study programs or international travel in countries with these levels of caution. Withdrawal of approval for an affiliated program bars a student from receiving Lawrence credit for the program and from applying institutional financial aid to the program costs. Exceptions to this policy may be made on a case-by-case basis by the Provost, in consultation with legal counsel.

In order to make certain that a student may make an informed decision regarding participation on a program, the issue of potential loss of Lawrence approval for an affiliated program will be brought to the student’s attention as far in advance of the program start date as it is feasible. This policy applies to students attending programs where such a warning or alert is in place before the program begins (even if there may not have been such a warning or alert for the host country when the student applied and/or was accepted to the program).

+ Mandatory health insurance and coverage

Students participating on a Lawrence-sponsored or -affiliated international off-campus program are required to carry the Lawrence University international medical and evacuation insurance policy administered by Cultural Insurance Services International. The only exception to this requirement is for students on programs provided by IES (students on IES programs will not be enrolled in the LU group coverage through CISI). The Off-Campus Programs office will automatically enroll students for the CISI coverage. The fee for this coverage (approximately $40 per month of coverage) is charged to the student’s Lawrence account along with the program fees.

It is presumed that this coverage is in addition to whatever medical insurance coverage the student already holds and has thus been factored into the comprehensive cost estimates for the international off-campus study programs.

The insurance coverage starts three days before the program start date and extends one week beyond the program end date, to allow time for travel to and from the program. As this coverage is valid only outside the United States, all students are strongly encouraged to maintain their health insurance coverage in the United States in the event of their unexpected return due to a medical emergency.

More information about the coverage through CISI is available here. You will find the Lawrence policy brochure and claim form, how to purchase additional insurance for a period of personal travel, CISI and Assistance Company contact information, and related links.

+ Off-campus study approval wait lists

In order to budget effectively for the institutional costs associated with off-campus study, Lawrence establishes an annual cap on the number of students who may participate on affiliated programs. If there are more suitable applicants than the annual cap allows the Subcommittee to support, a waiting list will be created based upon a combination of seniority and other relevant academic and application factors.

Program capacity for Lawrence sponsored programs (the London Centre, in particular) is limited. In the case of the London Centre, if there are more suitable applicants than there are available spaces for a given term, some students will be shifted to their second-choice term based upon relevant factors. In situations where such accommodations cannot be made, a waiting list ranked according to the same criteria as above will be maintained for each over-subscribed term.

Approval

Lawrence approval is granted only if the student is adequately prepared both personally and academically for the program and if the program coherently fits the goals of a Lawrence liberal arts education and the individual student’s academic plan. The specific evaluation criteria are listed below.

Lawrence’s policy is to support one off-campus study program for those students who elect to study off-campus. The only exceptions to this policy involve the London Centre, the Francophone Seminar, and the Marine Biology Term, each of which may be combined with study on a second program. Students may also elect to participate on a non-affiliated off-campus program and seek transfer credit for that experience (however, Lawrence scholarships, grants, and loans may not be applied to the program costs associated with those programs).