Study Abroad Opportunities

Leiki: Good afternoon, everyone. And thank you for joining us today for this session on the George Washington University Study Abroad opportunities. Just a few items I wanted to cover off before we get started. If you are called into the event, can you please keep your phones on mute. I do recommend listening through your computer speakers but for those of you who don’t have speakers and need to call in the call in information is in the chat box on the right-hand side of your screen.Secondly, we will be recording this event and sending out the link afterwards. So please feel free to share this with anyone who you think would be interested. Lastly, we will have a question and answer period at the end of the session. I will be taking questions throughout the session, so please feel free to type them into the chat box at the right-hand side of your screen and we will get to them at the end.

Okay. Let’s get started. The Global and Experiential Education facilitates approximately twenty graduate elective overseas short courses and manages sixteen semester-based bilateral exchanges per annum. These programs are comprehensively and independently run within the George Washington University School of Business and present unique opportunities for students to add a global perspective to their GW degree.

Lisa Brancheau is the assistant director of Global and Experiential Education at GWSB. In this capacity, Lisa works collaboratively with the executive director to manage graduate elective Short-Term Study Abroad programs and student exchanges with the GWSB partner institutions. Please join her as she discusses the Study Abroad opportunities in greater detail.

Lisa: Yes. So thank you, Leiki, for that wonderful introduction. So I’m really excited to be here and have the opportunity to speak with you all about the Global and Experiential education opportunities that we have through the School of Business.

So, as she mentioned, you know, I advise on all of our overseas elective Study Abroad opportunities. And I do believe that the School of Business at the George Washington University is unique and that it has an office within the School of Business that’s completely dedicated to offering Global and Experiential opportunities, specifically for graduate students in the School of Business. So Healthcare MBA students fall under our purview. And I wanted to talk about a number of programs that we offer as an office that you would have access to through being a Healthcare MBA student.

So this summary is really just, kind of, an overview of all of our programs. And then at the Q&A at the end I’m happy to talk more in detail about some of the programs. But do know that if there are opportunities that Healthcare MBA students have participated in in the past I’ll be sure to highlight those.

So, just quickly, to give you an idea of the numbers, in the last year which was 2014 we ran 29 different programs. And so those were across eighteen different countries. We sent over 360 students abroad. Of that number, Healthcare MBA students comprised about ten percent of that population. So about one in ten of the Healthcare MBA student population will participate in an overseas Study Abroad opportunity. And so that’s something for you to keep in mind as you’re planning out the rest of your courses for your program, know that these are an option available to you. We also do provide support to our international student population. So through our office we have an [Cuts Out Briefly at 00:03:32] degrees in the School of Business.

But I will be talking about elective Study Abroad opportunities. So what these opportunities are is within your Healthcare MBA curriculum you have core classes that you are required to take. But then you also have a number of elective credits available to you. So these Study Abroad opportunities that I’m going to mention would help to fulfil the elective credit that you have available in your program.

So there’s many ways for you to enrich your Healthcare MBA. So I’m going to discuss, at length, the short-term and long-term options available that are through our office. Note that there are other opportunities through the university, through the Washington, DC Consortium and in other GW schools outside of the School of Business. And so we typically list those opportunities on our website under non-G&EE courses. So you would have the opportunity to view those.

But, finally, if you do find another program that is offered by another institution outside of the George Washington University and outside of the Washington Consortium, you do have the opportunity to pursue that for transfer credit. And so I’ll talk briefly about what the procedure would be to do that.

But, first off, I think it’s important to touch on some considerations for choosing an overseas program. So for many students you are balancing lots of other responsibilities aside from completing your course work for your Healthcare MBA. And we understand that. And so we want to just review briefly what some of the considerations are for students, and how these programs can help you fulfil that elective credit and get you that much closer to graduation and completing your degree.

So, first off, I think it’s important to mention that we do strive to have a diverse range of offerings across multiple regions and sectors. So for many students, if you’re looking to enrich your regional expertise, so you’ve travelled previously to a specific region or country, or perhaps there’s a new area of the world that you’re looking to gain additional exposure to, these programs are a great way of doing that. And also in terms of sectors. So some students may have worked in some fields within healthcare but are looking to brand into another area of the healthcare field. And so these Short-Term Study Abroad opportunities are a great way to gain additional exposure into a specific sector that perhaps you’re looking to go into.

The great part about them is they are academic opportunities, so you are earning credit towards your degree. And they’re designed to really build upon the core classes of the MBA and really take, you know, the basic foundation courses that you’re … or the foundation methods that you’re learning and see how they apply in other countries or in new sectors. And so it’s really, kind of, elevating the core classes and building upon what you’re already learned in those opportunities.

And, finally, there is the type of international experience. So we do have some that are completely immersive. So if you’re enrolling in one of our either short-term or long-term exchanges with our partner institutions, those are completely run by that institution. So you would be immersing yourself and taking classes with students from those institutions and also their other partner universities.

Or you could choose a study tour where a School of Business faculty member takes students abroad and you’re really just, kind of, visiting companies that do business in that country and learning, kind of, what the business environment is or particularly how the business environment is for that sector.
You may also … we do have consulting programs. So the Study Abroad opportunities include a live client where students are actually working on a project, a live consulting project and providing feedback and recommendations to that client.

So we have a couple different types of programs that students can choose from. And then, finally, cost is obviously a big important piece for students. So there is a program fee that I’ll talk about later in more detail. But do know that there is an additional cost for any of these overseas programs. And so that’s something that students should be aware of when they’re budgeting and also completing the financial aid paperwork and requests for the upcoming semesters.

Scheduling and timing plays into it in terms of when, you know, it works out best for you to do a program. So our Long-Term Study Abroad opportunities are in the fall and spring semester, however, our short-term opportunities do run traditionally during academic breaks. So I think these are a great benefit for students who are looking to advance in their degree because you’re able to take classes and earn credit in traditional academic breaks when you normally wouldn’t otherwise be in class.

So, for example, we have a number of opportunities that are travelling this January over winter break. And these programs all fall in the two weeks before the start of the spring semester. We also have courses that run over spring break. So in March you have a week off for the spring break and that is typically between … the break between the third and fourth modular of the spring semester and so that’s when we also have programs running. And then we do have a number of summer programs as well.

And the credit weight will vary. So you’ll find some opportunities are even as small as 1.5 credits but could go up to 6 credits. So students really, you know, could earn a lot of credit in, you know, a two to three week span if that’s something that, you know, seems attractive to you.

And, finally, there are great career development and networking opportunities. So these courses are open to all graduate students at the university. And so it’s a really great way to meet students from our other MBA programs, from our Specialized Masters program as well as students from other schools within GW, such as the School of International Affairs and the School of Public Policy and Public Administration.

And we also try, wherever we can, to arrange alumni events with our international alumni who are living in the city or country where we’re travelling to. So these are a great opportunity for you to, kind of, meet your fellow Healthcare MBA students in person but then also meet other students and alumni who are either living in the country or travelling with you participating in the program.

So to get a little more specific … so I’m going to talk about two different types of Short-Term Study Abroad opportunities first, the first being those that are led by School of Business faculty members. So these are our professors, some of whom you may have had in class, who will be taking students abroad. And these abroad programs usually last one to two weeks. Typically, they’re around the ten-day range. So for those many of you who are working full time you would leaving on, let’s say, a Friday or a Saturday and coming back the following Sunday. So this would really only require, you know, maybe a week or slightly more off from work. But, in total, you’d be spending around ten to eleven days in country.

Most of these programs have class sessions prior to travel and then also perhaps when you return. And these are usually two to four class sessions. They try to schedule them either in the evenings or on weekends. Some of them are also online so students who would be participating in these sessions either through webinars or through blackboard. And, really, these sessions are designed to, kind of, lay the groundwork of the topic and also provide, you know, some additional information on the countries students will be travelling to.

As I mentioned before, we offer them during winter, spring and summer breaks. And the destinations do vary from year to year. So every year we open a call for proposals with our faculty members and they can propose different programs. So you may find some repeat locations but we do try to also include new programs every year to new destinations.

To give you an idea of the number of faculty-led programs, we ran in total eleven programs last year in 2014. And then I can tell you for the winter break of 2015, so this upcoming January, we have three faculty-led programs. And then over spring break, we have an additional three faculty-led programs. In the summer, it’s likely that we’ll have around four opportunities for students that will be running over the summer and will be led by our faculty.

To give you an idea to some of the programs, so it’s … if you go to our website right now, which I know the links will be shared at the end of this session, so that’s how you can access our website … so those opportunities are listed for the upcoming winter and spring breaks. But this is just an idea as to some of the programs we’ve offered in the past. You can see we tried to have a diverse range of locations but also sectors being represented. So … and then we also include some pictures throughout the presentation that were taken by students while they were travelling on some of our programs.
To talk a little more specifically about a program that’s received a lot of participation from our Healthcare MBA students, this is our program to Sweden. That’s Dr. Anna Helm, who’s a professor in our International Business Department. She has run for the last three years. And so this is really looking at healthcare and marketing strategy but drilling it down even further to what the Swedish experience is in that sector.

So Dr. Helm herself is Swedish, so she has really great connections in Sweden and works directly with the US Chamber of Commerce in Sweden to set up clients for students to work with. She has some pre-travel class sessions, which are taught completely online. This is when she introduces you to the specific client you’ll be working on, you’ll develop your team so you’re working with a team of students remotely on this consulting project.

And so then you will meet in country, in Stockholm for one week where you’ll be meeting with the client but then also conducting other site visits to just get an idea of the Swedish healthcare industry. And it’s also a time for you to, you know, finish polishing up your final deliverable for the client. And, in the past, she’s always tried to have the final client presentations be at the US Embassy in Sweden. So I know sometimes there are some scheduling conflicts and we aren’t able to but for one or two of those programs we were able to do that.

So this is a great program, again, and Dr. Helm specifically designed this program for Healthcare MBA students. So, for her, she really wanted to get you access to working with a live client, working on … you know, healthcare and how it’s conducted in another country. So this is a really great program and one –

Leiki: Lisa?

Lisa: Yes?

Leiki: Hello. Lisa, sorry, I just wanted to interrupt ‘cause I hear some people in the background. If you are on your phone, can you please put in on mute by pressing pound six. Thank you very much. Sorry about that.

Lisa: No, no, that’s fine. So, again, if you have any interest in participating in this program, I’m happy to talk with you more about it. And Dr. Helm is a great resource and I know that she’s taught some Healthcare MBA classes for students. So you may already be familiar with her.

Another great option for Healthcare MBA students is our short-term exchange programs. So these do not involve a School of Business faculty member, these are run completely by our partner institutions. So we have sixteen partner … or seventeen partner universities and we have worked very closely with them to develop some customized programs that would be open to GW School of Business graduate students.

So these are really immersive experiences. The partner university completely develops the program. And a benefit of these is that it’s a great way to experience a new academic setting and take courses with students from around the world, especially for those who may not be able to go abroad for a full semester but would like the experience of being immersed in a university overseas. So this is a great option for that.

It’s also really great for Healthcare MBA students, particularly, because many of these courses do not have any pre-travel course meetings. So you wouldn’t be expected to come to campus. We usually have a pre-departure seminar which I’ll conduct with students. But we’ve had students, you know, conference call in or conduct it online for those students who aren’t able to make it to campus. And so, likely, you would have some pre-course readings that the partner university would share with you before you arrive in country. But the bulk of the course work you’re actually doing in that, you know, week or two that you’re spending at the partner institution.

So in terms of academic deliverables for earning credit for the course, the bulk of it would be done in country. So that’s a great option for students who are looking to, you know, kind of, take some additional credits in a short amount of time but still allow you some time to focus on the other classes that you’re taking for the rest of the semester.

Examples of these programs are listed here. So the first one is through our partner ESSEC Business School, which is located just outside of Paris. This is a program that’s fairly popular. It runs over the summer and students are in France for three weeks learning about global management but specifically from the European and French perspective.

Our partner institution, IPADE Business School in Mexico offers a Doing Business In Mexico program. That focus is really looking at Mexico as an emerging market and what the unique challenges are to Mexico, you know, in terms of trying to become, you know, a fully developed nation in terms of their economy and some of the challenges they face in doing so.

That’s a really great option. It’s one of our lower cost options for students who are a bit price sensitive. This is a really great program. And I know that we’ve sent many students abroad on that [Cuts Out Briefly at 00:17:32].

Finally, the Denmark program, which is run by Copenhagen Business School, so our partner in Denmark. This is a new program that they’re offering for GW students. It’s focusing specifically on sustainability and corporate social responsibility in Scandinavia. And this is a program that they offer not only to GW School of Business students but other top business schools in the US such as, you know, Duke, Kenan-Flagler, which is part of the University of North Carolina. And so it’s a really great opportunity for students to network with other MBA students from the US.

Most of these programs, I should also mention, include site visits. So you won’t be spending the entire time at the partner institution in a classroom setting. Usually, they bring in faculty to lecture on their area of expertise. So these are faculty who have, you know, done their PhD doctoral thesis on this topic and have a lot of extensive knowledge about it. But to complement those lectures they take students on site visits. So you’re actually visiting companies in those countries to learn more about the business environment there.

And then they always do include some cultural activities so you’re able to get a taste of what the culture is while you’re abroad. And so, for example, you’ll see in the picture on the left, students were able to travel to Teotihuacan which are the ruins located just outside of Mexico City.
So, if you are interested in these opportunities, there is an application process. So this is an online application that’s done through our office and is accessible from our website. For the online application, you’re really just required to include some biographic information and then also an unofficial transcript. So we do want to see an academic record of students.

We have had students in their first semester of a program participate. So that shouldn’t dissuade you from applying if you’re just new to the program. Really, all we would ask you to do is then just list the courses that you’re currently enrolled in and provide an undergraduate transcript in soft copy, if you have one.

But you also … really, the important pieces are your resume and your personal statement. That’s the opportunity for you to highlight to the faculty member leading the program or to our office, who’s nominating students to our partner institutions, really what your interest is in the program and how this program fits within your Healthcare MBA and the particular focus that you have within that program. So if I could, you know, kind of, give students any advice for completing the application I would say to really, you know, dedicate most of your efforts to working on that personal statement and making it very polished.

To move on towards billing and financial aid. So once you’ve completed the application and you’ve been admitted to a program, we do ask students to submit a $500.00 deposit which is paid by credit card. That $500.00 deposit actually shows up on your student account. And so you can use that $500.00 as a credit towards either the tuition for the Study Abroad course or for the program fee.

So this course is billed … the tuition rate is the same as the tuition rate that you’re traditionally charged for the courses. And so, in doing so, it qualifies for financial aid. So the financial aid package that you’ve already applied for it would fall … you know, it would be able to be covered, the tuition dollars for that.

There’s also a program fee. So in addition to the tuition there is a program fee, which is really to cover the logistics that GW has arranged on students’ behalf. So this includes things like group accommodation, group transportation, group meals. We have travel health insurance that we provide for students and then any cultural activities.

So these are things that we have organized for students. And then there will likely be some out of pocket expenses. For example, we don’t cover the flight, so students would be paying out of pocket for their flight. The reason being that many students choose to, you know, have some additional vacation on top of the program, so they may be travelling before or after the program starts or have certain, you know, airline rewards miles that they want to use. So we leave the flight open to students to purchase.

We do provide an estimate. So if you go on our website and click on any of our programs we do provide a cost estimate both of what the program fee would be, so what you would be billed by GW, but then also what you could expect to pay out of pocket for this program. So we want to make sure students have an idea of, you know, the overall total cost that students would be paying in addition to the tuition for the credits for participating in these programs.
I also want to mention … I know for many students who, you know, perhaps have families or spouses that they would like to, you know, kind of, take with them or take advantage of being abroad to add on some vacation in addition to participating in the program. GW does have a strict non-accompaniment policy. And so while we do want you to experience the world as much as possible we encourage you to tour the country or region before or after the dates of the program with family or friends. Because note that we do not permit any non-participant from doing anything related to the program.

So this includes the program-provided lodging, the transportation, any of the cultural events or meals. Those are only open to students who are registered in the course, in addition to the faculty member or any staff travelling on the program. We also cannot provide any type of support services or assume responsibility for any non-participants who happen to be accompanying a student on a trip.

So I would say, specifically for these short-term opportunities, they’re very intense. You’re earning a lot of credit in a short amount of time. And so there’s really not much time at all to be doing any other types of … kind of tourist activities. And so that’s why we really encourage students, if they want to bring, you know, family or friends along to have them come before or after the program so that students can fully commit themselves to the program and dedicate their time to that during the duration of the program.

And then, finally, I did want to talk about studying abroad through a partner institution in a long-term capacity. So this would be … we do have programs who offer courses that vary from, you know, two-month time commitment up to a four-month time commitment. We currently have seventeen partner institutions and these are across fourteen different countries. Our website has a full list of those opportunities but know that these are top business schools that GW has sought out partnerships with, mostly for their diverse area of expertise. A benefit of these partner institutions is that they offer programs that GW isn’t able to offer. And so you have access to hundreds of additional electives that you may not have access to here at GW.

So I’ve only highlighted a few of our partner institutions on this slide but you can see we have representation from China, Mexico, Italy, Israel, Switzerland, France and even Singapore. So we do try to develop a diverse network for students that are interested in various, you know, regions but also sectors.

Note that these courses are all … these partners were all selected because of their extensive course work in English. So you would be taking your courses in English. Many of these institutions are in countries that do not speak English. And so if that’s the case the partner institution would offer a language course. For students who may not have, you know, the language skills currently, you could take that language class, which is usually provided free of charge or for a nominal fee, just to get some familiarity with the language. When you’re engaging with, you know, the local people either through, you know, shopping or just your tours in the country you would be able to communicate with them.

So this is a really great opportunity for students to either gain, you know, further expertise in a language or learn a new language while also being able to take academic course work and perhaps, you know, use all … take all of your elective credits in one semester but be doing so in English.

Many of our partners do offer study for just a portion of the semester. So, since these are also business schools, some of them do operate on a modular calendar similar to the George Washington University. So you could take courses for just half the semester at some of these institutions. Other institutions work on trimesters, so you would only be abroad, say, from January through March. So you would only be gone for three months. And then there are also the more traditional academic calendars where you would be abroad for four months or for a full semester.

The important thing is if you’re looking to pursue Long-Term Study Abroad I do recommend that you reach out to me sooner rather than later. So I am the advisor on all of these programs but I think, specifically, with Long-Term Study Abroad there’s a lot of things to consider and a lot of things to work out before making the decision to apply.

So I have a lot of information from our partner universities which I’m happy to share with you. And so I have … my e-mail address will be shared at the end. So I definitely encourage you to reach out to me and we can talk more about this in detail. But do know that there are two main deadlines for students interested in applying to these types of opportunities, March 15th and September 15th.

I did want to highlight we did have a Healthcare MBA student participate in a semester long Study Abroad at Copenhagen Business School in Denmark. [Panetta Truetale], she’s a graduate at the Healthcare MBA program, she’s the class of 2013. And, for her, it was really important for her to gain this international exposure. And she was also in the position … or at the point in her career where she was transitioning, so she was ready to leave her current position and was able to go abroad and take the last of remaining elective credits as her last semester and spend it in Denmark. So it was a really great opportunity for her to, kind of, jumpstart her career search into looking for additional opportunities.

But also for some of our part-time students, if you’re working full time, they have been able to work out arrangements with their employers where they may continue to work part time while studying overseas for, you know, two to four months. Or, for example, if you’re assigned to a new location and it happens to be overseas where we have a partner institution, you could then enroll in some classes at that institution. So you’re still able to take classes even if you are, you know, no longer in the US. So these are some ways that former students have been able to incorporate a Long-Term Study Abroad at a partner institution into their degree at GW.

Finally, if you don’t like any of our programs … and I know I’ve given you lots of different options … you can choose to pursue a program outside of the university. However, you would need to work with your academic advisor to transfer this credit in. There is a limit to six credits that can be transferred in. And note that the institution must be AACSB accredited. So this is the accrediting body for schools of business and so we do ask that any credit that you’re trying to transfer into your Healthcare MBA program also comes from an AACSB accredited institution.

Note that this is a very time-intensive process. So it really requires a lot of responsibility on the part of the student to make sure that you’re enrolling appropriately in that other institution to earn the credit and then you’re working with your academic advisor at GW to make sure that the credit will be appropriately applied to your MBA. I’m happy to give you more information on this option. We also have a page on our website which goes into a bit more detail as to the process for doing so. But that is something that I wanted to bring to your attention, if that was an opportunity that you’d like to pursue.

Notes on university travel policy. So for any of these programs that are overseas you are considered a representative of the university. And, as such, we do provide access to emergency evacuation insurance through HGH Worldwide. They also provide health service abroad. So if you participate in any of these short-term and long-term opportunities you would be enrolled in that coverage and so you would have access to emergency medical services if needed and also emergency evacuation.

If you are also travelling overseas in the capacity of being a GW student, so this may be if you’re going to attend a conference to present a research paper or if you’re conducting research with a faculty member abroad, just in general in your travelling abroad in your role as a GW student note that we do have a university travel policy you’ll be expected to comply with. It’s just a quick registration process but that would … by completing that registration process you would also gain access to the emergency evacuation insurance and the health services that I mentioned before.
So our title of our office is Global and Experiential Education. So many of our programs overseas do include an experiential component. But we also offer these opportunities in the United States. So for students who are looking to gain some additional expertise in a certain sector in the US we do offer two types of courses.

So the first is a business and society series, which is really mean to highlight the George Washington University’s location in Washington, DC. So it’s really looking at how business is embedded in society. And we do that by paying particular attention to how business operates in its political, social and economic environments in Washington. So this is something that’s offered three times a year, again, over breaks, so in January, spring break and then at the end of May.

And it’s a rotating faculty member. So it’s not always the same professor. So there’s a different … each faculty member puts their own spin on the course and especially with setting up the site visit. So, for example, there’s a picture of students outside the US Capitol but other visits have included the International Monetary Fund and also the Federal Reserve Board. Faculty also bring in speakers and have panel discussions. So this is a really great way to experience Washington, DC and the George Washington University’s relationship with organizations and government offices here in Washington.

We also have other courses that are taught in other locations than the US. So these usually include a live client. And so you would be doing some pre-travel work where you’re engaging with a client via distance to work on the issue at hand. You would be doing some research independently. These are typically group projects. So you’d be working with a group on this. And then, likely, travelling to the destination to do your final presentation in country.

These are typically a week long and so they would travel in January, spring break or over the summer. One program … this is a new opportunity that we’re just starting to offer to students. Last year, we ran a program that travelled, actually, in the end of fall, to Ocean Spray’s headquarters in Boston. And so the students worked with the American cranberry marketing association to try and make cranberries marketable all year round.

And so they did a lot of research, before travelling to Boston, they made the final presentations at the Ocean Spray headquarters. And then the Ocean Spray representatives and the cranberry marketing association representatives actually selected which of the presentations they would go with if this were an actual pitch for them.

So another opportunity that’s also posted on our website for this upcoming spring break I wanted to mention is an opportunity through Professor Kristin Lamoureux. She’s a professor of Tourism Studies and for many years has been working with the Choctaw Nation, which is a sovereign nation and it’s a tribe in Oklahoma where the tribe leaders have really looked to see how they can grow economically. So they have a lot of money dedicated to these types of initiatives. And they’ve allowed GW students to provide some guidance as to how they should be investing their money and further their economic development.

So it’s a really neat case because it’s allowing you to, kind of, travel abroad but staying within the US, as the Choctaw Nation is a sovereign nation. And so, you know, Professor Lamoureux has really great expertise and experience in working with this tribe and guiding students through this consulting process. So these are just some examples of the experiential learning opportunities we have located in the US and things that you could take advantage of during your program.

So just some final notes, as I finish up my presentation, I think it’s important to … even if you don’t have a specific program in mind that you want to participate in right now, you may want to look at your passport, see if it needs to be renewed. If you don’t have passport, I recommend applying for one, just so that you can ensure that you’re able to travel on these programs.

And then if you have any, you know, questions or concerns I’ll answer them here shortly but we’re also available via e-mail, phone, Skype, in person. So we do send a newsletter out to all MBA students. So you should have received that earlier this year when we announced our winter and spring programs.
Our summer programs will be announced at the end of the fall semester. So you should be getting that here soon. You can also check our website which has a lot of information. And then we are on Facebook, Twitter, Weibo and Renren, so different social media outlets for getting information on all these programs.

And, at this point, I will conclude the presentation and take any questions.

Leiki: Great. Thank you, Lisa. I think you’ve covered everything in great detail. We only have a handful of questions. So I’ll just go ahead and get started. Someone was asking if there was a list of previous participants and feedback that they had of their experience in the program.

Lisa: So we do collect evaluations at the end of every opportunity. So we have a formal evaluation that students complete online. So if there’s a particular program that a student would be interested in we would have feedback that we could share with students from participants of that program. And students have the option of identifying themselves as someone that students can contact if they have questions. So, if there is a particular program the student has in mind, they would just need to e-mail me at that e-mail address that’s listed on the screen.

Leiki: Okay. Thank you. The next one here is, “When does the Sweden trip typically occur and how many credit hours is it?”

Lisa: So the Sweden trip is considered a … it operates in the first module of the summer semester. So students would start their work online in Blackboard, usually at the end of May, in preparation to travel at the end of June to Sweden. So, in the past, students have spent the last week in June in Stockholm making the final presentation. So you would end the class in the end of June. In the past it’s been for 4.5 credits.

Leiki: Great. Thank you. The next question, “What does the required orientation for a program like [Unintelligible 00:37:32] winter session entail? Does that mean I must travel to DC for a day or is this orientation done online?”

Lisa: So it really depends on the student demographic. So we, in the past, have done the session on campus if students are on campus. If there are some students who wouldn’t be able to travel, which we certainly understand, we do do the program via distance. So, like, students could conference call in and we would share the presentation with you so that you would be able to … students would be able to participate in the pre-departure orientation.

The orientation itself is usually an hour, if not shorter. So we would not want students to have to travel to campus just for that session. So know that you would be able to participate via distance for any of these pre-departure orientations.

Leiki: Thank you. So for the new Healthcare MBA student when are these type of electives usually programmed into the academic year or overall program?
Lisa: So they’re programmed, as I mentioned before, to occur during January, so the first two weeks before the start of the spring semester and then over spring break. Both of those options would fall into the spring semester. So if you’re just starting the program, students are able to apply for those opportunities for the spring semester. But know that during those two time periods that tuition and the program fee would appear on your spring semester bill.

For our summer programs, it’s considered part of the summer semester and so the tuition and fees associated with those programs would appear on your bill for the summer semester. So I hope I answered the question. So if I didn’t, if there’s any piece missing just let me know.
Leiki: Thank you. I think these next two questions are, kind of, more general but I’ll read them out to you. If not, we can have one of our advisors follow up with the participant. “I am interested in the Healthcare MBA. I’m an orthopaedic surgeon practicing in Nepal. I need true guidance to achieve online MBA without much loss from my clinical practice.”

Lisa: Yeah, I think that that would be a great opportunity to talk with some people about the Healthcare MBA program in general. But, you know, via distance we have students, you know, from all over the world participating in our MBA programs. And they’re all … have access to these overseas opportunities that I just mentioned. So I think our distance students, especially may enjoy the overseas program specifically, you know, the one in Sweden which has a healthcare focus but also those offered by our partner institutions.

And then also, I think, the business in society course, which is typically 1.5 credits. I don’t think I mentioned that before. But that is done over a week in Washington, DC and I think it’s a great way for distance students to come to DC, experience the university, get to visit, if they have the opportunity to do so, and then also see … kind of, explore some of the network that GW has here in Washington. But then, I would say, if you are looking to get some additional information specifically on the healthcare program this is when, you know, our admissions team would be able to provide some further guidance on that.

Leiki: Okay. Thank you. So the next question, “I noticed a trip to Ghana. Can you tell me a bit more about this and who the professor in charge was?”

Lisa: Yes. So we did lead a trip to Ghana a … two years ago. And the trip to Ghana really looked at the entrepreneurship market, basically, within Ghana. And so this was led by Professor Jennifer Spencer. So she’s part of our international business faculty. She has really strong connections in Ghana. So it was really about exposing students to the business environment in Ghana. And specifically, you know, I mean, a lot of that is through small businesses and entrepreneurs and how they are succeeding, how … what challenges they face. And so, really, it was an opportunity for students just to get some information on what the business environment is like there and also be able to meet with companies specifically.

And the reason we haven’t run this program since is that Professor Spencer is now our vice dean for faculty. So she has been otherwise engaged and, unfortunately, hasn’t had the time to run this program. Although know that we do try to offer opportunities where possible in, you know, regions of interest which include, you know, Africa.

Leiki: Great. Thank you. So I’ve got two more but one of them also might be a general question the advisor can follow up, “Are there financial scholarship information available for tuition in general?”

Lisa: In terms of scholarships, yeah, that would be with the advisors and the admissions team.

Leiki: Sure.

Lisa: I can say that we do not have currently any scholarships available for students participating in Study Abroad programs. So specifically for the overseas opportunities, we don’t have scholarships available right now. But, in the past, I have provided support letters to students to request additional financial aid from the office of financial aid to cover those additional costs, such as the program fee and out of pocket expenses that are related to participating in an overseas program.

Leiki: Okay. Thank you. There’s just one last … and I think this is more of statement. One of the participants wanted to just highlight that the Arab Health conference is coming up January 26th to the 29th, 2015 in Dubai. So that actually is all the questions and comments that I have. So thank you, everyone … oh, sorry, go ahead.

Lisa: I did have one final plug.

Leiki: Sure.

Lisa: The application deadline for our programs travelling in January is today. So the application is available online and it closes at midnight tonight Eastern Standard Time. So for those students who do have an interest in our programs that travel in January, they’re available on our website. And we also have programs that are travelling over spring break. And the application for those programs, the application is due on November 2nd.

Leiki: Great. Thank you. So thank you, everyone, for joining us today and thank you very much, Lisa, for this informative session. So if you have any questions for Lisa her contact information is on the screen or if you have any questions for your enrollment advisors about the program in general or the Study Abroad programs please reach out to them. v
As I mentioned earlier, we have recorded this session, so please expect an e-mail from your enrollment advisor with the link to the webinar in the next week or so.

So thank you, again, everyone and have a wonderful afternoon.