The Benefits of a Short-Term Faculty-Led Program

No matter what subject you teach, you can turn the world into your classroom.

Short-term faculty-led travel programs complement the traditional longer-term notion of “study abroad.” Semester-long study abroad programs continue to have a number of advantages for students, but we also have seen firsthand that there are many benefits to short-term study abroad programs as well. 

One of the greatest benefits of short-term faculty-led study abroad programs is you, as the educator, have the opportunity to travel with your students. This means that the travel experience becomes an integral part of your teaching. This means that you can teach to the trip, bringing a laser focus to the subject areas most important to you and your students.

Because of the unique immersive experience of traveling with your students, short-term faculty-led travel programs become not only travel experiences but also experiential learning opportunities. As your students navigate a foreign city’s public transportation system, order dinner in another language or engage with experts in your academic subject areas in a unique setting, you are right there with them, guiding their understanding and providing teachable moments at every turn. This leads to an experience that your students will not easily forget.

There are pragmatic reasons for students to choose a short-term faculty-led travel program. Many students may not have the financial means — or the necessary time — to study abroad for a full semester; some students may be the first in their families to attend college or to travel abroad and are therefore hesitant to commit to a longtime overseas. A short-term program allows them the opportunity see the world while staying focused on the coursework involved. This also is true for students who may have work or family commitments precluding them for leaving for a long period of time. 

We have seen, however, that short-term study abroad programs often act as inspiration for students to pursue other travel adventures, including longer study abroad opportunities.

Ultimately, when we design short-term travel programs with faculty, you gain the flexibility to create a course completely tailored to your academic goals and interests, no matter what you teach. Engineering students can benefit just as much as history students on a study abroad journey if the daily activities, visits and enrichment opportunities are geared toward their academic needs. 

At Hart Travel Partners (HTP), we provide complete customization for every one of our groups, so faculty and educators are in control when it comes to providing the content for each travel course. We will provide recommendations based on our local expertise, of course — that is part of the “partnership” that we undertake with each travel leader.

With our dedicated focus on your academic needs, we ensure that you get a worthwhile program in as short as one or two weeks. And with our experienced team handling all the logistics, from trip customization to billing to partnering with your study abroad office, we ensure that your time as an educator can be used doing what you do best — teaching!

At Hart Travel Partners, we believe the gift of travel is something that every student should have access to. With our short-term faculty-led travel programs, you can give your students the world. If experience is any indicator, once you expose them to travel once, they will choose to return to it again and again. If, like us, you believe that travel is the key to lifelong learning, you can be proud knowing you set your students on that path!

We would love to speak to you about how we can benefit your teaching and your students through travel. Please contact us to learn more today!