Encouraging Student Travel: 10 Ways to Inspire & Empower Faculty Leaders
The demonstrated impact of student travel is impressive. Think: deeper learning, student empowerment, cultivation of empathy and compassion, sparked curiosity, and the development of a global mindset, not to mention skills like problem-solving and independence. This realization has led many educational institutions to include—and even prioritize—experiential learning on their courses as a powerful and dynamic way to tap into more diverse perspectives—crucial in today’s increasingly global world.
Mallory Bell (pictured above), a student who participated in an EdOdyssey program with classmates from Salisbury University, reflected on her recent experience traveling to Italy. “My study abroad trip to Sicily was a marvelous experience that I will cherish forever,” she said. “Not only was I able to step outside of the typical classroom and immerse myself in their beautiful culture, but I created wonderful friendships. Every activity was so much fun and incredibly influential. This was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I encourage everyone to study abroad!”
The transformative power of these programs is clear, but we know that building educational travel into a course can feel overwhelming. Many faculty members hesitate to step into the unknown and make a commitment, daunted by the logistics or unsure about the real impact of such an undertaking. This is where we come in. The team at EdOdyssey is here to help you empower your faculty members to see possibilities. We’re here to step up and take the pressure off, to help make educational travel as effortless as possible so that your students, your faculty leaders, and your institution itself will all benefit.
Below are 10 actionable strategies to inspire and support faculty leaders to take that leap and embrace student travel:
1. SCHEDULE A CAMPUS VISIT WITH US. Nothing beats a face-to-face connection where we can answer questions and help curious faculty build up their confidence. Why not invite us to your campus where we can take some time to meet with faculty members directly and show our support? We can host information sessions, lead workshops, set up a table during campus events, or meet one-on-one with interested faculty members to share success stories, talk through ideas, offer guidance on how to begin the process, and let them know all of the different ways we offer support—from the planning stages all the way through to student return.
2. HOST AN ONLINE INFORMATION SESSION WITH US. If an in-person visit isn’t feasible, consider scheduling us in for an online information session instead. Even across screens, this is a great way to introduce EdOdyssey to your faculty, to talk through the benefits of custom student travel programs, and to demonstrate the many ways our partnership can ease the burden of logistics and offer guidance, support, and expertise along the way. We’ll walk through the whole process of designing and leading a program step-by-step to highlight how easy, collaborative, and straight-forward a provider model can be for student travel, leaving faculty members to focus on teaching and mentorship for their students instead of worrying about the more tedious tasks behind bringing an experience like this to life.
3. CONNECT US WITH YOUR STUDY ABROAD OFFICE. Faculty members are often not aware of how much support is already available through their campus study abroad office. We’d love to work hand-in-hand with your own study abroad team to shift some of their workload. We can help streamline the process of creating custom faculty-led student travel programs as well as offer to connect directly with faculty. We fully appreciate how much work, time, and effort goes into creating programs for student travel and are very happy to offer our support here.
4. PROVIDE RESOURCES TAILORED TO FACULTY NEEDS. Faculty members are more likely to embrace student travel if they can easily see how it aligns with their teaching goals, learning outcomes, and departmental priorities. We recommend sharing resources (which we can help supply) like sample itineraries, testimonials from previous faculty leaders, and data that shows the return on investment of student travel. These can help faculty members visualize how a custom program could play out and how it would benefit students on their course.
5. HIGHLIGHT THE PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR FACULTY. Leading a student travel program is not just about the students; it is also a unique professional development opportunity for faculty. Throughout this experience, faculty will also be building skills—in leadership, in cross-cultural communication, and by cultivating their own global mindset and expertise. They’ll have opportunities to build academic relationships with students, showcase their commitment to global education, demonstrate their initiative and adaptability, and add depth to their resume. All of these are qualities highly valued in academia.
“Sometimes faculty view leading a study abroad program as a time sink and a big undertaking that is extra-curricular to their classes, but more and more, universities are treating study abroad as a foundational element to a well-rounded collegiate career, not just a "nice-to-have" extra,” Kyle Simmons, EdOdyssey’s Director of Institutional Partnerships, noted. “This information can be shared at an individual faculty level to remind professors that adding an international or domestic travel element to their course doesn't just help provide an incredible one-off experience for students; it supports departmental and university strategic plans for internationalization, and it can also be part of a strong tenure application.”
6. LET US HELP MAKE THE PROCESS EFFORTLESS. We appreciate that faculty are busy juggling their teaching, research, and administrative responsibilities. One of our goals in a partnership is to minimize their workload by handling the heavy lifting tasks like travel and housing logistics, student safety, activity research and booking, and more—all while keeping faculty closely involved in decision-making so that we can shape the program in line with their vision and objectives.
“Connecting with faculty—sifting through program ideas, brainstorming options, and directing them to your office—is a key part of how we support you,” Kyle said. “We’re here to take the guesswork out of the process, foster collaboration, and ensure faculty feel empowered and prepared to bring their program ideas to life—all while keeping you in the loop. Let us help turn faculty interest into actionable opportunities for your institution.”
7. INSPIRE WITH SUCCESS STORIES. Hearing about others’ experiences can be incredibly motivating. We’d love to share past successes, to invite faculty who have partnered with us in the past to speak about their journeys, and to spotlight student testimonials, like Mallory’s above. Opportunities for this might come through during campus visits or online information sessions, and we also welcome you and your faculty to connect with us on LinkedIn and Instagram and to follow our monthly newsletter for ongoing inspiration.
Arturo Valdez from St. Mary’s Middle School, for example, shared his thoughts with us in a recent newsletter, “I have worked with EdOdyssey on two different programs, London and Croatia,” he said. “In both instances, EdOdyssey has catered to our needs, from providing our students with authentic cultural experiences to adding service-learning opportunities for them, to including fun cultural activities and adventures that make the trips much more memorable for them. Partnering with EdOdyssey has given us peace of mind and the assurance that our programs will run smoothly and be successful.”
8. KEEP FLEXIBILITY IN MIND. Faculty could also hesitate when it comes to embracing travel because of scheduling constraints. Keep options flexible if you can. Consider shorter programs during break weeks, summer holidays, or at varying times of year. Also, consider taking some pressure off by allowing two faculty members to co-lead a trip and share responsibilities—especially in a case where a faculty member hasn’t had much experience with personal travel. Having a partner along who they already know and work well with can help increase confidence. This also has a bonus in that the faculty members will likely build up a stronger colleague relationship while on the trip. This could lead to future collaboration or more consistent sharing of ideas.
9. OFFER TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES. Something else the team at EdOdyssey can help with is to provide training opportunities for interested faculty. This could be a webinar or a workshop on leading a successful student travel program, covering topics like intercultural communication and language learning, student mental health abroad, maximizing student engagement on a trip, fundraising and budgeting, using storytelling with students to document a trip, and so much more.
10. CHECK IN AFTER THE FIRST CONVERSATION. A single conversation can definitely spark interest, but the key is to follow up! Don’t let the initial spark dye out. Check in to see if there are follow-up questions, provide additional resources or inspiration, brainstorm, keep the wheels turning, and reassure faculty members as they start to explore this opportunity. This allows them to feel supported and more confident as they lean into trusting the process.
Our team here at EdOdyssey understands the challenges faculty face when it comes to student travel. We’ve been running these programs for more than a decade now and know exactly how to support faculty throughout the process, and how to support you to get through to them and explain the benefits. A partnership means that, throughout the process, we’ll be here with support, including on-the-ground support with an EdOdyssey team member during the trip.
“Beyond our top-notch safety, logistical, and academic support, we’re here to make your job easier in other ways too—like connecting with faculty,” Kyle said. “Whether it’s visiting campus or hosting a virtual faculty-interest meeting, we’re excited to help you spread the word and spark enthusiasm for faculty-led opportunities at your institution.”
Interested in partnering with us to inspire, empower, and support your faculty?
