The following sections of the website are designed as a tool for faculty members and advisors at US Universities as they guide their students through ISA study abroad. Important contact information is provided so that university faculty and advisors can get in touch with the ISA Management Team, the Academic Advisory Board, and Regional Representatives. Information that covers frequently asked questions is provided, such as details pertaining to transcripts/grades, medical insurance, health and safety, and using financial aid. Furthermore, one can learn about how to affiliate, or request program materials. This section also includes information for faculty members and study abroad offices interested in customizing a study abroad program to meet the specific academic, linguistic and cultural needs of their students and institution.

Web-based Resources for Advisors and Faculty

There are three web-based resources that ISA provides for advisors and faculty: the Advisors and Faculty section of the ISA website, the Advisors' Portal and the Academic Guide . The Advisors' Portal is a web-based resource that allows ISA affiliates to view information about their students' enrollment in ISA programs. The current configuration of the Portal gives affiliates access to a roster of their university's ISA participants, as well as specific program information for each student (e.g, host university, enrollment status, acceptance date).

The ISA Academic Guide is a resource that provides in-depth academic information to faculty members and study abroad advisors for all of our standard programs. Each city in which ISA maintains a program has its own section in the Guide. There you will find site-specific information about ISA's partner institutions and their accreditation, further information on the placement exams, an overview of the processing of transcripts and examples of intercultural activities available to students. We have also provided sample documents for each individual program, including ISA Pre-Registration Forms, transcripts, and transcript cover letters.

Host Universities

ISA partners with schools that are accredited or recognized by a legitimate accrediting agency, a higher education association, the Holy See (for pontifical schools), or other authoritative body such as a host country's Ministry of Education. A list of host universities with which we work is provided here. Students who complete an ISA program receive an academic transcript from a host university, or from a U.S. university serving as an ISA academic sponsor or school of record. By offering students a menu of over 50 academic institutions throughout the world, ISA gives students the ability to choose from an extraordinary range of academic settings, campus cultures, and extracurricular resources. Common to all of ISA's host institutions, however, is a commitment to academic excellence, and helping ISA students maximize their learning in and out of the classroom.

Internships, Service-Learning and Volunteering

A number of ISA programs offer internships or service-learning opportunities for students. These opportunities add another dimension to the study abroad experience through daily interactions with locals, resulting in a greater understanding of the culture, community and language of the host country. Click here for a list of sites that offer internships and service-learning opportunities for academic credit.

Experiential Learning Abroad Programs (ELAP) offers structured volunteer and internship placements in Latin America, Spain and England in a variety of fields, yielding valuable personal and professional experience. ELAP is an enriching experience for proficient Spanish speakers who are seeking to contribute to a non-profit organization's responsibilities and mission while simultaneously learning about themselves in an unfamiliar, and at times, challenging environment. Participants develop skills such as problem solving, appreciation for community and diversity, the ability to cooperate and collaborate in an international setting, and a more intimate understanding of global issues.

ISA Faculty Seminars

The purpose of the ISA Faculty Seminars is to invite U.S. faculty, faculty from our host institution partners, and local experts to come together for an intellectual exchange of ideas. These ideas are relevant to a field of expertise and are within the context of the local environment abroad. The seminars are a way to expose U.S. faculty members to ISA' host institution partners and the academic programs available to students, the host cities where students reside while studying, and the ISA staff that provide support services for these students during their program. There will also be a session at each site visited during the faculty seminar that will review the ISA academic programs of that site and focus on the curricular aspects of the program.

Affiliation with ISA

The fundamental goal of affiliation is to forge a working relationship that will allow ISA to better serve each university's students. It has been our experience that our relationship with any affiliate improves over time as we work together to serve a wider variety of your students. By offering you greater opportunities and incentives to choose and learn about ISA, we aim to increase the number of students participating in our programs, and thus facilitate the process of learning more about your needs and preferences. If you are interested in becoming one of ISA's affiliate universities, please contact your University Relations Representative.