ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY (Affiliated Partners • Acceptance of Terms of Agreement • NMSU Charges for: Administrative Fees, Tuition & Fees, Housing & Meals, Insurance, Late Fees • Withdrawal • Payment Options • Post-Program Evaluations

AFFILIATED PARTNERS: Universities and institutes used by NMSU for study abroad are in no way part of New Mexico State University. NMSU agrees to allow students to study abroad with the expectation of receiving transfer credit or graded NMSU credit upon successful completion of a course of approved study. Students studying at these sites do so at their own initiative, risk, and financial obligation.

ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS OF AGREEMENT:  By completing and signing an NMSU Study Abroad Agreement, students acknowledge the independent relationship of affiliated universities and institutes. NMSU has entered into some agreements for exchange programs (such as ISEP) that obligate the university to monitor that benefits (such as tuition waivers, housing, and meal plans) are provided as designated in the agreements. NMSU will assist students with resolving problems related to receiving these contracted benefits only. By signing the Study Abroad Agreement, the student also agrees to abide by all regulations and policies established by NMSU with regard to studying abroad.
Transfer Credit Agreement. Every NMSU student traveling abroad in transfer credit status needs to fill out the NMSU Study Abroad Agreement-Transfer Credit Programs. Students need to obtain signatures from their college, the Office of Financial Aid, and the Office of Study Abroad. The Office may not enroll students in the study abroad course for transfer credit status until the agreement is completed.
International Distance Education Agreement. Every student traveling abroad while enrolled in international distance education courses (usually intensive language, internships, or student teaching) needs to fill out the NMSU Study Abroad Agreement-International Distance Education Programs. Upon completion of course requirements, receipt of host institution evaluations (if required), and completion of the final program evaluation, the course instructor will submit the grade for the course. Students must be aware of the deadline by which the instructor may submit grades.
Student Travel Agreement. Every student traveling abroad while enrolled in a regular course (whether for credit or not) needs to fill out one block of the Student Participants List of the NMSU Study Abroad Agreement-Resident Student Travel Programs provided by the faculty member leading the group activity or supervising an individual activity of a student, such as a research project. since students are enrolled in a regular course(s), the instructor will submit grades on the normal schedule for submitting grades.

NMSU CHARGES FOR:
Administrative Fees. Since the Office of Study Abroad receives limited financial support from NMSU for staff and operational expenses to manage study abroad programs and service, student user fees are charged. FEES vary based on the program and level of administrative support provided by the Office. An Application Processing Fee is charged for most programs to recover the cost of tracking and processing applications and arranging pre-departure orientation. Students need to be certain that they want to study abroad before applying.  The Application Processing Fee is non-refundable except when a student could not be placed or the program was cancelled? Students who are charged the fee, then withdraw, but want to reapply to the same or a different program within one year of paying the fee, will receive a credit of $100 toward the next Application Processing Fee. A Program Administration Fee is charged each semester to recover on-going administrative costs to support students to go abroad and assist them upon returning to campus. Under certain circumstance, this fee is waived. Program Administration Fees are also non-refundable after a student accepts placement offered in a program. This is considered an unrecoverable cost. Students entering into a contract for an academic year program are obligated to pay the fee for both semesters, even if they return after one semester.
Tuition & Fees. Students studying on exchange will always pay the current full-time NMSU tuition and fee rate in effect at the time of enrollment. Students enrolling in international distance education courses will also pay NMSU tuition, but the per credit fee varies depending on the program. Students enrolling in special NMSU sponsored programs will also pay the cost of NMSU tuition. But students enrolling in affiliated programs pay tuition to the program sponsor, not NMSU. In some case, such as language study, students pay both NMSU tuition and host institution tuition (instructional fees).
Housing & Meals. Students pay NMSU the cost of NMSU housing and meals if included in the exchange agreement, such as the ISEP programs, a few other exchanges, and some group travel programs organized by NMSU. For other programs they will pay the host institution for these items, or they will pay private contractors.
Insurance. Students traveling abroad for any length of time may be required to purchase the NMSU Study Abroad HealthSelect Overseas Plan, provided by HTH Worldwide Insurance Services. This is wavied when the program provider, such as ISEP, requires and provides insurance for travel abroad. When students are required to purchase country provided mandatory insurance–such as Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Canada)– student will be required to purchase the BETA plan to cover limited medical expenses while outside the host country and to provide worldwide medical evacuation and repatriation. Students traveling to Mexico for a few days may purchase the BETA accident policy or the HealthSelect Overseas Plan depending on the circumstances of the travel. Students whose sole purpose in traveling abroad is to attend a conference (and they are sponsored by NMSU to attend the conference) may purchase the BETA plan. Insurance fees normally will be billed to the student's NMSU account.
Late Fees. Students who apply after published deadlines, or who fail to complete Blackboard study abroad orientation by published deadlines, are subject to late fees to pay the additional cost that the Office incurs to handle administrative tasks late. The deadline for exchanges and other university based programs is October 1 for Spring placement and March 31 for Summer or Fall placement. The deadline for language institute based programs is November 1 for Winter Break or Spring placement, and April 30 for Summer or Fall placement. Other programs such as internships and group travel courses will have their own advertised deadlines.

WITHDRAWAL:
Notification. All withdrawals from programs or courses for which the Office of Study Abroad is charging tuition, fees or other program costs require written notification (e-mail to Office or Assistant Dean is acceptable). Until the written request is received, the Office will continue the student's enrollment in the study abroad course or program and continue to charge all fees related to the course or program to the student's university account.
Reenrollment. Students who withdraw early from an exchange who can return to campus before the last day to register for classes should be able to register for the current semester (but they could still be liable for the tuition cost of the exchange plus the cost of re-enrolling at NMSU!). Students who cannot return in time to register for classes would have to wait to re-enroll the next semester.
Early withdrawal Penalties. Students who accept exchange, language study, or special program placements then request to withdraw before leaving the U.S. are liable to pay the NMSU program administrative fee for the first semester for which they were scheduled to enroll plus any unrecoverable costs incurred by NMSU or a host institution.
Students who withdraw while enrolled in an exchange program abroad are liable for any unrecoverable costs as determined by NMSU and the host institution. Students who accept placement in an academic year program and who then withdraw from the second semester may be held liable for the full cost of the 2nd semester unless the host institution agrees to adjust the exchange balance to zero for the second semester. NMSU students have had to pay for a second semester of study even though they withdrew for sound medical or other acceptable reasons, so students need to understand the potentially severe financial penalities of withdrawing early from an exchange program. Students who withdraw from international distance education courses are not automatically eligible for refund of NMSU tuition. The tuition charged is based on program administrative and instructional costs, including sometimes paying the salary of the instructor, so the tuition refund policy for regular courses does not apply. Students may only be considered for refund for any costs the Office of Study Abroad can recover.

PAYMENT OPTIONS FOR NMSU CHARGES: The Office will bill the student's account with University Accounts Receivables and these charges (tuition, housing, meal plan, insurance, late fees, etc.) are payble according to the normal payment schedule for students. If students have financial aid, that serves as the down payment. All financial aid to be disbursed will be applied to the student's outstanding balance for the current semester, and then the balance will be released to the student. See Financial Aid section of FAQs. NOTE: STUDENTS MUST CLEAR ALL OUTSTANDING CHARGES WITH NMSU BEFORE THE OFFICE OF STUDY ABROAD CAN BILL FOR PROGRAM COSTS. STUDENT WILL NOT BE ENROLLED IN ANY STUDY ABROAD COURSE UNTIL OUTSTANDING DEBT WITH NMSU IS CLEARED. Students contracting for instruction, housing, meals, etc with other providers pay the provider according to their announced schedules of payment. Contact the providers directly for instructions.

POST-PROGRAM EVALUATION: All students returning from study abroad programs for transfer or graded credit (except for some short-term group travel activities) are required to fill out the NMSU Final Evaluation Form found at ABROAD101.com before transfer credit will be processed or grades for course credit will be issued. The information from these evaluations is used to provide outbound students during orientation with extensive information on countries, programs, travel, health and safety, cultural adjustment, and academic and language study from the returned students' perspectives.