Faculty-Led Travel Courses

1. Follow the ViaTRM program link for your course. You will either receive this from a professor or follow the link under Find a Trip. 
2. Click Apply in the program's upper right hand corner or Apply Now under "Term Information"
3. Log-in to ViaTRM (abroad.wcu.edu) with your WCU log-in information by clicking "Go to Portal".
   • WCU employees attending in a student capacity must use their catamount email
   • Approved non-WCU participants should click "sign up" to create an account
4. Complete and submit the application form
5. Complete My Profile and fill out information not imported from Banner.
6. Add messages@via-trm.com to your contact list. Important application updates and instructions will come from the address.

In Review
We have received your application and will notify the program leaders that you applied.
If the program requires an interview or other processes to be approved for participation, leaders will reach out to you during this stage of the application.

Conditionally Approved
Congratulations! The program leaders have approved you for participation in this course.
You can now pay the deposit and complete required legal forms. All of this is completed through ViaTRM (abroad.wcu.edu).  Login and click on the appropriate course in My Programs.

Accepted
You have paid the deposit! ViaTRM will now ask you to commit to this trip. 
By committing to this trip you affirm that you will attend this trip and complete all requirements as indicated by program leaders and WCU Global. You understand that WCU Global will register you for this course when registration is available. You are aware of the financial commitment you are making and understand the faculty-led program refund policy.

Committed
You have committed to this trip!
Stay tuned for updates about the program. Questions? Don't hesitate to reach out to program leaders for assistance.

Not Accepted
1. The program was full and couldn't accept any more students.
2. You did not meet one of more of the program admission requirements.
3. You application was not approved for another reason. Reach out to the program leaders with questions.

Waitlisted
The program has currently approved the maximum number of applicants.
If approved participants drop the program, waitlisted applicants are eligible for consideration to take their place in the program. Questions? Don't hesitate to reach out to program leaders for assistance.

Unless otherwise indicated, faculty-led program deposits are $500 USD per student-participant and are non-refundable following the deposit deadline. If applying to multiple faculty-led programs, participants must submit a separate $500 deposit payment for each individual faculty-led program. Deposits will be applied as a credit to a student's account when it is time to bill for participation in their faculty-led program.

Fast Facts

• Mandatory for participation in a faculty-led program
• Payable after faculty-led leaders approve student-participant in a course for which they have applied.
• Necessary to reserve a student’s place in each faculty-led program. Priority consideration is given to deposited participants should faculty-led program applications exceed course capacity before the deposit deadline.
• Registration in a faculty-led program will not occur without payment of the deposit.

Deadlines are determined by the WCU Office of Global Engagement. Application and deposit deadlines are clearly listed on ViaTRM (abroad.wcu.edu) and on this page. Program leaders are also informed of these deadlines. Failure to withdraw one’s application prior to the deposit deadline may result in financial penalty.

Participants must sign a form in ViaTRM (abroad.wcu.edu) acknowledging the deposit purpose and refund policy before paying the deposit itself. Please direct questions to facultyledtravel@wcu.edu. 

Once your application is Conditionally Approved, a form entitled Deposit Payment and Refund Procedures (Faculty Led) will be made available in ViaTRM under your course in My Programs.  This form must be completed in Adobe Sign and submitted in ViaTRM before you can pay the deposit. 

After you submit Deposit Payment and Refund Procedures (Faculty Led) in ViaTRM, a new form called Pay the Deposit (Faculty Led) will appear. Click the form Pay the Deposit (Faculty Led) to get started!

You will receive messages from messages@via-trm.com to guide you through this process.

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Pay with a Credit Card
In the Faculty-Led Deposit forb, Click "Make a Payment" to visit the faculty-led payment portal. Select your program and follow payment instructions. The quoted price includes a 3% processing fee.

Pay with Cash, Check, or Money Order

PAYING IN PERSON
Bring payment in cash, check, and money order to 109 Cordelia Camp Building. Bring a piece of paper with the following information when you make the payment:

Your name + 920# + catamount email address + faculty-led program for which you are depositing

MAILING PAYMENT
Mail payment to the address below. It is vital that you thoroughly read and follow all instuctions. Never put cash in the mail.

WCU Global - Faculty Led
109 Cordelia Camp
69 E Univeristy Way
Cullowhee, NC 2872

• We strongly advise that money orders be mailed with tracking. Western Carolina University is not responsible for payment that is lost in the mail or does not arrive at its intended destination. Always retain your money order receipt and proof of payment, until we confirm that payment arrived.
• Make checks and money orders out to "Western Carolina University". Payment should never be made out to our office or an individual person.
• Checks and money orders must be drawn on a United States bank. We recommend that money orders be made at a USPS Postal Office location.
• Include a piece of paper with the following information in your envelope:

Your name + 920# + catamount email address + faculty-led program for which you are depositing

Contact facultyledtravel@wcu.edu regarding payment questions or issues.

Final charges are generally added to your student account by WCU during normal semester billing dates. See below for an approximate billing schedule. 

FALL
Billed Mid-July
SPRING 
Billed Late November (prior year)
SUMMER
Billed Mid-April

In order to participate, your student account must be $0 at 12:00am on the first day of your program.

Payment will be made via MyWCU, like you would for any other WCU charge. Reach out to Student Accounts (Killian Annex) for guidance if you need assistance with this.

Eligible financial aid awards must be memo-ed or applied to your student account in order for WCU Global to consider it as valid payment. Reach out to facultyledtravel@wcu.edu with questions about this. Include your 920# and information release code with the request.

You must be registered in the program/course in order for charges to appear on your account. See [How do I Register for My Program?] for more information.

In order to be registered in a program/course, you must have applied, been accepted, paid the depost, and committed to attend in ViaTRM. Following the deposit deadline, WCU Global will meet with program leaders. After program leaders confirm that a course will run, WCU Global works with the Registrar’s Office to register you in Banner. You are not able to register for this course/program by yourself.

Before withdrawing from a faculty-led program, make sure you are aware of all potential associated financial penalties. Read [What is the Refund and WaiverPolicy?] for more related information.

You are personally responsible for withdrawing from the program in ViaTRM. Our office and your program leader will not do this on your behalf.

Step 1: Consider your timeline

• Participants who paid the WCU Deposit and formally withdraw prior to the deposit deadline, will receive their WCU deposit back in full minus any indicated processing fees.
• Participant withdrawal on or following the stated deposit deadline forfeit their entire deposit. WCU deposits are non-refundable following the deposit deadline..

Step 2: Talk to the program leaders

• Tell them you want to drop the course
• Discuss your concerns about the program or your situation. Give program leaders an opportunity to address your concerns, explore solutions, and/or discuss possible accomodations.

Step 3: Withdraw your application

• Log-in to ViaTRM (abroad.wcu.edu)
• Click My Programs and select the course from which you wish to withdraw
• Underneath the header image and program dates find where it asks "No longer going?". 
• Click Withdraw. Select withdrawal reason(s) in the new pop-up, and then Withdraw Application.
• This program will continue to appear under My Programs, but will now show as withdrawn.
  

  ^{If you are Accepted or Committed status - Your request will require secondary approval in ViaTRM from WCU Global. In this instance you are not officially withdrawn until WCU Global approves your request in ViaTRM..}

Questions about this process? Contact our office at facultyledtravels@wcu.edu. 

Refunds or Waiver of Charges following the faculty-led program deposit deadline are not guaranteed either in part or in full. 

Participants who paid the WCU Deposit and formally withdraw prior to the deposit deadline, will receive their WCU deposit back in full minus any indicated processing fees.

Participant withdrawal on or following the stated deposit deadline forfeit their entire deposit. WCU deposits are non-refundable following the deposit deadline.

Faculty-led programs cancelled by program leader(s) for any reason following the program's deposit deadline, generally result in a full refund of the deposit minus any indicatedprocessing fees.

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Participants who withdraw following the deposit deadline:

• Shall be held financially responsible for their portion of faculty-led program expenses as outlined in the program’s budget.
• Will be charged an additional, non-refundable administrative fee of $100/domestic, and $200/international.
• Are ineligible for refund of their WCU program deposit, in part or in full.
• Shall not be eligible for a refund or waiver from WCU in any form following the start of a faculty-led program in which they are enrolled.
• Participants who fail to attend a faculty-led program, without formally withdrawing, will be considered “no shows." No shows are subject to this same clause. Read [How do i withdraw my application / withdraw from a program?] for information about the formal withdrawal process.

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Faculty-led program fees billed by WCU Student Accounts, and payments made directly to WCU Student Accounts, are the only fees which may be eligible for a partial refund or waiver. In the rare instance that a student-participant’s faculty-led program requires payment be made directly to an approved third-party organization, WCU cannot refund money paid directly to the outside third-party.

The potential for a partial refund or waiver of charges is directly affected by faculty-led program-related expenses already paid on the student-participant's behalf and the related refund policies of associated third-party services. Non-recuperable funds already spent on the student-participant's behalf are non-refundable and non-waivable.