China Study Trip

Students will pay the regular MBA Program 2 credit course tuition. In addition, students will be charged a fee to cover Butler University's out-of-pocket expenses to compensate our partner institutions in China, Lingnan University, for the organization and delivery of study trip activities, which will include:

• Lectures at Lingnan University Hong Kong
• Corporate visits
• Hotel accommodations
• Food (breakfast and lunch)
• Cultural visits
• Local transportation

The China Study Trip fee is currently estimated at $2,000.00 but may decrease or increase up to 10 percent. The students will be charged the China Study Trip fee within the fall semester invoice. The academic component of this fee (approximately 25 percent) will be added to the tuition cost of the course while the non-academic component of this fee (approximately 75 percent) will be billed as a non-tuition fee.

Each participant is also responsible for additional expenses which, based on today's cost, have been estimated as follows:

• U.S. passport application, $100.00
• Chinese visa application, $130.00
• International transportation, $1,250.00
• Dinners while in China, $120.00
• Other personal or incidental expenses while traveling abroad

For detailed information regarding application procedures, commonly asked questions or emergency situations regarding passports, please visit the U.S. Department of State's website at http://travel.state.gov/passport/.

The Passport Application Process

• Call your local post office to find out where to apply.
• Ordinarily, you should receive your passport within six weeks.
• Bring proof of U.S. citizenship (birth certificate or certificate of naturalization), proof of identity (picture ID), and two passport photos (2 inches by 2 inches). Look up "passport photos" in the yellow pages to find a store (many copy centers, AAA, Walgreens' do this) that does official passport photos.
• To renew by mail, send your application, old passport, two photos, and renewal fee to the National Passport Processing Center, P. O. Box 90155, Philadelphia, PA 19190-0155.

When outside the United States

• If you lose your passport, contact a U.S. embassy or consulate.
• A photocopy of your passport will make it easier to obtain a replacement.
• Keep a copy yourself and make sure to leave copies with a relative, too.

For complete information, visit "Visas to China & Application Forms" at the Chinese Consulate in Chicago. Even though U.S. citizens do not need a visa to enter Hong Kong; a visa is needed to enter mainland China. If you are not a U.S. citizen please consult this website for visa requirements. This website provides appropriate instructions and downloadable forms. Please note you need to apply for an individual tourist visa. Each person should handle his own visa application. Please make sure that you apply for a tourist visa.

Note that the visa application must be delivered by hand to the Consulate, either by the applicant or by someone designated by the applicant - such as a visa service. Mailed applications are not acceptable and will be returned. See their instructions for the details.

The instructor has sometimes elected to use a visa service - such as Travisa - to submit the application on his behalf. It increases the cost but greatly reduces the headaches of delivering the application in person. The instructor recommends doing this unless you have some other reason for traveling to Chicago and can fold a visit to the Consulate into your other plans.

Please note that once the Chinese tourist visa is issued, its bearer must enter China within 90 days from the date that it was issued. Failure to enter within that timeframe will cause the visa to expire. Therefore, students should not apply for the tourist visa to enter China before July 18, 2010. The visa bearer is responsible to monitor this period of time. Please note that China charges U.S. passport holders a $130.00 visa application reciprocity fee.

Once the China Study Trip travel itinerary is established, the instructor will provide students with such information. The instructor will coordinate and provide students with information regarding international transportation arrangements. However, students will pay airline companies for the cost of international transportation to Hong Kong.

The instructor will coordinate with our Hong Kong partners to arrange participants' single-occupancy hotel accommodations. Once these arrangements have been made, information will be provided to students through email and also will be placed within this section of the website.

It is important for you to have adequate health insurance coverage while you are abroad. Failure to obtain coverage can result in anything from very high medical bills to refusal to be treated in a hospital or doctor's office. In many countries, foreigners must prove that they have medical insurance before they can be treated and are often required to pay cash up-front. No matter where you go or what treatment you may seek.

Check to see if your current medical coverage is valid outside of the United States. Find out how you would file a claim from abroad and how the insurance company would handle the claim. Ask your insurance company if they provide benefits for medical evacuation and repatriation. Although it is not a pleasant subject to think about, you need to be aware of what would happen if you were to fall seriously ill while abroad and had to return to the US for medical treatment. For example, some policies provide an air ambulance with accompanying nurse or physician for instances where the patient must return to the home country. If your current policy does not provide such coverage, consider purchasing some form of supplemental insurance coverage. It is to your benefit to thoroughly research your options prior to committing to a specific insurance carrier.

List of Supplemental Insurance Providers

The following supplemental insurance providers are options for your consideration. Butler University does not endorse any specific insurance plan. Those listed below are provided for your information and reference. Your decision to purchase coverage from any provider should be made after careful examination of policy coverage. Please contact the policy provider directly for any specific plan questions you may have.

Champion Insurance Advantage, Ltd.
Tel: 800.643.4675
http://www.champion-ins.com

HTH Worldwide Insurance Service
Tel: 800.242.4178
http://www.hthstudents.com/index.cfm

Health Insurance for U.S. Students Studying Abroad
http://www.internationalstudentinsurance.com/study-abroad/

International Scholastic Overseas Service (SOS)
Tel: 800.767.1403
http://www.internationalsos.com

Worldwide Assistance
Tel: 800.821.2828
http://www.worldwideassistance.com