Frequently asked questions

Faculty must be reachable at all times. This means he/she should either purchase an international phone plan with coverage in Spain or will buy a local Spanish SIM card that can be used on his/her own smartphone. Calls and data plans are to be at the cost of the faculty.

Faculty usually make a decision based on the length of the program and their own personal phone plans (sometimes some phone providers give discounts for international plans). If you have a shorter program, you might decide to opt for an international plan, but if you have a longer program, you might decide it's worth getting a local SIM card. If you decide on a local SIM card, you will just need to make sure that your phone is unlocked.

If you will be relying on your own phone and have an international plan, please be sure that the staff at Barcelona SAE has your phone number (the same goes if you acquire a local SIM card). It is important that we are able to reach you in an emergency!
You can find more information about phones in Spain in our Barcelona Student Guide.

Check our Guest Policy here!

Check out our page outlining the Faculty Role Onsite.

Attendance policy for classes and academic excursions is up to the discretion of the professor. Since Barcelona SAE's programs are designed to take advantage of the unique contribution of the instructor and the lecture/discussion format is regarded as the primary mode of instruction, we normally assume that professors will make attendance to all program activities mandatory. Please let us know if this is not the case so that we can adjust reservations accordingly.

These situations are managed on a case-by-case basis. Professors usually find time to make up the class hours if needed. In the past professors have had a "double class" on the following day or added additional class hours to the following couple of days, depending on the availability of classroom space. If you have a planned group activity, guest speaker or excursion, let us know as we will most likely be able to run the activity or event in your absence while you work on getting better!

Students are not permitted alcohol during program activities without previously-written consent from the university. Professors are encouraged not to drink in front of students, in order to help to enforce this rule. This does not pertain to cultural activities that include alcohol, such as cava tours, vermouth tasting, etc. If your school will allow students to consume alcohol during events you will need to send us a confirmation email approving this policy. See more about our alcohol policy here.

They are fully equipped with computers, projectors, speakers and whiteboards. The use of pen drives is strictly prohibited, so we encourage you to have presentations in places where you can find them online (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc). There are rooms of varying sizes, to accommodate large or small classes. Students will also have access to Barcelona SAE's student lounge with a few computers, wifi and a printer.

Not at all! All locals speak both Spanish and Catalan and many are quite fluent in English as well. All of our staff members are fluent Spanish speakers (most also speak Catalan) and will be with you in any situation that might require translation. Take this opportunity to learn a bit of both languages, and practice with the staff!

Barcelona SAE has a 24-hour emergency phone that rotates amongst our staff members. Staff are all trained on emergency response, and will take appropriate action in the case of an after-hours emergency. Should there be any serious situation involving a student's health or safety, Barcelona SAE's Health & Safety Coordinator will contact the faculty, but unless it is a very serious case we will let you sleep and update you in the morning.

We have a photocopier available for scanning documents or copying/printing occasional handouts when needed, but this should be for occasional use as normally we do not include these printing fees in our budgets for Customized Programs. If you know in advance that you will need to print lots of materials (more than 10 pages per student), we can build this into the program budget or we can help you to find a local photocopy shop to print materials on the faculty budget.

Molero on Ronda Sant Pere, 44 is a good print shop near our offices, but check their schedule before you go!

Some faculty plan additional visits and activities outside of what is planned by Barcelona SAE, such as group meals or day trips using the school's budget but not within the program outline and budget provided by Barcelona SAE.

This is fine, but please keep in mind that although we will try our best to be helpful and assist you in planning, Barcelona SAE is not responsible for logistics and execution of these events. If you are relying on Barcelona SAE to make reservations and aid in the logistics of this event, there will be an added charge to the program fee to cover staff time.

As is mentioned under faculty role, we ask that faculty take the lead on disciplinary issues with their students. The best way to avoid this happening is by setting clear ground rules and your expectations for behavior even before the program begins. Areas we've seen that may be worth addressing?

• Punctuality

• Alcohol use, defining what limitations you expect students to uphold

• Drug use (please keep in mind that we have a zero tolerance policy for illegal drug use during our programs)

• Respect for others. In the past we have gotten complaints from other guests or property managers due to noise in hallways at housing. If we're in a group tour and locals are trying to pass by, making room for them, etc.

• Parties in student housing are not allowed

• Arriving for class or an activity prepared to participate. Examples include being hungover, not having gotten enough sleep, arriving without the proper attire for a visit, etc.

• Showing polite behavior during guest lectures and guided tours. Putting away cell phones, listening while a guide is talking, wandering away from the group, visibly yawning, etc. It is good to set an expectation that students will need take notes and/or ask questions during these tours and to try to correct this behavior if you see it happening onsite.

• Contributing to a positive group atmosphere. Let students know that they will be travelling as a group and they should be taking care of one another. This means taking the extra step to ensure everyone feels included, looking out for one another, and letting the program know if someone is having a difficult time adjusting.

• If at any point you feel that a student is disrupting the learning of other students, you have final say in said student's inclusion in your classroom environment.

Barcelona SAE may work with faculty to enforce these rules (for example we may need to remove students from their housing due to infractions of the code of conduct) but we like to think of this as a team effort to ensure that your students are happy, healthy, safe and are great ambassadors for their country during the program.

More info can be found in our Faculty Role Onsite page.

If your program includes airport pickup, a Barcelona SAE staff member will be at the Airport from 9am to noon on the day of the arrival and will help with the housing check-in (or at a specific time in the case of a group flight). Arrivals before program start are managed on a case-by-base basis, but normally students and faculty will be responsible for their own transfer to the center if they arrive outside of the set arrival date. If we cannot cover your housing and airport pickup, we will at least provide you with resources for booking your shuttle service and your housing until the program starts.

There are some great tips on improving group dymanic on our Faculty Role page!