Interested faculty members should consider, above all, what courses are likely to attract enough students to make the study tour viable: since students' costs must cover faculty members' expenses, cost-efficiency generally requires ten paying travelers per instructor. Courses that are narrow in focus or highly technical may fail to draw sufficient enrollment, which often depends on the participation of non-majors. The presence of numerous non-majors in the course may require the instructor to present course material and to make assignments a bit more self-consciously. In most cases, departments should select course numbers providing for "G" credit in the general curriculum.

The dean's office has approved three standard course formats. "Seminars and Study Tour" is the most common since, taught as an overload, it is not subject to departmental and decanal review of enrollment. "The Plus Option" has not proved attractive to students since they prefer credit to come in units of three. The "Eight and Six" option enables faculty members to offer the course as part of their regular teaching load, but chairs and deans are likely to require higher enrollments for an in-load course.

Students often inquire about earning credit for travel in combination with independent study, a matter left to the discretion of individual instructors and departments. Variable credit arrangements may require a course number with credit "by arrangement."