CREDIT
by BILL HOFFA
ACADEMIC CREDIT
Whatever else living and learning abroad is
and will come to mean, if you are enrolled in a study abroad
program and remain a U.S. degree-seeking student, earning
academic credit for your studies is likely to be of utmost
importance to you, to your institution, and to your family.
As a registered student, taking a full-load of courses
overseas, you qualify for financial aid, should your economic
circumstances warrant this. Ideally, credit for courses taken
in any program can be counted toward your degree, and
sometimes toward the satisfaction of academic major or minor
requirements. However, this is far from automatic, so it is
important to understand fully what is involved.
"Academic credit" has no universal meaning, nor are there any
national (much less international) standards for awarding it.
Rather, whether or not you actually receive credit for your
formal studies overseas is dependent on two overriding
considerations:
- the QUALITY OF YOUR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE,
as judged by your teachers in the overseas courses you take;
and
- further (and definitive) judgments made by YOUR HOME
INSTITUTION as to whether these courses AND your performance
pass academic muster BY HOME INSTITUTION STANDARDS AND
POLICIES.
In short, "doing well" in your course work is the
first step; the second is making sure that the courses
themselves are of a quality consistent with earning credit on
your home campus.
Home institution credit: If you enroll in a
program actually sponsored by your home institution, by
definition, the courses are of a standard which will earn
credit, so the only question lies in the quality of your
academic performance. Indeed, the courses you take may be
listed in your college catalog, and it will be clear what sort
of credit--graduation, elective, major--is possible. This is
usually the case whether your institution provides the
instruction or it is offered via an overseas host institution
or agency.
Transfer Credit:
If you enroll in a program not directly
sponsored by your institution, the courses you take and the
quality of your performance will be evaluated and judged by
your home campus via its normal "transfer credit" procedures
and standards. Those on your campus who are likely to be
involved in the decision over whether or not to award credit
include the registrar, faculty, and overseas studies
personnel. The process usually involves examining records
which must be furnished by (a) the overseas institution or
agency which does the teaching and assessment; and/or (b) by
another U.S. college or university or consortium which
sponsors the program and provides credit recommendations. In
addition, you may be required to furnish supplementary
evidence of your studies--papers, tests, journals, etc.
Credit by examination:
It is sometimes possible to earn credit
by taking and passing examinations (written or oral) given by
your home institution, based on what you have learned
overseas, taken shortly after your return. This is quite
frequently done to judge language proficiency or gains in
other skills areas, e.g. in the performing arts, in social
science research, in field science, where course work per se
may not be offered or is considered less relevant as a
learning tool. If you do well on these exams, you will
usually receive home-campus credit.
Note: sometimes there is
a charge for the testing and/or the credit.
Credit for Work, Internships, Volunteer Service:
Few if any
colleges or universities grant credit for travel alone or
simply for living overseas. But if your college gives credit
for domestic off-campus work or service, it may also give
credit for similar activities overseas. If this is the case,
it is important for you to learn what you need to do
beforehand to qualify for such credit. Almost always, this
requires finding an advisor who will oversee and evaluate your
experience and activities. Frequently, in addition to
whatever you actually do overseas, you will be asked to keep a
journal, write reports, do additional readings, conduct
interviews, and in general demonstrate that you have done some
serious reflection on the meaning of your activities. In
short, credit is not granted on the experience alone.
Almost all campuses have procedures and policies
in place for pre-approving program selection, participation,
and credit. This protects both the institution and the
student. It is important for the institution to give students
clear guidelines and standards for earning credit for study
abroad, so as to minimize misunderstandings after the fact.
It is important for you to know in advance what is and isn't
possible. No two institutions have the same policies and
practices. Further, pre-approval is not just a matter of
deciding whether or not earning academic credit is possible in
general, but in determining what sorts of credit and at what
levels--graduation credit, elective credit, upper- or
lower-division, academic major or minor credit.
By definition, programs wholly or jointly sponsored by your
own institution are pre-approved for credit--which is
something apart from your applying for admission and being
admitted. Beyond this, your institution may have a list of
other programs which are automatically pre-approved for
credit. If it does not, or you wish to enroll in a program
not on this list, there is probably some sort of program
review and approval process set up by the study abroad office
and conducted by the campus adviser, in consultation with
faculty. There may, in addition, be a formal petition
process. The point is to know what is required and to take
the necessary steps to apply to a program and get approval for
the credit you anticipate earning. It is never advisable to
leave your campus without clear assurances that, upon
successful completion of overseas course work, you will
receive the credit you expect to earn, in the designated areas
and at the appropriate levels. Your chances of earning credit
after you return, without this pre-approval, are usually
minimal (though not absolutely impossible, if you can find
ways to demonstrate what you have learned).
Getting pre approval usually involves the following:
-
Getting the appropriate faculty members to sign off on your
courses. Most campuses have some sort of form for this.
Their signature attests to the course content at the overseas
institution as being "creditable" for graduation credit. Note
that this is for graduation credit only. For concentration
credit, you will need to consult with your concentration
advisor prior to leaving .
- Making sure that the institution in which you are
interested has been approved for the transfer of credit. This
means that the program is either on a campus "approved program
list" OR that you have submitted a petition and received
approval for that particular institution. Guidelines and
advice for how to submit a successful petition are available
from your campus study abroad adviser.
- Satisfying the Registrar's regulations for the minimum
number of credit hours, in order to ensure a timely graduation
schedule.
If you make any changes in your
pre-approved courses, it is your responsibility to write
(e-mail is quicker) the faculty member who signed your
approval form with information about the new course. If you
are considering courses in a department from which you have
not received prior approval, know that each Department has its
own requirements. It is VERY important to write to the
department before you commit yourself to the new course.
In order to receive credit for programs
which are not sponsored directly by you institution, you must
have the overseas or domestic institution or agency send a
transcript to your college registrar. If the institution does
not issue transcripts, you must have them send a certificate
of attendance or diploma, indicating the courses you took and
a written evaluation of your work.
In all cases you must complete a full-load of courses as
required by the foreign and your own institution, with the
equivalent of a C- or better in order to receive credit.
Institutional policies on grading and grade transfer vary
widely. Know, in advance, what yours is.
In certain cases, noted above,
you will need to
seek post-approval for your courses. This is applicable if
you have:
- Taken courses for which you had no prior approval
- Taken courses under the rubric of departments which will not
grant you credit until they examine the course descriptions
and the work you did in your classes overseas.
- Taken courses
that you want to apply as concentration credit Again, each
situation may require evidence of work, including papers,
exams, notes from oral presentations, portfolios.
In general, because there may be further questions about your
credit, YOU SHOULD KEEP ALL OF YOUR RECORDS FROM ABROAD: all
syllabi, exams, papers, notes, projects, and portfolios.
Back |
Next |
Index
©Copyright 1995-2000
Educational Directories Unlimited, Inc.
Legal
Notice
Click here to visit the ACI
site.