All students participating in semester and partner summer programs are subject to the enrollment and credit transfer policies as listed below.
ENROLLMENT POLICIES
All students studying abroad for a semester are required to be enrolled in at least the equivalent of 12 or more Appalachian State credit hours to maintain full-time status. Students will also need to follow the minimum full-time enrollment requirement of their host university/program which in many cases will be more than 12 credits. Students participating on partner summer programs do not have a minimum credit requirement.
Students who wish to take more than 18 credits during the semester will need to follow the credit overload pre-approval guidelines of their College.
Students on exchange programs who are not enrolled in the equivalent of 12 or more semester hours abroad, will NOT be eligible for a reduction in tuition in fees.
Please be advised that if you are receiving Financial Aid, your award is based on the equivalent of 12 or more Appstate credit hours per semester (6 or more credits for the summer terms). If you take less than the equivalent of 12 credit hours during the semester and 6 during summer, federal/state regulations require the Office of Student Financial Aid to review and adjust your tuition budget, and any loan or grant funds that could be affected by your reduced enrollment, and students may be responsible for paying back financial aid.
STUDY ABROAD CREDIT TRANSFER POLICIES
Student must earn a grade of “C” or better (based on study abroad grading scale) to receive credit for their courses. Courses will be posted as Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory on the student’s Appalachian transcript.
Courses taken that receive a pass/fail basis grade listed on the transcript may be considered for credit if the host institution is able to provide information about assessment for these courses. This must be approved in advance of departure.
Students should be aware that many countries will not list labs as a separate course. Students may have the option of taking a lab as a component of a course and will not receive additional credits. Departments may determine that these courses will fulfill an ASU lab requirement but it isn’t possible to award additional credits for a course unless it is deemed that the student has undertaken additional contact hours. Students can show this by presenting syllabi that indicate additional credit hours for the labs.
TO DEPARTMENTAL CHAIRS
Thank you for your support of study abroad. You play an essential role in the process of transferring credit from the study abroad experience. Students are responsible for providing syllabi/course descriptions to you for your review and if needed, supplying further documentation of coursework completed overseas (syllabi, notes, texts, etc.).
ASSIGNING CREDITS AND GRADE CONVERSIONS
Please be aware that not all credit systems are equal. Credit and grade conversions by program can be found on the Credit and Grade Conversion web page.
It may be necessary to combine courses to equal a 3 SH Appalachian course due to lower credit hours abroad.
If there is not a specific Appalachian course equivalent, one solution is to list the course with a Selected Topics course number or as a subject elective.
When appropriate, please consider assigning SI = Student + Institution approvals. SI approvals will be compiled by OIED and will be shared with departments for future students.
CREDIT AND GRADE CONVERSION EXAMPLES
- Two or more courses can be combined to earn equivalent credit.
- Example - Course Abroad: German Reading B2 - 3 ECTS (1.5 App credits) + German Writing B2 - 3 ECTS (1.5 App credits) = Appstate Equivalent: GER 1020 (3 SH)
- If an international course carries more credit hours than the Appalachian course (after conversion), the department can agree to award major elective credit.
- Example - Course Abroad: Globalization in the Modern World - 15 CATS (4 App credits) = Appstate Equivalent: ACC 3590 (3 SH) + 1 ACC Elective Credit