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IMPORTANT
INFORMATION to help you plan your study abroad
experience.
Study Abroad Student Learning Outcomes
Eligibility for Off-Campus Study
Program Approval
Course Approval
Award of Credit Hours
Required
Language Study Abroad
Financial Aid for Study Abroad
Special Rules for Summer
Off-Campus Study
Study Abroad Fees
1. Study Abroad
Student Learning Outcomes:
• Washington and Lee
approved study abroad experiences
foster intercultural understanding.
• Credit-bearing
academic work undertaken during study
abroad supports discipline-specific learning
outcomes
as established
by departments and programs.
• Washington and Lee
approved study abroad experiences encourage
the development of language
and/or intercultural
communication skills.
• Washington and Lee
approved study abroad programs provide opportunities
that encourage student development
in
self-understanding, maturity, tolerance of
ambiguity, and appreciation of cultural
differences.
• When studying in a
country where the language of the university and/ or
program differs from the student’s
native language(s),
Washington and Lee approved study abroad programs
provide opportunities to improve language skills.
2. Eligibility for Off-Campus Study:
Students must
have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.500 to apply for
off-campus study for W&L credit during the academic year or
2.500 to apply for off-campus study during the summer.
Students must consult with their academic adviser(s) to
ensure that their proposed course of study will enable them
to make normal progress toward completion of major and
degree requirements in a timely fashion. Seniors engaged in
approved study abroad will have the first term of the
three-term senior residency requirement waived. Requests for
exceptions to these or other academic rules must be
submitted in advance to the Committee on Courses and Degrees
through the Dean of the College. To study abroad, students
must consult with the Director of International Education,
attend on-campus orientations, and, upon their return,
complete an evaluation of their study abroad experience for
the Center for International Education. Students will be
expected to disclose medical and or counseling-related
conditions or current treatments so that appropriate
consultations can occur with deans, Student Health and
Counseling Services, etc. to ensure that all critical needs
can be met during the student's time away from campus.
3.
Program Approval:
Undergraduate students seeking to study abroad for W&L
degree credit must submit an Application for Degree
Credit for Off-Campus Study to the Director of
International Education by the specified deadline for the
period in which they plan to be absent from campus. They
must enroll in a program which has received approval by the
Director and pursue a full-time course of study as defined
by both the host institution and W&L. Program approval is
based upon precedent, past experience, faculty, departmental
and administrative knowledge and recommendation of a
program, and/or site visits, whenever possible, to the
program by a W&L faculty member or administrator. Students
and faculty are referred to the Study Abroad area of the
Center for International Education web site (internationaleducation.wlu.edu/studyabroad/studyabroad.html
) for information on programs which are generally approved
for W&L student use,.
4. Course Approval:
Students studying abroad are
required to seek approval in advance from the appropriate
department head (or academic dean) and academic adviser for
all courses to be attempted while abroad. Such approval is
granted only through the signature of that department head
or academic dean on the student’s Application for Credit for
Non-W&L Off-Campus Study. Students must maintain a full-time
load of academic coursework comparable to that at Washington
and Lee in level, nature, and field, applicable to a W&L
degree program. Course approvals must be secured prior to
taking the course(s) so that the student is clear on the
transferability of all courses and credits. Should a
student’s course selection change for any reason after
submission of their application, substituted courses are not
transferable unless approved by an appropriate Washington
and Lee department head (or academic dean) and academic
adviser. Such approval must be sought immediately (e.g.
e-mail, fax); copies of any such correspondence should also
be directed to the Director of International Education.
Credit will not be transferred for any course for which a
student has not obtained pre-approval unless retroactive
approval is granted by the appropriate department head or
Dean after the student’s return. Such retroactive approval
is not guaranteed and must be obtained before the conclusion
of the first 12-week term completed by the student upon
their return to W&L. Any exceptions to this policy must be
obtained from the Committee on Courses and Degrees.
5. Award of Credit Hours:
The approval of credit hours
applied to major requirements and the level at which they
are applied (100, 200, etc) will be determined only by the
appropriate department head or dean at W&L, as recorded on
the student’s Application for Credit for Non-W&L
Off-Campus Study. Those credits approved as equivalent
to a specific W&L course number will meet the same
requirements that W&L course does. Those credits approved as
non-equivalent electives may be applied to major
requirements with permission of the department head but in
order to meet general education requirements will require a
separate petition to the Committee on Courses and Degrees.
Credit for courses taken off
campus will only be transferred once an official transcript
for the work completed has been received by the W&L
University Registrar and approval for all courses has been
given by the appropriate department(s) as noted above.
Credits may be transferred only if a grade equivalent to a C
(2.0) or better is received. The actual grade on an abroad
course is not transferred to the student’s W&L record and
therefore does not affect the W&L cumulative GPA
6. Number of Credit Hours:
No strict correlation exists between contact hours in
courses taken abroad and credit hours awarded by W&L. W&L
does not award more credit for a program than that awarded
by the host institution, as determined by the host's
official transcript. If the host program's transcript does
not translate easily to "American" credit (e.g. quarter
hours, semester credits, units) or provide a conversion
scale, or if the host institution's academic calendar
differs significantly from W&L’s, the following can act as
general principles:
a.
A student pursuing a
fully approved, full-time course of study abroad for a
period roughly equivalent to W&L's fall or winter term will
usually receive 12 credit hours from W&L upon the successful
completion of all courses in this study.
b.
A student pursuing a
fully approved, full-time course of study abroad for a term
of approximately 14 weeks or more will usually receive 15
credit hours from W&L upon the successful completion of all
courses in this study.
c.
A student pursuing a
fully approved, full-time course of study abroad for a full
academic year will usually receive 30 credit hours from W&L
upon the successful completion of all courses in this study.
In the
event of a discrepancy between departmentally authorized
credit hours under Section 4 above and the guidance offered
under a, b, and c in this section above (12, 15 or 30
credits, respectively), a student may petition the
appropriate academic Dean for consideration of additional
credit approval.
7.
Language
Study Abroad:
Students studying
abroad in a non-English speaking host culture will be
required to study the language of that culture at an
appropriate level during the period of their enrollment
there. Exceptions to this requirement may be granted by the
Committee on Courses and Degrees upon recommendation of the
Committee on International Education. This policy is not
intended to cover W&L Spring Term Abroad programs.
Students studying in a host culture
whose language is taught at W&L are strongly encouraged to
undertake at least one year of study of that language prior
to their abroad experience. Language study abroad must be
approved in advance by the head of the relevant language
department at W&L or if there is no department offering that
language, such approval must be sought from the Dean of the
College. Approval must be sought prior to departure;
approval is not guaranteed if not obtained in advance.
Students seeking pre-approval for foreign language credit
will be expected to attend one of the recommended programs.
Students who seek credit for foreign language study at a
non-recommended program may be required to take an oral, aural, and/or
written test upon their return to W&L before a determination
of credit approval is made.
8. Financial Aid for Study Abroad:
Most W&L financial
aid may be transferred to help cover the costs of a study
abroad program. The level of aid may be adjusted to reflect
the actual cost of the study abroad program. Students on
financial aid who wish to apply to have this aid available
for study abroad MUST request the appropriate consortium
agreement from the Office of Financial Aid at W&L and assume
responsibility for its prompt return. Failure to do so may
result in the forfeiture of financial aid for study abroad.
Students on financial aid must consult with the W&L Business
Office to ensure proper transfer of their financial aid
funds to their study abroad program or university.
9. Special Rules for Summer
Off-Campus Study:
A maximum of four courses (14 credits)
is allowed toward degree requirements for study away from
W&L whether in the U.S. or abroad during the summer break.
Of these, a maximum of two courses may be taken for general
education or for cognates in the major. These may not
include courses in the major subject or major group, except
repeats. A maximum of two courses may be repeated. Even when
a course is repeated, the old grade remains on the W&L
transcript and in the GPAs. A student may not take a course
which is a specific prerequisite for a course which has
already been taken. Official transcripts are due to the
University Registrar by December 1 of the year in which
summer study is completed.
For
summer study abroad, it is the expectation that in order to
meet the objectives of the Study Abroad Mission Statement, a
program will normally meet for a period of no less than four
weeks or longer and offer at least 6 credits.
Study Abroad Fees
Students will pay study abroad fees to:
1)
W&L, if it is a W&L sponsored and administered program; in
this case, a special program fee will be established, or 2)
the sponsoring institution or program; in this case, an
administrative fee (in 2007-08 this is $750.00 per 12 week
term of study) will be assessed on the student's W&L term
bill. It is important that a student ascertain which
services are included in the program fee and the dates by
which payments must be made.
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