Pre-Departure
Guide for Study Abroad
Austin College
Study Abroad Office
900 North Grand Avenue, Suite 61590
Wright Campus Center, Room 204
Sherman, Texas 75090-4400
Phone 903-813-2309
Fax 903-813-2014
Director, Study Abroad:
Truett Cates
Assistant Director, Study Abroad:
Valerie Roberts
AC Ambassadors:
studyabroad@austincollege.edu
TABLE OF CONTENTS
STUDY
ABROAD OFFICE CHECKLIST
Pre-Departure
BEFORE departing the USA the
following are required by the Study Abroad Office.
Copy of Flight Information – Email
studyabroad@austincollege.edu. Your meal check will not be issued
until this information is provided.
Sign your Austin College Financial Aid
Packaging Letter, financial aid will not be awarded until this letter is
signed and returned to Austin College.
Take abroad your Webhopper log in and
password.
Log onto
www.fafsa.ed.gov and take abroad with you your id and password (if
applicable).
AFTER arrival to your Host Country
the following is required:
WITHIN 72 HOURS after arrival send
an email to
studyabroad@austincollege.edu stating that you have arrived safely.
(Call your parents first)
AFTER placement into host family or
residence hall send an email to
studyabroad@austincollege.edu with your local contact information:
mailing address, local phone number, cell phone number.
AFTER enrollment into classes:
Please email
studyabroad@austincolllege.edu with your class selections.
File FAFSA before the deadline of
May 1, 2008. (if applicable)
AFTER return to Austin College the
following is required:
RETURN the
Study Abroad Evaluation to the Study
Abroad Office and schedule an interview with the director for debriefing.
– Transcript grades will not be posted until this evaluation is received.
Congratulations!
You're almost there! Just a little more
preparation before you are whisked away! There is a lot to know about
study abroad, so please read everything in your packet.
Our office is excited about your plans to
study abroad. Your booklet is designed to assist you with questions that
you might have while abroad. Please take your booklet abroad with you.
The Study Abroad Office is YOUR connection
to Austin College while abroad. We are here to assist you. Be sure to cc
all emails to
studyabroad@austincollege.edu that way we can keep a record for you in
your file for back up.
Please remember that YOU are a
representative of Austin College while abroad. You are required to
conduct yourself according to the rules outlined in the Austin College
Bulletin. Failure to do so will result in removal from the program, with
possible removal from Austin College. So please conduct yourself
accordingly.
Have a great term abroad and remember the
Study Abroad office is here to assist you. Please keep in touch and be
extra cautious in these unsettled times. Always be aware of your
surroundings.
Academics
On approved programs, the courses AC
students take abroad are carried in the Registrar's computers as Austin
College courses. Courses completed abroad count as Austin College courses
and apply as credit towards graduation from Austin College. They are also
computed in your GPA on a 4-point scale.
Austin College distribution requirements
(dimensions) are routinely met by courses abroad. If, for example, you
took a history course in your program abroad, it would automatically count
as one of your required four Humanities courses, without any other action
from you, other than your completing the course. No special approval is
required.
Special approvals may however be required
if you want a course you take abroad to count toward your major or minor.
How to make
sure credits abroad apply to a Major and/or Minor?
To
accomplish Major/Minor declaration modification while abroad, please send
a syllabus or class description of the course concerned to the Study
Abroad Office. Let us know what major or minor you want the course to
count against and we will press for immediate approval.
How will study abroad credits apply to the
Austin College transcript?
An important rule of thumb: Four
semester-hours (sometimes called “credit-hours” or casually referred to as
“credits”) in a Study Abroad program are equivalent to one AC graduation
credit. Refer questions to the Study Abroad Office, who has the correct
answer.
Where most programs use a semester-hour
credit system, AC calculates graduation credits and credit equivalents as
follows:
- 2 semester-hours (or credit-hours or
“credits”) equal 0.5 AC course credit units
- 3 semester-hours (or credit-hours or
“credits”) equal 0.75 course credit units
- 4 semester-hours (or credit-hours or
“credits”) equal 1 course credit unit.
- 5 semester-hours (or credit-hours or
“credits”) equal 1.25 AC course credit unit
Course load while abroad
In order to receive the equivalent of 4.0
AC course credits when studying abroad, students thus enroll and complete
successfully the equivalent of 16 semester semester-hours (or credit-hours
or “credits”) in their program. Normal enrollment for AC students in
programs abroad is accordingly 16 semester hours.
Reduced loads while studying abroad are
exceptional and must be approved by the Director of Study Abroad.
How grades abroad apply to your GPA
Since you are a student in residence while
abroad, your courses will be entered on the AC transcript exactly as if
you had obtained them here: discipline, title, credit and grade. Your
grades will be calculated into your GPA. Incompletes are not allowed by AC
on study abroad programs, no exceptions.
If you wish to request S/D/U grading from
AC while studying abroad, then you must do so within Austin College’s
allotted period for grade changes. Even though your course may start
earlier or later than courses on campus, you still have the same time
periods after the start of the course to accomplish the change in grading
with AC (usually about seven weeks). Check the Bulletin for the most
recent rules. Remember that starting in 2007 students may receive credit
for no more than one S/D/U course per semester and may count no more than
four toward graduation. (When you return, the S/D/U grade may have to be
entered manually since your study abroad transcript might reflect only A-F
grading).
Adding/dropping classes while abroad
After you
register for courses abroad, you may find it possible to make some changes
within a given program. Remember that adding or dropping a course in your
program abroad or in a foreign university may not be the same as at home.
You should follow the exact and official steps for changing courses at the
host school or program. Don’t repeat the unfortunate experience of some
AC students who preceded you, who naively accepted incorrect information
from local students or instructors. One cannot drop a course simply by not
going to it nor can one add a course simply by attending it. Consult the
program advisor abroad directly for the local paperwork and procedures.
Keep copies of related documents to assure the proper posting of grades
upon your return. Remember you are still required to keep a full load of 4
AC credits.
Your
study abroad course list
Once you
have completed registration abroad, send your final list of courses to the
Study Abroad office. The list should include the title of the course, the
discipline designation (Eco, Art, Hist) and the semester-hours
(credit-hours or “credits”).
Study
Abroad Transcripts
Your
program (IES, IFSA-Butler, Arcadia, BCA , Central College, etc.) will send
to Austin College (that is, not to you; it is the way that transcripts are
handled) an original, official, certified transcript of your academic
record for your courses abroad.
In applying for some graduate or professional schools, you may be asked to
supply original transcripts from each school you have attended. If so,
consult the Study Abroad Office or the program on how to obtain these.
The process of receiving, evaluating, and posting to your AC record may
take a week or two once the transcript arrives. If you experience any
delays, please contact the Study Abroad Office.
Credit
and Course questions while abroad
If you
discover a disciplinary course abroad that you want to take but which for
some reason may be difficult to fit a distribution requirement at AC,
consult the Study Abroad Office immediately. In any case please include
the Study Abroad Office in the cc line of any emails about courses and
credits.
Adapting to the new system
Adapting to a different academic system is
part of the general cultural adjustment that students abroad must make.
In all programs you will find differences in teaching and learning styles,
grading practices, academic resources, examinations, assignments,
attendance policies, and student attitudes.
You will need to observe how things work.
What are the expectations about attendance, late papers, or missed exams?
Ask the program advisor or consult the professor of the course. Do not
depend on the advice of a student of the host university. They could be
wrong, and AC will have little sympathy.
Registration for your returning semester
The Study Abroad office will register you
for your returning semester courses based on the information that you have
provided to the Study Abroad Office OR on the course selection that you
email us.
Fall and spring registration dates are on the Austin College calendar (in
this packet). The schedule of classes is available first on Web Hopper:
http://hopper.austincollege.edu/webhopper/ and then on the Registrar’s
page of the AC website:
http://www.austincollege.edu/Category.asp?754.
If you know that you are not going to be at your program site during the
AC registration and advising period, please stop by an internet café
somewhere to view the schedule and email the study abroad office your
choices.
NOTE:
If spring registration for fall 2008 classes will be done online, then you
will need to be connected when it is time.
Jan Term registration
Off-campus international Jan Term
registration is held at the beginning of May. See:
http://www.austincollege.edu/janterm for
exact dates and for downloading the Financial Obligation form is required
for registration.
You must have permission from the instructor before you can enroll in a
travel course. You should request permission for each course you are
considering, since permission does not guarantee you a place in the
course. You will need to make arrangements to have a $100 deposit check
sent to the Study Abroad office (made payable to Austin College), and
mail/fax us a signed copy of the two forms (the Study Abroad Office will
email you this information at registration time) before the Study Abroad
Office can register you for an off campus Jan Term. Do not delay as many
off-campus Jan Terms fill rapidly.
Off-campus international Jan Term registration is also held in late
September, but some courses will already be filled by then. The
registration procedure is the same.
All of this is subject to modification, if
registration is online.
Study Abroad
Financial Aid Advances
Prior to the start of term, a student who
has been approved to Study Abroad may request a Financial Aid Advance from
the Austin College Business Office. The following criteria must be met
before any monies are considered for an advance. Only one Financial Aid
advance per student will be processed per term.
1. Student must have approved
acceptance into the Study Abroad program.
2. Study abroad estimated budget must
be completed.
3. Financial Aid package must be
complete and award letter signed and returned to Financial Aid.
4. All financial aid (loans,
scholarships, grants) must be in a guaranteed status. (Guaranteed =
approved by lender and ready to be disbursed to college)
When the above items are complete, the
student may present a request for a financial aid advance. Student
should bring the following to the
Business Office.
1. Copy of acceptance letter into the
Study Abroad program.
2. Copy of completed financial aid
award letter.
3. Copies of out of pocket receipts
paid or to be paid (i.e. airfare, visa, passport)
Upon approval by the Director of Finance, a
financial aid advance will be disbursed to the student within 5 – 7
business days.
NOTE: Any remaining credit on the
student account will be refunded, as per Austin College credit balance
refund policy. Credits will be refunded to the student or student’s power
of attorney.
Billing
Information
Statements
This part
is very important for you and your parents to understand clearly. Your
program fee will be billed directly to Austin College and NOT to you or
your parents. The AC Business Office pays the program cost (minus any
scholarships awarded you by the program) from your Student Receivable
Account. Your financial aid is calculated and subtracted from your
account. An AC statement is then sent to your permanent address unless you
have given the Business Office a separate accounts receivable address.
The balance remaining is due to AC upon receipt of the statement. Ask now
if this is unclear!
IF YOUR
PARENTS RECEIVE A BILL FROM YOUR STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM DIRECTLY, THIS IS AN
ERROR. PLEASE HAVE THEM SEND IT TO THE AC STUDY ABROAD OFFICE.
Refunds
Financial
Aid refunds will not be issued until the start of the Austin College term,
when all aid has been processed by the Business Office and applied to your
account.
Refunds will be mailed to the address you provided the study abroad
office.
If you have loan checks which will arrive
while you are abroad, you must complete a "General Power of Attorney" form
so your parents or the person you designate may sign your loan checks for
deposit.
COMMUNICATION
Email
You will be able to use your AC email
account abroad anywhere that you have Internet access. If you prefer to
use another provider, make sure you have your AC email forwarded to that
other address. The Study Abroad Office will only use AC email addresses.
Tip – since internet access (in
cyber cafés, for example) may well be charged by the minute, compose your
message a head of time and then paste it into your email.
Emergency contact
Our contact information is on the front
page of this packet. You should keep this address and your local contact
information on you at all times in case of emergency. Your local contact
information should include the names of numbers of your host family, if
applicable, and the overseas program office and director.
The Study Abroad Office at 903.813.2309, 8:30 am - 5:00 pm Monday – Friday
(our time) or the Campus Police at any time at 903 813 2555.
The voice of experience – collected tips
from returning students
- Before departure for your overseas
program, make arrangements to protect your
campus job or other job, if you have one, and wish to renew it upon
return.
- Verify that your Web Hopper login and
password works before going abroad. You will need your Web Hopper
account for registration, grades, class schedule, etc.
- Apply for housing by AC’s deadlines if
you want to live on campus. Watch for email in April.
- Watch email for other deadlines, such as
applications for C/I leader, Language House, Honors, etc.
- Apply or reapply for financial aid for
the next academic year, especially if you will be overseas in the
spring.
- Send your registration requests to the
Study Abroad Office at least a week before registration for your next
semester here. No registration request taken after 5 p.m. on Friday.
(Subject to change, if the College goes to online registration).
- Save copies of all course outlines,
reading lists, and returned papers from each course you take abroad.
Such materials may be needed to determine the credits you will earn.
- Do not leave your program or host school
owing any debts so that your transcript will not be delayed.
- Take time to say goodbye to all the
friends you make abroad. Get their postal and email addresses. You’ll
be glad you did!
- Thank your program staff and
particularly helpful faculty and tutors, plus your host family if you
stayed with one.
- Prepare to make a journal and a
scrapbook by saving photos, concert ticket stubs and programs, etc
- Get ready for a return in which some
will not understand your experiences and many may show little interest.
- Mailing back is expensive. Travel
light.
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