Academics

Academic credit is a very important part of your program — it is, after all, study abroad. To ensure your credit abroad will fit in with your degree program here on campus, it is important that you work with your academic advisor and Study Abroad staff as often and early as possible, as they will work with you to select the program and term that will give you maximum academic success and allow you to graduate on time.

Choosing Courses

Determining which courses you will take abroad requires consultation with your academic advisor and any department at Valpo that will be approving the credits and any requirements they will fulfill in your degree program. It’s important to start this conversation as early as possible so that you can fit Study Abroad into your degree program here at Valpo. This will help you determine which courses you can take abroad versus which ones you are encouraged or required to take here on campus.

It’s important to note that, with some programs, you may be able to choose and enroll in specific courses ahead of time, but there are some programs where you may not be able to officially determine and enroll in courses until later, or even after you’ve already arrived. It is important that you understand what types of courses you need so you can ensure you are taking appropriate courses abroad. The Study Abroad staff can help you find information on courses offered by your program — or, alternatively, course listings from a recent semester that would allow you to tentatively plan with your academic advisor and department.

Study Abroad Course Planning Worksheet

This document is very important and will be required for you to submit after you have been accepted to a program. This form helps determine the connection between degree requirements and study abroad coursework. Having a documented conversation with your academic advisor(s) prior to studying abroad will help you make a more informed decision about which courses to take while you are overseas and provide you with a record of the decisions made. Your academic advisers may be able to point out additional considerations for you that are specific to your major, minor, or college of enrollment. Being aware of how your study abroad coursework can potentially fulfill requirements can help you complete degree requirements efficiently, ensuring you graduate on time.

Your study abroad program advisor will go over this with you during your required advising meeting.

Note: Students on faculty-led programs will not need to complete this form. They will register for the specific, pre-determined course as directed by their faculty leader.

Course Enrollment

All students must enroll in an AAA placeholder (simply indicating that you were abroad) according to their program. This maintains the full-time student status while abroad. Courses and grades will be processed after the program has ended. The AAA placeholder is listed as 12 credits but will be changed to zero credits upon the receipt of your transcript abroad. The AAA placeholder fulfills the Cultural Diversity General Education Requirement and the courses you took abroad will be added to your Valpo records. Students will receive an email and/or message on Via about the AAA enrollment process around the time of the in-person general orientation.

Note: Students on faculty-led programs will register for the specific, pre-determined course as directed by their faculty leader.

Transcripts

For those who are taking any courses through another institution or study center, students will need to be sure an official transcript is sent from the host institution or provider to the Office of International Programs – Study Abroad. Institutions should send those to the following address:

The Office of International Programs – Study Abroad
Valparaiso University
1509 Chapel Drive
Valparaiso, IN 46383
USA

If you are not sure if you will need to request a transcript, be sure to ask your program advisor and/or on-site contact.

One more important thing to be aware of: there is often a delay with processing these transcripts and grades. Often, the institution where you took classes has an entirely different credit and grading system, and we have to involve other campus departments in order to translate those into their Valpo equivalents before they can then get posted to your Valpo transcript. We do everything we can to complete this process as quickly as possible, but typically it can take six to eight weeks. Be sure to inform your academic advisor and home department of the possibility of delay.

Non-Valpo Approved Programs (programs without an application on Via)

Students choosing to participate in a non-Valpo approved program will take a leave of absence from Valpo for the semester. There will be no need to enroll in anything here, and students will need to be sure to get a transcript sent to Valpo. Credits will come in as transfer credit, and grades will not be recorded on the transcript. For this reason, students must plan early and be sure to involve their academic advisor and department to ensure transfer credit will be accepted and be allowed to count for degree requirements as applicable.