Study Abroad Course Approval and Credit Transfer

ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú Students

To stay on track for graduation, ensure timely processing of financial aid, and formally document your academic plan for study abroad, it is essential that ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú students carefully review and follow the process outlined below.

Non-ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú Students

Non-ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú students must consult with their home campus regarding policies that govern study abroad course equivalencies, credit transfer, and grades.

ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú Study Abroad Course Approval Process

The instructions below are for ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú students studying abroad on any SUNY-sponsored study abroad program except ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú Faculty-Led Programs.  The process below must be followed when a student studies abroad on a ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú semester study abroad program, ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú semester exchange program, ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú short-term host institution program, and other SUNY study abroad programs, including semester, short-term and faculty-led programs offered by other SUNY campuses.  A description of each Program Type is available.

Study Abroad Course Articulation Database

Utilizing the Study Abroad Course Articulation Database and the course offerings from the partner university, compare the offerings to your unmet degree requirements shown in DegreeWorks. 

Consult with your academic advisor and/or the Advising Office to learn when the best time is to study abroad and what courses to look for abroad. 

Contact ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú Study Abroad if you need help finding course offerings, descriptions, and/or syllabi.

(requires ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú login) to learn how to navigate the Study Abroad Course Articulation Database to maximize use of the platform and its search functionality.

Course Articulation Form (CAF)

The Course Articulation Form (CAF) form is used to facilitate the process of articulating courses.  Articulation is a process by which a course taken elsewhere is determined to be equivalent to a course found in the (known as a ‘direct articulation’) or assigned a transfer articulation, in which the subject area for the course and level (100-, 200-, 300-, 400-level) is determined but a ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú course equivalent does not exist.  Transfer Articulation is shown as SUBJECT CODE (e.g. ANTH, BIOL, MGMT, etc.) 1TR, 2TR, 3TR, or 4TR, wherein 1, 2, 3, 4 correspond to 100-, 200-, 300-, 400-level.

This form can be used for three purposes: 

  1. New Articulation -- To add a new articulation to the Study Abroad Course Articulation Database
  2. GLOBE Review -- To request GLOBE general education attribute review of a course that already appears in the Study Abroad Course Articulation Database
  3. Review Articulation -- To request an updated review of an articulation that already appears in the Study Abroad Course Articulation Database

For each course listed on the CAF, you must indicate if you are seeking New Articulation, GLOBE Review, or Review Articulation.

New Articulation, GLOBE Review, or Review Articulation
1.  Does the course(s) exist in the Study Abroad Course Articulation Database?

  • No -- Follow the instructions on the CAF and indicate New Articulation for that course
  • Yes – If you believe the course should have additional GLOBE general education attributes, follow the instructions on the CAF and indicate GLOBE Review for that course.
  • Yes -- If you believe the articulation is not accurate, follow the instructions on the CAF and indicate Review Articulation for that course.
  • Yes – If you are satisfied with the existing articulation, proceed to listing the course(s) on the .

2.  Complete the top portion of the Course Articulation Form (CAF) and the gray boxes.  Indicate New Articulation, GLOBE Review, or Review Articulation for each course.

3.  Bring the completed Study Abroad Course Articulation Form (CAF) along with the following for each course to Study Abroad, Erwin Hall 218.

  • Course Description – At minimum a student must supply a course description which is usually a 3-5 sentence description of the course.
  • Course Learning Outcomes – Course learning outcomes usually appear on the course syllabus but may also appear on the website of the institution abroad.
  • Course Syllabus – The course syllabus provides the most complete explanation of the content of the course and usually displays the learning outcomes.

If you need help finding the course description, learning outcomes, or syllabus, ask the SUNY study abroad office offering the program, which should be able to get the documents you need or can direct you on how to access the documents yourself.

Study Abroad will distribute the completed Study Abroad Course Articulation Form (CAF) to the appropriate Dean or designee.

4.  Either a direct articulation or transfer articulation will be assigned to each course.  A copy of the CAF will be emailed to you after final approval.  Save the CAF for future reference.

Course Planning Form (CPF) -- Every study abroad student must complete a Course Planning Form

The must be submitted via AdobeSign.  The instructions provided below explain how to use the AdobeSign platform to ensure appropriate routing for approval.

All students are expected to consult with their academic advisor/department chair on the courses they plan to take.  Prior to completing the Course Planning Form (CPF) via AdobeSign, some students will map out their course selection on a PDF version of the Course Planning Form with their academic advisor/department chair.  Note: The PDF version is not official and cannot be used in place of the Course Planning Form (CPF) via AdobeSign.

Due May 1 for study abroad during Summer or Fall
Due December 1 for study abroad during Winter Intersession or Spring

How to complete the via AdobeSign

Fill out the top portion of the document.

Courses listed on the must exist in the Study Abroad Course Articulation Database or have been recently articulated on a Course Articulation Form (CAF) before they can be listed on the CPF.

There are three sections to list courses:

  1. Major, Minor, Concentration
  2. General Education
  3. Free Elective

List all courses you plan to take abroad under the appropriate section accompanied by the ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú course code, course title, and credits as displayed in the Study Abroad Course Articulation Database.  

Section: Major, Minor, Concentration

When a course taken abroad is determined to be equivalent to a course in the , this is known as a ‘direct articulation' as denoted by an exact ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú course code (e.g. ACCT 301, BIOL 210, PSYC 268, etc.).  Courses with a direct articulation generally do not require departmental signature as a waiver is not generally needed to ensure proper mapping of the course to a student's degree requirements.

Many courses are displayed in the database as a 'transfer articulation', as denoted by the course subject code (i.e. ACCT, BIOL, PSYC, etc.) followed by 1TR, 2TR, 3TR, or 4TR which corresponds to 100-, 200-, 300, 400-level.  Courses with a transfer articulation require departmental signature as they require a waiver to be applied to specific degree requirements.  If you need a waiver for a major, minor, or concentration course, please list the Department Chair for your major, minor or concentration under Participant 3-7. Participant 3 is linked to the first course of the Major, Minor, Concentration section of the CPF. Participant 4 is linked to the second course in this section, and so on.

Section: General Education

If you need a waiver for a general education course, please list GLOBEchair@geneseo.edu for Participant 8.  You must also separately email a copy of the course syllabus or description for general education review to GLOBEchair@geneseo.edu. 

If you are taking the course to satisfy the World Languages requirement (L101/L102) please list the Department Chair of Global Languages under Participant 8.

Section: Free Elective

List courses under Free Elective section if you are enrolling courses that do not fall into either of the two previously indcated sections.  No additional ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú signature is required for Free Elective course approval.

International Relations Majors

List the email address of the International Relations Coordinator for Participant 9.

All Students

All Course Planning Forms are also reviewed by the Office of Advising.  Please list arouse@geneseo.edu for Participant 10.  Alexandra Rouse, Director of the Office of Advising.

Course Enrollment Verification

The Course Enrollment Abroad Self Disclosure form is to be completed within 4 weeks of the start of your classes abroad. Every ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú student must submit proof of all the courses they are actually registered for. Students will receive an email while abroad prompting them to complete this step.

Study Abroad Transcript Supplement & Waiver

Within a few months of your program completing, you will be issued a study abroad transcript supplement. If any courses appear in DegreeWorks as transfer elective courses (for example, COMN 1TR, ENGL 2TR, MGMT 3TR, etc.) but were approved on your Course Planning Form to fulfill a major or minor requirement or elective, you must:

  1. Contact the department chair listed on your Course Planning Form (CPF).
  2. Request that they submit a Waiver/Exception Request to ensure the course is properly applied to your degree requirements.

Additional Important Information

To view the most recent recording of the virtual overview of the Course Approval and Credit Transfer process our office offers each semester, . ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú Login is required to view.

The Host Institution Program Student Handbook outlines policies and procedures related to study abroad, see section IV. Registration and Credit Transfer.

The Grade and Credit Conversion Chart shows how grades and credits taken on a ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú study abroad program are transferred to ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú.

The records how courses will be applied to a student's specific degree requirements and can determine a student's financial aid-eligible credits.

The Study Abroad staff understands that upon arrival on site for the study abroad program, a student may face course cancellation or wish to drop/add courses.  This is not a problem, but for any courses that were not listed on the prior to departure, the student must repeat the process outlined above to avoid problems with financial aid disbursement or progress towards graduation.

Integrative and Applied Learning (IAL) Graduation Requirement

Want to have your study abroad experience satisfy the ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉú Integrative and Applied (IAL) Learning graduation requirement?  

Consult the Integrative and Applied Learning and Study Abroad website for detailed instructions on how to have your study abroad experience recognized to satisfy this graduation requirement.