All study abroad coursework must be pre-approved by the student’s advisor prior to taking the course; otherwise the student cannot be assured their coursework will count towards their Honors college core, concentration or other requirements. Students who enroll in a study abroad program through another university need to ensure that the transcripts for coursework taken abroad are sent to FAU and that there is documentation that these courses were taken abroad. The only way to be certain that your study abroad credit will appear on your transcript as ‘study abroad’ coursework is if you dual enroll in FAU study abroad credits. This would mean you would pay the university through which you do the study abroad, and in addition, enroll at FAU for study abroad credit, paying tuition to FAU as well. Students have the option of not dual enrolling, but should be aware of the following important information:

If students do not dual enroll in FAU study abroad credits:

• Students must submit a form to the Honors College accompanied by official documentation that their coursework is taken abroad. Without this documentation, students will not be certified as having satisfied the College’s study abroad requirement. Students cannot graduate from the Honors College unless they complete either a study abroad or an internship.
• There is no guarantee that study abroad coursework will appear on the FAU transcript as study abroad credit—whether it does depends on how the university through which students study abroad labels the coursework on their transcript. Therefore, students should retain official documentation that their work was taken abroad in the event they need to provide verification in the future.
• If the study abroad is during Fall or Spring semesters and students do not dual enroll in FAU study abroad credit, then students will not receive their Honors College scholarship for the semester they are abroad, because they will not be registered as full time students in the Honors College, which is a condition of receiving their Honors College scholarship.
• If the program through which they enroll in study abroad is endorsed, students should be able to retain their federal loans and grants. If the program is sponsored by a university outside of Florida, students will not be able to apply their Florida Bright Futures scholarship for the semester they are abroad, but may be able to use their Florida prepaid dollars. If the program is not fully endorsed, students must have pre-approval through FAU’s international studies office that the courses they plan to take abroad will be transferable to FAU. Students have the responsibility to check with FAU’s scholarship office for details about the consequences for any outside aid or scholarships they receive of not being dual enrolled at FAU while they study abroad.

posted Sept 29, 2005