Study Abroad Course Approval Workshop Instructions

What? Why?
All students applying to study abroad MUST attend a Course Approval Workshop before departure. At the course approval workshop, you will get your proposed study abroad courses approved to transfer back to UW-Whitewater by completing a Transfer Credit Agreement Worksheet.pdf

When and where:

3 Course Approval Workshops offered each semester. Drop in anytime during a workshop for ~30-60 min (however long it takes to get thesignatures you need)
Contact the Office of Global Experiences IMMEDIATELY if you have extenuating circumstances that don’tallow you to attend any of the workshops.

Course Approval Workshop Schedule:

Course Approval Workshops are drop-in style, and you must plan on attending one of them for approx. 30 minutes to 1 hour if any of your courses need to be approved at a Course Approval Workshop (see the list below).  There are 3 Course Approval Workshops scheduled for Fall 2019:
 

• Tuesday, September 24
  • 9am-12pm
  • UC 275A

 

• Wednesday, October 23
  • 1pm-4pm
  • UC 275A

 

• Monday, November 18
  • 12:30pm-3:30pm
  • UC 275A

You MUST attend a workshop this semester if you are studying abroad in Winterim, Spring, or Calendar Year (Spring + Fall) 2020 (unless you already have your classes approved). If you have them pre-approved, please submit a completed TCA to the Office of Global Experiences (McCutchan 204). You can come to a workshop this semester OR next semester IF YOU ARE STUDYING ABROAD IN THE SUMMER, FALL, OR ACADEMIC YEAR 2020-2021.

Who do I meet with at the course approval workshop?
Most Letters & Sciences Courses (Meet with Elizabeth Hachten)
Most Arts & Communication Courses (Meet with Robert Mertens)
Most Education & Professional Studies Courses (Meet with Kelli Danielski)
Most Foreign Language Courses (Meet with Alicia de Gregorio)
Most Business & Economics courses (Meet with Robert Schramm)


Course Approval Steps:

BEFORE attending a Course Approval Workshop:

Research the courses available on your program.Make a list of about twice as many courses as you actually plan to take abroad that seem relevant and interesting to you (in case of conflicts, cancellations, etc.) Only include courses offered the term that you are studying abroad (e.g. don’t include fall only courses if you are studying abroad in spring). Read through the course description to make sure you meet any prerequisites (or, rather, the UWW version of the prerequisite). Reference the course equivalency database to see if your study abroad course has been previously approved. NOTE: This is not a comprehensive list. 

If you don’t see your course in the database, please attend a course approval workshop. If you do see that it has been previously approved, please let the advising coordinator know to obtain his/her approval signature.

Print out the course descriptions for the courses in your list, or bookmark/remember where to find them if you’ll be bringing a laptop or tablet to the workshop.
Bring the following items to a scheduled Course Approval Workshop:Transfer Credit Agreement Worksheet.pdf (or pick one up when you arrive)
Print-outs of your course descriptions/syllabi, or a WIFI-enabled laptop/tablet (not a phone – too tiny! ;-) ) on which you can bring up the course descriptions/syllabi
and a pen.

At the Course Approval Workshop:

Check In (and we will direct you appropriately to what tables to go to)
Visit the relevant advising table(s) to get your chosen courses evaluated by UW-W faculty/staff. (They will read the course descriptions and mark on your TCA Worksheet how each course will transfer back to UW-Whitewater). Sometimes the advising tables may need to get back to you or will direct you to have a course approved by a department chairperson. When you have all the signatures you need, drop off your form at the Check-in table and then you’re done!

Attendees:
Check-in table and general Study Abroad Questions
Dan Colleran                    Office of Global Experiences

Course Approvals: Advising Coordinators:          
Kelli Danielski                         College of Education and Professional Studies
Robert Schramm                     College of Business and Economics
Robert Mertens                       College of Arts and Communication
Elizabeth Hachten                   College of Letters and Sciences
Alicia de Gregorio                    Foreign Languages & Literatures

Frequently asked questions
Why do I need to get SO MANY courses approved?
For both your sake and our sake, we don’t want you to have to keep coming back to get more classes approved.

If you have plenty of back-up options, you’ll know exactly what your next course choice might be without having to contact UWW if you want/need to switch classes – oftentimes you have a very tight window for making these decisions and don’t want to have to wait around for UWW to get back to you with transfer equivalencies.
 
What if I forget what’s on my TCA?
The Office of Global Experiences will upload a scan of your TCA to your UWW study abroad portal in the “Attached Documents” section for your reference.
 
How do I know if a course will count towards my major/minor/etc.?
If a study abroad course is approved as the equivalent of a UWW course, it will transfer in as that course and will automatically show up in your AAR in the right place (AFTER you study abroad and we receive your transcript.)

If you have courses that will transfer in as course numbers “497” or “999,” those are course numbers that mean we don’t have a similar course at UW-W.If you think these courses may be applicable to your major or minor, you can ask your academic advisor or department chair about the process for personalizing (manually placing) those courses into your AAR.   
 
What if I need to get additional classes approved after coming to a workshop?
If there’s another workshop coming up, that’s a great option. If not, you can contact the relevant college advising coordinator (see above list) to get the course approved by appointment or by email. Remember that it’s easiest to just get a lot of courses approved the first time around!

QUESTIONS?
Contact Office of Global Experiences
Email: studyabroad@uww.edu
Tel:     262-472-5759 (appointments)