Courses: Approved International Program Course Equivalencies and the STDYABRD Subject
- Existing, regularly taught UW-Madison courses
- The Study Abroad subject: International Academic Programs - Study Abroad (STDYABRD)
- Courses exclusively for use in UW-Madison approved international program experiences
When a student participates in a UW-Madison international program, their student record reflects a course that appears as if they took the course at UW-Madison (i.e. in residence, meaning the course will have a grade, course attributes, etc. and will count for GPA points). These courses will not show up as a transfer equivalency (credits and attributes only). Students do not enroll in these courses; they are applied to their transcript. The UW-Madison's International Academic Programs (IAP) study abroad office works with designated individuals across campus to determine the appropriate equivalent for each student. They choose from the following options:
- Select a course regularly offered at UW-Madison that has applicable title, description, attributes, etc. See “Existing, regularly taught UW-Madison courses”.
- Select an equivalent course in the International Academic Programs - international program subject (STDYABRD) and may use a topic title. See “The Study Abroad subject: International Academic Programs - Study Abroad (STDYABRD)”.
- Select a study abroad equivalency course in a subject (if already existing). If seeking approval for a study abroad equivalency course, see “Courses exclusively for use in UW-Madison approved international program experiences”.
More detailed information:
- IAP: Academic Handbook
- IAP: Courses, Credit and Grades
- IAP: Policies
- IAP: https://studyabroad.wisc.edu/nonapproved/
- RO: Transfer Credit
- RO: Credit Evaluation for Students
Existing, regularly taught UW-Madison courses
- Any active course may be used as a UW-Madison international program equivalency.
- Courses used as international program equivalencies do not count as being taught in the context of the Obsolete Course Policy.
- Existing courses that have been taught at UW-Madison and used in the A2 session cannot be converted to as an international program equivalency.
- Topics courses are commonly used as UW-Madison international program equivalencies as they frequently capture the attributes/designations even if the course title/description does not directly apply.
The Study Abroad subject: International Academic Programs - Study Abroad (STDYABRD)
The STDYABRD subject provides equivalencies where there isn't a straight subject/topical matter that is appropriate for awarding credit (i.e. taking an English course while in Russia). These courses are very generic in that they reflect divisional and/or attributes, opposed to more specific, directly-applicable content a student may have experienced. IAP administers the subject under the guidance of the L&S Curriculum Committee.
Courses in the STDYABRD subject are eligible for topic use as they are truly a generic bucket. Topic titles allow flexibility to better articulate on a student’s record the content they learned while abroad.
The most typical circumstances warranting the use of the STDYABRD for a course is:
- There is no reasonable departmental match.
- The course content is too broad or interdisciplinary for acceptance in a single department.
- The course is a foreign language course (semesters 1-6) in a language that is not offered at UW-Madison.
Courses exclusively for use in UW-Madison approved international program experiences
When there are no active, regularly taught courses that could be used as an equivalency, subject owners may request courses specifically for UW-Madison international program purposes.
Considerations
- Creating a course exclusively for UW-Madison international program use should only be done as a last resort as they use catalog numbers taking up space in the subject, limiting availability for necessary courses taught at UW-Madison.
- Courses created for this purpose will display in Guide as a part of the subject array, and must be transparent that they aren't taught at UW-Madison.
- Subject matter must be generic enough to apply in multiple scenarios. They may use specific attributes/designations.
- New course is unlikely to be approved in time for an individual student’s immediate need if there isn’t an appropriate existing course.
- Cannot be scheduled nor taught at UW-Madison.
- May cover specific topical material taught at a different institution (not ever planned to be taught at UW-Madison) but is a prominent topic in an area of study. These are courses that are not taught but the department agrees that there is a necessity, significant demand for the specific subject matter.
- Example: 12th century literature, UW-Madison only teaches back to 16th century; Gaelic, we no longer teach this but is a frequent language learned abroad.
- May tie together non-course specific related international program experiences with an academic element (i.e. part of the academic piece is being abroad and the academic nature is not topical to a specific subject/course. MARKETNG 349)
Submitting a proposal for a subject exclusive UW-Madison international program course
Process
- Submit a course proposal to be reviewed by the department, school/college, and University Curriculum Committee (UCC).
- Proposal should include:
- A sample syllabus/document provided from the other institution you would accept for the proposed equivalency.
- Should align catalog elements with the standards below.
- Should articulate in the proposal that the course is an international program equivalency and that it will not be taught on campus.
- Proposal should include:
Governance and maintenance
- Course proposals for international program equivalencies are reviewed via the UCC consent agenda.
- Courses not used for international program equivalencies in 8 years will be administratively discontinued.
Standards for subject exclusive international program courses
|
Catalog Element |
Rules |
Examples |
|---|---|---|
|
CourseTitle |
The title must start with "Study Abroad." The maximum number of characters is 100.
|
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|
Transcript Title |
The title must start with a version of :
Be sure to include the colon after the international program language. The maximum number of characters is 30. |
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|
Description |
The description must have an indication that it is for a study abroad equivalency and must be generic enough to meet a variety of experiences. If it’s necessary to articulate specific content, include that within the bracket area of the recommended description. Recommended description: “A study abroad equivalency [for content or subject matter] that does not equate to a UW-Madison course. Requires current enrollment in a UW-Madison sponsored study abroad program.” |
|
|
Requisite |
The requisite must be "None". |
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Grading Basis |
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Component Type |
Use only lecture (LEC) or Field Studies (FLD). FLD should only be used when the course is a placement/practicum course. |
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Credits |
Credits may be variable (recommended for flexibility). Max credits 6. |
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|
Topics |
Equivalencies may not be topics courses. |
Is this a topics course?: No |
|
Repeatability |
Equivalencies must be repeatable. |
Repeatable: Yes |
|
Multiple enrollments in a semester |
Yes |
|
|
Learning Outcomes |
Learning outcomes should be limited to one or two general outcomes that can apply to any international program experience. |
Technical rules
- Departments cannot schedule these courses. The Registrar's Office schedules these in the A2 session when adding the course to students' records. As such, these courses cannot be taught.
- Students cannot enroll in these courses at UW-Madison. These will not show up in the Course Search & Enroll (a box unchecked in SIS).
- Students enrolling in one of these courses are treated as if they were attending courses at UW-Madison (courses count as "in residence").
- Courses set up exclusively as an international program equivalencies are excluded from the obsolete course process. Consult with DAPIR to ensure these get flagged appropriately, otherwise they will be subjected to the obsolete course process and will be deactivated in 6 years.