Please note: This is NOT the most current catalog.
Off-Campus Programs
ST. OLAF-SPONSORED
St. Olaf offers a rich variety of off-campus programs. They are defined only in this catalog, in the St. Olaf Off-Campus Studies Catalog and on the Office of International and Off-Campus Studies Web site. Specific questions should be directed to the Office of International and Off-Campus Studies or to the faculty advisor of each off-campus program. See: INTERNATIONAL AND OFF-CAMPUS STUDIES: GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE.
Eligibility
Off-campus study opportunities are available to students who meet the requirements of the host institution and the St. Olaf prerequisites. Certain programs have limitations based on a student's class year; others are open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. All off-campus programs are closed to first-year students with the exception of certain language Interims. However, a first-year student may file an application during the first year for participation in the sophomore year. Students on academic probation may file an application for participation but must be declared off probation by the end of the semester prior to planned off-campus study.
Registration
Students going on off-campus programs will be registered by the Office of International and Off-Campus Studies. In order for a student to receive academic credit for off-campus study sponsored by an institution with which St. Olaf has a program relationship, registration must be completed in advance through St. Olaf College. Students on St. Olaf-sponsored off-campus programs may have a resident student proxy register for them for the next St. Olaf term. St. Olaf’s satisfactory/unsatisfactory (S/U) policy applies to courses taken on off-campus programs. Students must notify the Office of International and Off-Campus Studies in writing to change a course credit from graded to S/U or S/U to graded where these options exist. If this is done by mail, postmarks must conform to deadlines posted on the registrar’s calendar.
Credit
Students considering an off-campus program must consider major and general education requirements to make sure participation will not jeopardize normal progress toward graduation.
Students may not earn more credit on an off-campus program than would be earned on campus in a given semester (up to a maximum of 4.5 credits).
All credits earned on St. Olaf-approved programs are viewed as resident credit. Although they fall under the guidelines for transfer credit, they do not count against the minimum number of transfer credits allowed after a student matriculates.
Certain off-campus courses count toward St. Olaf general education requirements, as indicated. As with on-campus courses, general education credit is not awarded when the course is taken S/U.
Certain off-campus courses may, with the approval of the department/program concerned, count toward a student’s major or concentration.
A St. Olaf independent study/research or internship credit cannot be registered independently from the program while a student is on a St. Olaf-approved off-campus program.
Grades
Students studying on St. Olaf-approved off-campus programs should be aware of the “24 graded courses” graduation requirement. Grades from St. Olaf-sponsored off-campus programs are recorded on the student’s official transcript, but do not count in the St. Olaf grade point average or toward the 24-graded-course requirement.
Exceptions:
Only letter grades given for a course taught by a St. Olaf faculty member are calculated into a student’s grade point average and count toward the 24-graded-course requirement.
A full-year program or the combination of two semester-length programs gives a student partial graded course reduction toward the 24-graded-course requirement even though the letter grades from the program/s are not computed in the grade point average unless taught by a St. Olaf instructor. For a full-year program, or a combination of two semester-length programs, the 24-graded-course requirement is reduced according to the reduced graded course scale under GRADED AND UNGRADED COURSES.
GENERAL EDUCATION (GE) CREDIT LIMITS BY PROGRAM CATEGORY
See St. Olaf College's general policy on General Education Accreditation of St. Olaf-Approved Transfer Courses and Off-Campus Coursework.
General education credit earned through work completed on St. Olaf off-campus programs:
Faculty-led Interim courses – These courses are reviewed by the Curriculum Committee in the same way as are on-campus courses. As a result, faculty-led Interim courses are not subject to general education credit limits. The Curriculum Committee reviews these courses in the same manner as on-campus courses.
Faculty-led international programs – The credit students receive through participation in Term in the Middle East, Term in Asia, Environmental Studies in Australia, and the Global Semester derives from two types of instruction:
The St. Olaf faculty field supervisors’ courses. Like faculty-led Interim courses, such courses are reviewed by the Curriculum Committee in the same way as are on-campus Interim courses. As a result, field supervisors’ courses are not subject to general education credit limits. The Curriculum Committee reviews these courses in the same manner as on-campus courses.
Courses offered by non-St. Olaf instructors affiliated with the programs. The amount of general education credit students may earn through such work depends on the content of the courses and the duration of the program.
Courses taught by non-St. Olaf instructors on semester-length programs may meet up to four (4.00) general education requirements, distributed as follows: Credit toward the Multicultural Studies-Global requirement (MCG), if appropriate; credit toward the Writing in Context requirement (WRI), if appropriate; and no more than two (2) additional general education requirements within the parameters specified at the above link.
Courses taught by non-St. Olaf instructors on semester-plus-Interim-length programs may meet up to five (5.00) general education requirements, distributed as follows: Credit toward the Multicultural Studies-Global requirement (MCG), if appropriate; credit toward the Writing in Context requirement (WRI), if appropriate; and no more three (3.00) additional general education requirements within the parameters specified at the above link.
The program advisor may authorize general education credit for such work within the parameters of the policies at the above link. The program advisor will notify in writing the Coordinator of Program Advising in the Office of International and Off-Campus Studies to the type(s) of general education credit to be assigned. Whenever possible, such authorization will be made prior to publication of the annual St. Olaf Off-Campus Studies brochure in which the program is described. In reviewing these courses for general education credit, the program advisor may consult with the Office of International and Off-Campus Studies, the faculty field supervisor, non-St. Olaf instructors, and/or the Curriculum Committee.
Other St. Olaf-approved off-campus programs unaccompanied by St. Olaf faculty – These include a variety of academic and field-based programs offered within the United States and abroad under the auspices of sponsoring organizations or institutions with which St. Olaf has a formal relationship (for example, ACM, HECUA, Harris Manchester College, East China Normal University, Curtin University, etc.). Such programs are listed annually in the St. Olaf Off-Campus Studies Catalog published by the Office of International and Office-Campus Studies and on their web site. The amount of general education credit students may earn on such programs depends on the content of their courses and the duration of each program.
Semester-long programs may meet up to five (5.00) general education requirements, distributed as follows: Credit toward the Multicultural Studies-Global requirement (MCG), if appropriate; credit toward the Writing in Context requirement (WRI), if appropriate; and no more three (3.00) additional general education requirements within the parameters specified at the above link.
Semester-plus-Interim-length programs may meet up to six (6.00) general education requirements, distributed as follows: credit toward the Multicultural Studies-Global requirement (MCG), if appropriate; credit toward the Writing in Context requirement (WRI), if appropriate; and no more four (4.00) additional general education requirements within the parameters specified at the above link.
Year-long programs may meet up to seven (7.00) general education requirements, distributed as follows: credit toward the Multicultural Studies-Global requirement (MCG), if appropriate; credit toward the Writing in Context requirement (WRI), if appropriate; and no more six (6.00) additional general education requirements within the parameters specified at the above link.
The program advisor may authorize general education credit for such work within the parameters of the above policies. Unless alternative arrangements have been made with the Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising and the Office of International and Off-Campus Studies, the program advisor notifies in writing the Coordinator of Program Advising in the Office of International and Off-Campus Studies of the type(s) and level(s) of general education credit to be assigned.
Whenever possible, such authorization is made prior to the student’s participation in the program; however, in many cases students do not know what their off-campus academic program entails until after their arrival on site. In these cases general education accreditation takes place after the student has received written approval for such credit for the program advisor while on the program, or has completed the program and returned to St. Olaf. Program advisors should apprise students that if they require approval for general education credit upon their return, they should keep syllabi and written work from their off-campus experience for review by the program advisor. In reviewing work from unaccompanied off-campus programs, the program advisor may consult with the Office of International and Off-Campus Studies, the non-St. Olaf instructors, and/or the Curriculum Committee.
Credit earned through inter-registered course work: Courses completed through inter-registration provisions with Carleton or an Interim exchange programs may receive general education credit within the parameters of the above policies but are not subject to credit limits described at the above link.
Students wishing to study on non-St. Olaf-sponsored off-campus programs (foreign or domestic off-campus programs through another college, institution, or consortium unaffiliated with St. Olaf) take a leave of absence from the college and must negotiate in advance with the registrar in order to be sure that credits will transfer. The student/applicant is responsible for providing the registrar in advance with detailed program descriptions, outlines and course syllabi.
Students should consult with the Office of International and Off-Campus Studies about programs offered by St. Olaf before asking to attend a non-St. Olaf domestic or abroad program. No transfer credit is awarded if students make their own arrangements to enroll in a foreign institution with which St. Olaf has already developed a program relationship. If a student is to receive academic credit for such a program, registration must be through St. Olaf.
Students may earn elective credit and credit toward a major (if approved in advance by the registrar and a department chair or interdisciplinary director), but may not fulfill general education requirements through non-St. Olaf-sponsored domestic or abroad programs.
Grades from non-St. Olaf-sponsored off-campus programs are recorded on the student’s official transcript but do not count in the St. Olaf grade point average or toward the 24-graded-course requirement. Grades earned in courses taught by a current St. Olaf College faculty member but through another accredited institution, organization or consortium are computed in the student’s St. Olaf grade point average and count toward the 24-graded-course requirement.
The following do not transfer as St. Olaf credit: independent study, research, internship or practicum courses taken on non-St. Olaf off-campus programs; non-St. Olaf off-campus programs that are essentially “travel” programs, work experience, visits to museums, or other programs that do not have a solid liberal arts, student-instructor component.
Appeals Procedures
In cases where students believe they should be awarded a different type of amount of credit than what has been authorized through the above procedures, they may appeal the decision to the Curriculum Committee. An appeal should include documentation of the work the student completed (syllabi, examinations, papers, letters from course instructors, and/or any other relevant supporting materials), and a written explanation of how such work meets the guidelines for the requirement(s) the student claims that the work fulfills. See APPEALS TO THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE.