• England
• Scotland
• Ireland
• USA
• Canada
• Australia
• New Zealand

Japan
Mainland China
Korea
Taiwan

Credits, Grades and Transcripts

Credits

All SAF particpants are required to maintain a full-time course load throughout their studies abroad.  This is a requirement of the SAF and of the host governments' immigration services.  What constitutes a full-time course load varies by country and often by university.  The information below is representative of full-time course loads at the majority of SAF host universities.  Detailed information regarding students specific host university requirements will be supplied during our initial advising and pre-registration process.

                                                     Required                     Required
Counry                                        Credits/Semester    Credits/Academic Year
USA                                             12-16                           24-32
Canada                                       9-12                             18-24
England                                       60                                120
Scotland                                      60                                 120
Ireland                                         15-16                           30-32
Australia                                      8                                   16
New Zealand                             30                                  60

Students enrolled in pre-semester or pre-sessional ESL programs must similarly maintain a full-time course load which is typically determined by the number of classroom hours per week.  SAF students should expect the full-time couse load in their ESL program to be a minimum of 18 hours per week.

Grades

While credits reflect the "quantity" of students work, grades represent the "quality".  The grading scales used by SAF host universities vary by country and often by university.  Increasingly in the UK and Ireland, the ECTS Grading Scale is the norm while in the US most grades are issued on a scale of A to F.  SAF studens will be provided with their host universities grading scale during their predeparture orientatation.  SAF studetns are not permitted to take courses pass/fail or credit/no credit.

The methods that SAF host universities use to assess the quality of students work is as varied as the grading scales. US universities typically rely upon a high degree of continnual assessment with students final grades being determined by cumulative acheivement on a variety assignments given throughout the semester (i.e., essays, quizzes, tests, reserach papers, etc.).  In Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, studentts final grades are often more heavily dependent upon performance on a final examination.

Transcripts

At the conclusion of the study abroad program, the SAF will send an offical host university transcript to each student's home university.  Final transcripts are typically released to the SAF within a month of the program completion date, unless the student has outstanding debts.  Students that disagree with a particular grade or credit award on their transcript shoud contact the SAF immediately and request a transcript query. 

Students that require subsequent official copies of their study abroad transcript for post-graduate applications, etc. will need to contact their host university's registrar office directly.  There typically is a nominal fee to receive additional transcripts.