Credit Transfer
IMPORTANT NOTE: Beginning in the 2009 fall semester, international and off-campus study program and course approvals will be accomplished through the myDiplomat system. For the 2009-10 academic year, both the online system and the Course/Credit form will be acceptable for credit transfer. Students attending Starting Points from now on should use the Off-Campus Study Approval System.
The Course/Credit Form
If you are using the Course/Credit Form (Spring 2010 or earlier) it should be filled out and turned in before you leave for your program. Be sure to list all courses, course numbers, and the type of credit you are seeking for the course. See the Course Designations page for transfer categories.
Approved Departments
Franklin & Marshall cannot issue transfer credit for a course taken in a department that is not represented at the college. If a course does not clearly fall under a department, the off-campus study advising staff can help you determine whether or not it can be accepted for credit.
Course Approval
The approval of the department chairperson is required for any course that will count toward major, minor, or distribution requirements and electives. When you visit the chairperson of a department for approval, bring along a printed course description or syllabus, rather than a website url.
Transfer credit may not be received for a course already taken at Franklin & Marshall. This includes foreign language courses that are required for many off-campus study programs. If you are required to take a foreign language course in a language that you have studied at Franklin & Marshall, you should be placed into the next level up from your last course here. If your placement results in a level that you have already taken at the college, you will not receive credit for the course.
On-Site Course Registration
For many programs, students will not be able to finalize course registration until they arrive. In those cases, it is recommended that you gain approval for a preliminary set of courses, including your first choices and some backup options. Changes to a completed Course/Credit Form can be accomplished by e-mailing Gwen Bleacher, Senior Associate Registrar, with new course selections and the type of credit desired.
Course Load
You must enroll in what is considered to be a full course load at the host institution or off-campus study program.
Credit Translation
The general rule is four U.S. semester credit hours are equal to one F&M course credit. However, because many off-campus study programs offer courses worth three U.S. semester credit hours, Franklin & Marshall will award four course credits for a total of 15 or 16 U.S. semester credit hours. If the total number of credits for your program is more than 16 or less than 15, divide the total number by four to find out how many course credits you will receieve.
Grades
Courses on off-campus study programs must be taken for a letter grade, not on a pass/no pass basis.
Grades from off-campus study program courses will appear on your Franklin & Marshall transcript, but they will not be calculated into your cumulative GPA. This means that off-campus grades will not affect scholarship eligibility or rank in class. However, many graduate and professional schools will consider these grades as part of your GPA and will recompute all grades together in considering your application for acceptance. The Advanced Studies in England and F&M in Paris programs are the only exceptions to this policy, for which grades will be calculated into a student's GPA.
You must earn a D- or better to gain credit for a course.
Program Transcripts
During the application process, you should provide an address to which the program will send a transcript. That address is:
Gwen Bleacher
Senior Associate Registrar
Registrar's Office
Franklin & Marshall College
P.O. Box 3003
Lancaster, PA 17604-3003
Program transcripts are typically sent within two months of completion of a program. When your transcript arrives, you will receive an e-mail from the Registrar's Office.
