For Faculty & Staff
Identifying Programs that Fit
Before a student has a program in mind, they may approach academic advisors with requesting assistance in identifying what programs could work for their needs. Things that you may need to consider beyond general degree applicability and excess hours impacts include the type of course credits earned through the program, institutional residency requirements, and financial aid eligibility. Please see the chart below for a summary of the different types of study abroad programs:
| Program Type | Type of Credit | Forms Required | GPA Impact | Residency Req's | Fin Aid Eligible? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faculty-Led | Direct | Electronic Course Selection Form (eCSF) | USF and Overall GPA | Contributes to USF residency | Yes |
| Affiliate | Transfer | Course Approval Form (CAF); Exchange Form (SAE) req'd for Financial Aid | Transfer and Overall GPA | Does not contribute to USF residency | Yes - if all courses on SAE* are degree-applicable and VoE* is submitted |
| Exchange | Exchange (ISE 0002 holding course) | Course Approval Form (CAF); Exchange Form (SAE) req'd for Financial Aid | USF and Overall GPA | Contributes to USF residency | Yes - if all courses on SAE* are degree-applicable and VoE* is submitted |
| Non-Affiliate | Transfer | Course Approval Form | Transfer and Overall GPA | Does not contribute to USF residency | No |
* VoE = Verification of Enrollment and SAE = Study Abroad Financial Aid Contract. Both of these forms can be found on the USF Financial Aid website
All direct credit courses, course equivalencies for affiliate programs, and past substitutions for both exchanges and affiliate programs may be found with the Global Learning Office's Course Search tool.
**An important note about the affiliate and exchange course substitutions in the database**
The course search serves as a guide, not a guarantee, that the same course will be approved the same way for each student. All courses must still be approved by advisors or departmental representatives on the Course Approval Form. This is because the information listed on the database was pulled directly from prior student pre-approval forms for the term and program offered at the time. Changes may have occurred from when these students went abroad to when new students are looking at the data (e.g. a program may no longer exist, a program name could have changed, a course could no longer be offered, the institution issuing the transcript could be different, etc.). Always refer to the provider or host institution's website for accurate information on programs of interest.