General Policies and Procedures

The Office of Off-Campus Study is responsible for the administration of study away from the Colby campus, except for transfer credit from accredited US institutions. The office manages Colby’s own programs abroad and approves other programs, both foreign and domestic, for Colby credit. It is responsible for helping students make appropriate study plans, preparing students for departure, and evaluating programs abroad. It is staffed by a director, an associate director, an administrative secretary, and student workers. The office is located on the ground floor of the Eustis building and includes an informational library.

If you wish to study abroad in 2010-2011, you must submit the following applications in advance of the published deadlines:

1. Off-Campus Study (OCS) preliminary application (online): Due November 15, 2009;
2. Application for Program Approval – OR – application to Colby programs in Salamanca, Dijon, and St. Petersburg submitted to OCS: Due March 15, 2010. (Note: All petitions due March, 1, 2010.)
3. Program application to non-Colby programs: Due as stipulated by program application guidelines. (Note: Rolling admissions fill early, so students should apply well before the published deadlines.)

Approval for off-campus study plans is subject to certain rules and guidelines, which are detailed in this handbook.

If you wish to make arrangements to study at another accredited US college or university and have your credits transferred to Colby, do not apply to the Off-Campus Study Office. You should see the Registrar in advance of departure to fill out appropriate forms and get faculty approval for courses. Note that approved domestic programs, as opposed to study on another campus, require the same procedure as study abroad. These are listed in Section IV of the Web version of this handbook.

INTRODUCTION

The opportunity to study in another country is an integral part of the educational philosophy of Colby College. The Precepts adopted by the faculty in 1989 state that a Colby education should encourage students “to become acquainted with other cultures by learning a foreign language and by living and studying in another country or by closely examining a culture other than one’s own.”

Consistent with these principles, Colby’s philosophy of off-campus study is as follows:

• The off-campus study experience should be part of the student’s overall academic plan developed by the student and the student’s advisor, and should enhance the student’s program of study during the year(s) following return to Colby.
• Study abroad should provide a cultural experience substantially different from the student’s own.
• Study abroad should provide, when appropriate, a linguistic experience that involves a language different from one’s own.
• Financial aid should be applicable to Colby programs, and portable to other approved programs.

The Off-Campus Study Office is responsible for making sure that Colby’s programs abroad, as well as other programs approved by the college, conform to these principles. The college has a vested interest in the quality of all off-campus study programs for which it grants Colby credit. This interest centers on the academic part of the program, but extends as well to the extra-curricular and cultural part of the program, inasmuch as the knowledge of a culture other than one’s own is achieved both in and out of the classroom. All Colby-approved study programs abroad must, therefore, meet the following standards:

• They must provide an educational experience which is consistent in quality with the educational experience at Colby, and which can reinforce, complement, and broaden a student’s educational program at Colby.
• They must contain a substantial academic component of high quality.
• Study abroad programs must provide a cultural experience and, when appropriate, a linguistic experience that are consistent with the goals stated above. To promote cultural integration, at least a full semester must normally be spent in a single host country.

DEADLINES

Please be aware of the following deadlines for all approved off-campus study (foreign and approved domestic programs) at any time during the 2010-2011 academic year:

 

• November 15, 2009 is the deadline for completion of your preliminary application form to indicate your intention to study off-campus either in the fall semester 2010 or the spring semester 2011. The preliminary application will be available on-line in mid-October. All sophomores will receive an email notification when the application is accessible. Since your advisor/s must approve your initial plans, we strongly suggest that you submit your preliminary application to your advisor/s no later than November 10.
• March 1, 2010 is the deadline for petitions of any kind. These may include: low GPA (under 2.7), study abroad for more than one semester, and/or non-approved programs.
• March 15, 2010 is the final deadline for admission to Colby programs and/or application for approval of participation in non-Colby programs. Different forms are required for each of these situations, but all must be submitted by March 15, regardless of whether you plan to study abroad in the fall semester of 2010 or in the spring semester of 2011. These forms will be made available to you later during the fall 2009 semester and after you have identified your program choice in consultation with the OCS staff and your academic advisor(s).
• Program Deadlines: You will also need to meet the deadlines and complete the application required by the program itself. For Colby programs abroad (Colby in Salamanca, Dijon, or St. Petersburg) there is only one application form that gives you approval to study abroad and admits you into the program. For non-Colby programs abroad, you need to fill out an application for approval in order for your plans to be approved by Colby and then complete the materials required by the program to which you are applying.

If you do not respect these deadlines, it is likely that your off-campus study plans will not be approved and you will not be able to get credit for them. 

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

If you intend to apply to study abroad during either semester of the 2010-2011 academic year, you must follow these steps:
   
1.    READ THE HANDBOOK, including the sections on policies, deadlines, credit information, and information on the specific programs (found in the Web version and searchable on line).

2.    EXPLORE where you want to go.
Sources of information include:

• Attend the Off-Campus Study Fair at Colby on October 6, 2009 from 11am to 1pm in the Parker-Reed room of the Schair-Swenson-Watson Alumni Center building.
• Review the tips and questions on the “Choosing your off-campus study program” page
• Consult with your departmental advisor. If you have not yet declared a major, think about doing so before the November 15 preliminary application deadline.
• Consult program information in our OCS library and via the OCS Web site (http://www.colby.edu/academics_cs/ocs/) to get more information on those you might be interested in. Specific approved program Web sites are listed in the Handbook.
• Consult with the off-campus liaison in your department. A list of these faculty members will be available in the OCS office and in the Handbook.
• Read program evaluations from recent Colby students which are available on the OCS Web site for you to review http://www.colby.edu/academics_cs/ocs/evals/index.cfm .
• Attend any relevant on-campus information sessions as they are offered.
• Consult with OCS staff

3.    SUBMIT PRELIMINARY APPLICATION BY NOVEMBER 15, 2009. Go to the OCS web page under "students" and fill in a preliminary application form on line. When you are done, submit it to your advisor(s). If you are a double major, both advisors will receive a copy and must approve it before your application is complete. Your advisor may return it to you for changes before indicating his or her approval. If your advisor approves your preliminary application, he or she will submit the form electronically to the OCS office. You are responsible for ensuring that the form reaches our office before the deadline of November 15, 2009; we recommend submitting it to your advisor no later than November 10. You can check the status of your preliminary application on the web page so that you will know when it has been submitted.

4.    OCS ADVISING. The OCS office may contact you to set up an appointment to discuss your off-campus study plans if you have an issue that will require special attention. You will also be invited to a variety of informational sessions on programs and regions; some of these will take place in the fall and some in February. If your program has an early deadline or if you need extra help in the planning stage, contact the OCS office.

5.    COLBY APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL. When you meet with the OCS staff or attend an information session, you will be given an application form for approval of off-campus study and guidelines for petitions, if appropriate. There are different forms for different types of programs. For Colby programs, this form serves both as permission to study abroad and application to the program; for non-Colby programs, the form serves only as permission to study abroad. You must fill out the form, answering all the questions, and have it signed by your academic advisor(s). All applications also require parent signatures acknowledging your plans to be away. In the case of some Colby programs, you may need a letter of recommendation from your advisor. This form is to be handed in at the Off-Campus Study Office whenever it is complete but by March 15, 2010 at the latest.

6.    PETITION. If you do not meet the GPA minimum, wish to study for more than one semester, or on a non-approved program, you must submit a petition to the OCS Advisory Committee by March 1, 2010. You must have a meeting with an OCS staff member to discuss your petition and the petition guidelines and procedures.

7.    TRAVEL WARNING PETITION. Colby College discourages travel to countries and participation in a program in a country for which there is a U.S. State Department Travel Warning in effect at the time of departure. Students wishing to travel to a country currently under U.S. State Department Travel Warning are required to submit a petition to the Travel Warning Review Committee by March 1, 2009 providing a complete description of and justification for their study/travel at a Travel Warning site.

8.    PROGRAM APPLICATION. If you are approved to apply for admission to a non-Colby program, you will also need to fill out the application form appropriate for admission to that program. Students alone are responsible for applying to the program approved by the OCS office within the program’s stated deadlines. Application forms for most approved programs are available on-line at the program Web site. Hard copies of applications for many programs are also available in the OCS library. You must respect the deadline of the program you choose, and, in some cases, this deadline may be earlier than March 15. You will most likely also need to obtain letters of recommendations from your professors and advisor, and have your official transcript forwarded from the Registrar’s office.

TYPES OF PROGRAMS AVAILABLE

The only programs that Colby approves are those listed in the Handbook and on the All Off-Campus Opportunities list on the OCS website. These include programs we run ourselves ("Colby programs" in Salamanca, Dijon, and St. Petersburg) and programs run by other institutions that we approve (non-Colby "approved" programs). These approved programs are reviewed regularly on the basis of student evaluations, faculty input, and, when possible, site visits. Additionally, we have listed some programs where petitions are supported by a department.

1. Colby Programs Abroad.

A. Junior-Year Programs:

* Colby in Salamanca (Spain) - Integrated Program
* Colby in Dijon (France): fall semester only
* Colby in St. Petersburg (Russia)

B. Language Acquisition Programs
* Colby in Salamanca (Spain) - Language Program
* Colby in Dijon (France): fall semester only

Detailed information about these programs is available from the Off-Campus Study Office.

2. Other Approved Programs.

Colby offers students the opportunity to study on programs that meet our criteria and are consistent with our philosophy of study abroad. These programs are listed in the Web version of this handbook; they are reviewed regularly on the basis of student evaluations, faculty input, and, when possible, site visits.

Colby policy is that students who wish to study in a country in which there is a Colby-approved program available, for which they qualify, must attend this program. Where there are no such programs available, or when the approved programs do not meet the student's academic needs, the Off-Campus Study Office will work with the student and the student's major department to try to find an acceptable program for which they can petition.

3.  Petitions for Non-Approved Programs

Reasons for requesting the OCS office to approve a program not listed in the Off-Campus Study Handbook must be entirely academic. Climate, the size of a city, or cost are not valid academic reasons. Moreover, students should not shop around on the Internet for programs and ask the OCS office to approve them. For the OCS office to approve a program not listed in this handbook, not only does the student need to have a valid academic reason for choosing the program, but the program itself must meet certain criteria:

• The program must have a duration of at least fourteen weeks of class time (including exam time but not including vacations and excursions), and, with few exceptions, must be situated in one host country. Touring or shipboard programs (such as Semester at Sea, for example)  are not acceptable nor can they be petitioned as the academic content is not deemed consistent with Colby’s standards).
• The academic quality of the program must be consistent in quality and quantity with Colby’s curriculum.
• With the exception of a foreign accredited university, the program must be sponsored by an accredited US college or university, whose academic standards are high.
• In the case of a program situated in a non-English speaking country, the program must provide instruction of the host language throughout the semester.
• The program must provide a cultural experience substantially different from that of the majority of US students.

Petitions to approve programs must be submitted by March 1, 2010 (petitions are not accepted after the March 1 deadline). A prior meeting with an OCS staff member is required. If your program has an early deadline for application, it is to your advantage to submit your application well in advance of this deadline so as to ensure a timely decision in your case. You may petition for one program only, and if you are not accepted by that program, you must apply to an alternate program that is approved.

Note: On the web, you will find a list of programs for which petitions would be encouraged. These programs are not currently on the approved list as they have not yet had sufficient attendance by Colby students to warrant formal approval by the Advisory Committee. However, they have been recommended by faculty as appropriate for Colby students and thus a well-presented petition prepared in conjunction with the major department would have a higher chance of success. These are not the only programs for which students may petition, of course, but they already meet the criteria above and have been reviewed for quality.

Colby’s process for including a program on the “approved list” entails that at least 3 Colby students (or 2 students and a Colby Faculty) have successfully participated and favorably evaluated the program for it to be eligible for a vote of approval by the Off-Campus Study Advisory Committee. A program will remain non-approved and require a petition until that vote of approval takes place. 

A Word of Caution

Study abroad programs are some of the most aggressively marketed commodities in American education today. You will see advertisements for programs posted all over campus, and you should know that many of these are not approved by Colby. You will see advertisements in the Colby Echo by large universities and private companies for their study abroad. You may even receive telephone calls and e-mail from representatives of study abroad programs. If they are not listed in this handbook as (A) Approved, they are not approved by Colby.

Colby’s policy is that the choice of an appropriate off-campus study program can only be made in an atmosphere free of pressure and advertising. The program providers we have invited to the Colby Off-Campus Study Fair have been carefully selected as appropriate for the needs and interests of many Colby students. Not all approved programs have been invited nor are they all able to participate in our Fair so please do not limit your choices to those you will see at the Fair. In the final analysis, it is the OCS staff and your advisor(s) who can best guide you in the choice of a study program abroad.

There are many worthwhile experiences abroad that do not, in Colby’s view, merit academic credit. A great many programs are not approved by the Off-Campus Study Office, not because they are necessarily of inferior quality, but because they do not meet the criteria that Colby has established for the granting of academic credit. Before embarking upon the petition process for a program that is not currently approved, please consult with OCS to determine such basic information as the program’s accreditation status and its duration. These may seem like minor details but are critical in the success of a petition.

Please bear in mind that it is possible to study off-campus without the permission of the OCS office, if the program will accept you under these conditions. However, you will not receive credit or financial aid from Colby in such a case, and you risk having to spend an extra semester on campus in order to fulfill the 8-semester requirement for graduation from Colby.

POLICIES & PROCEDURES REGARDING STUDY ABROAD

You are expected to be familiar with these important rules, policies, and procedures concerning off-campus study.

GPA

To apply for study abroad in the fall of 2010 or the spring of 2011, you must have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.7 by the end of January 2010. You must maintain this minimum cumulative GPA prior to departure or your approval will be withdrawn. In addition, you must not be on any kind of probation (academic or social). If your GPA is lower than 2.7 at the time of application, you may be permitted to petition the Advisory Committee on Off-Campus Study before March 1, 2010, if you can show compelling academic reasons to study abroad, and meet a variety of other conditions. You will need to consult with an OCS staff member to determine if you are eligible to petition. Please note that a GPA of 2.7 does not guarantee your admission to any program; most programs have GPA requirements higher than 2.7.

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Probation

You must be in good academic and social standing to be approved for off-campus study at Colby. This means that you may not be on academic or social probation.

Junior Standing

With the exception of Colby’s language-acquisition programs in Salamanca and Dijon, which are open to sophomores, you must have junior standing when you study abroad. In most cases, Colby requires seniors to spend their entire academic year on the Waterville campus.

Language Requirement

Language preparation: Colby believes that foreign languages are the key to understanding foreign cultures and that the most rewarding experience abroad includes living in a language other than English. For programs in countries whose languages are taught at Colby (Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish) students must attain a minimum degree of competence before studying abroad. The equivalent of three semesters (127 level) is required. Exceptions to this rule are the Colby in Salamanca and Colby in Dijon language semesters, which accept students who have had only one semester of language at the college level or three years at the high school level, and any exemptions specific to majors and programs that are listed in Section II of this handbook. For some departmentally-recommended programs, other standards may apply; see the statement of your major department in section II of this handbook. If there is no statement about language in your department’s section, you should expect to complete the three semesters before going abroad.

Students are urged not to put off their language requirement beyond their sophomore year. Last-minute attempts to fulfill the requirement through a semester of study abroad almost always run into roadblocks: insufficient GPA, senior residency requirement or major requirements. 

Language study while abroad: Students studying on programs in countries where the host language is not English are required to study the local language for the duration of the program. This includes both languages taught at Colby College and languages that are not included in the Colby curriculum. In some programs such as DIS (Denmark), the Danish language course will be in addition to 4 other courses for a total of 5 courses. Students who have received special accommodation for language study at Colby College should speak directly with the Office of Off-Campus Study. If you feel you cannot handle the study of a foreign language, you should consider going to an English speaking country.

One Semester Limit

You should expect to study off-campus for one semester. Certain students are exempt from the faculty-approved policy that limits students to one semester of study off-campus: language and area studies majors (studying in the target language both semesters), participants on the Dartmouth engineering exchange, and students who participated in a program abroad during their first semester at Colby. Study on domestic programs as well as exchange programs is included in this one-semester rule. There are a limited number of slots available for full year off-campus study and the criteria on which these petitions will be judged may be requested from the Off-Campus Study Office in November.

Any other non-exempt student who wishes to study abroad for a year in the same place or two different places must submit a petition to the Advisory Committee on Off-Campus Study by March 1, 2010. You must show compelling academic reasons to be allowed to study away for more than a semester, and you must have the solid support of your major advisor/s. You will be contacted by OCS for an appointment if you indicate on your preliminary form that you hope to study abroad for two semesters. It will not be possible to extend your stay once you are already abroad as a junior; the request for more than one semester must be made as part of the sophomore-year application process.

You should understand that Colby can only guarantee that you will be able to study abroad for at least one semester, and we cannot always guarantee which one. When you request a full year that is considered above and beyond the norm. We do the best we can to accommodate student wishes.

Semester Choice

When you submit your preliminary application for study abroad in November, you must indicate your choice of a semester for off-campus study and you will be asked to justify your choice on specific academic grounds. You should be aware that you may not be able to study abroad in the semester of your choice, due to the need for balanced on-campus enrollments. By vote of the faculty, academic reasons for needing to study away during a specific semester take precedence over extracurricular and athletic participation. Thus, you should make your choice of semester carefully in consultation with your major advisor(s), and remain open to options in both fall and spring.

Academic reasons for choosing a particular semester may include: a program that is particularly appropriate for you and only runs in a particular semester; courses for your major that you must take on campus in a particular semester (you must specify them); an off-campus program focus that is different in different semesters; specific courses toward your major that you intend to take off-campus; language preparation for a particular program that would require an extra semester at Colby prior to departure. Your application must be specific about courses and programs if you cite any of these reasons. Your overall reasons for going off-campus and the appropriateness of the program to your academic goals are also part of the decision.

Keep in mind that some programs are not in session both semesters. In addition, as the fall term in the UK system is not long enough to warrant a semester of credit at Colby, attendance at any university in England, Scotland or Ireland for the fall term is generally not allowed. Exceptions are programs with "Early Start" terms in September (University College Cork, University of Glasgow and University of Sussex) or institutions on the semester system, where you must then stay through January to complete exams (University of St. Andrews). Some UK programs run by U.S providers may also be options because they run on a U.S. calendar.

You will be notified in December by the OCS office if your choice of semester is approved. You may then make plans for the alternate semester, or request to be placed on the wait list in anticipation that a spot will open up.

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Changing Semester Choice

As part of your request, you need to supply academic reasons (rather than strictly personal or financial) why you wish to make this switch. All requests will be evaluated based on a combination of factors including your academic reasons for switching semesters and the date on which your request to switch was made.

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Waitlist

At a small college such as Colby, the process of preserving the balance of students on campus throughout the year is a challenging one. Such imbalances affect all aspects of the college from housing, to faculty, staffing and finances and they create inefficiencies and waste resources. Colby has been very careful to balance these concerns and this is certainly part of Colby's careful financial strategies. In such situations, OCS looks carefully at students' plans and academic justifications for their choice of semester to study abroad, weighing them compared to those of other students.  
An enrollment imbalance is created when too many students choose to go abroad during one of the semesters (usually spring) and some, whose academic justification is not compelling enough, are not approved for their first choice but are approved to study off-campus in the fall semester. These students are then asked if they accept to go in fall or wish to be placed on a waitlist for a spring slot. They will remain approved the fall until a spring slot is opened and they are removed from the waitlist. In most cases in past years, the wait list usually clears in time for students to go off-campus on the program of their choice but we cannot guarantee when or if they will be cleared.

You should understand that Colby can only guarantee that you will be able to study abroad for at least 1 semester, and we cannot guarantee which one. When you request a full year that is considered above and beyond the norm. We do the best we can to accommodate student wishes.

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Deadlines

You must submit a preliminary application for off-campus study by November 15, 2009, and your final application for Colby approval must be submitted to the OCS office by March 15, 2010. For Colby programs abroad there is only one application form that gives you approval to study abroad and admits you into the program. For non-Colby programs abroad, you need to fill out an application for approval in order for your plans to be approved. You will also need to complete the application required by the program itself. If you do not respect these deadlines, it is likely that your off-campus study plans will not be approved and you will not be able to get credit for them.

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Petitions

A petition to the Advisory Committee on Off-Campus Study will be required by March 1, 2010 in the following circumstances:

• If your GPA is below 2.7 after Jan Plan of 2010.
• If you wish to study off campus for more than one semester (unless you are exempt from petitioning according to the policies outlined in the OCS handbook). This includes off-campus study in one location for a year or in two different locations for a semester each ("Y2"). 
• If you wish to participate in a program, either abroad or domestic, that is not on Colby’s  current "approved list" (Listed as “A” in the OCS handbook).   Please see the criteria for acceptable non-approved programs on p. 7 of this handbook.

You will be contacted by OCS during December-February for a mandatory appointment if you indicate an intention to petition for one of the criteria above and you will be given specific petition guidelines at that time. Petitions will usually include a statement of petition by the student, a faculty recommendation, and a completed application form for the intended program.  Students can only petition one time and all materials should be submitted by March 1.  All petitions will be approved at the discretion of the Off-Campus Study Advisory Committee and within the space constraints of the enrollment goals of the College.

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Grades and Pass/Fail

Colby program: Grades received and courses taken abroad on a Colby program (Colby in Salamanca, Dijon, or St Petersburg) will appear on your transcript and will count in your GPA. This includes passing and non-passing grades. You may elect to take a course satisfactory/unsatisfactory prior to a specific deadline, which will be announced once you arrive on-site. Resident directors of Colby programs submit the grades for students in their program directly to the registrar at Colby.

Non-Colby program: Grades earned and courses taken abroad on a Non-Colby program are posted on your transcript by the registrar but do not figure in your GPA. These grades do appear on your Colby transcript, and it is quite legitimate for you to count them when you are asked to compute your own GPA for the purpose of employment or graduate school.  The policy to grant credit, but not factor grades into the GPA for non-Colby programs stems from the inherent impossibility of controlling the curricula of all the programs that we approve for credit transfer.  On a Colby program, we exercise control over the curriculum, the faculty and staff, the content of the courses, and the grading practices.  The policy to factor grades earned on one's own program into the GPA, but not those of other institutions and providers is quite standard at institutions like Colby.

You will not receive credit for any course in which a grade of less than C- was received, and the grade will appear on your Colby transcript.

You may not take a course on a pass/fail basis unless this is the only grading option available for that particular course.

Transcripts for students on non-Colby programs are reviewed by the Off-Campus Study Office before credits are posted by the registrar. If you have made substantial changes in your academic program without prior approval of the Off-Campus Study Office, you may not receive full credit.

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JanPlan Credit

Colby students on programs which are in session in January and whose total duration is at least eighteen weeks are exempt from the January program requirement for that year. Students who are abroad for a full year, are also exempt from JanPlan for that year.  Each student who is in residence for seven or more semesters must complete three January programs but must complete two if in residence for six semesters or fewer.

Programs qualifying for JanPlan Exemptions include:
•    Study abroad during the Full Year
•    In Fall:     

Colby in Salamanca (integrated program)
Hamilton in Paris (if Fall only)

•    In Spring:    

Colby in Salamanca (integrated and language programs)
Cambridge University
Kings College
Oxford University
Pitzer in Ecuador
Royal Holloway
SOAS
University College London
University of Edinburgh
University of Sussex
University of York
Washington University in Chile
Wesleyan in Regensburg
Williams-Mystic
EDUCO Paris

(Note: If you believe that your program qualifies for the Jan Plan exemption and is not listed here, submit a program calendar for your semester to the Off-Campus Study Office for review.)

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Independent Study Projects Abroad (ISP)

Programs sponsored by the School for International Training (SIT) and some other programs require students to complete an independent study project abroad. This project is graded, in the field, by the resident director of the program. If the program you participate in contains an independent study component that is not graded by regular university faculty, you are required to submit your completed project to a Colby faculty member who will read it upon your return.  (Directed study projects on School for Field Studies and Pitzer College programs do not need to be reviewed by Colby faculty). No Colby credit will be given for the ISP until it has been determined to be acceptable by a Colby faculty member. A special section of the application form must be signed by the faculty member who agrees to read your project. If your project changes substantially while you are off-campus, you must be in contact with this faculty member to ensure that he or she will read it upon your return. If he or she is no longer able to read it, you must find another Colby faculty member who is willing to do so. If the ISP is written in a language not understood by your reader, it is your responsibility to translate it into English.

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International Internships

International internship programs are encouraged, but must meet OCS requirements and conform to OCS and Colby policies.  In addition to general policies, internship programs must include a non-paid internship with considerable academic work done in tandem and not to exceed 4 credit hours in order to receive credit.  The internship should be done as part of a study abroad program that is predominantly credited in terms of the courses taken.  Typical models consist of 16 credits with the internship counting for 4 credits and three other courses counting for 4 credits each).  Please consult with OCS if you are interested in choosing an internship program to assure that it will meet these requirements and that you will receive credit.

Other international internships not for credit can be arranged through the Career Services office.

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Summer &/or JanPlan Off-Campus Study

While many students choose to study off-campus during their junior year, in some cases this may not be feasible for a variety of reasons. You may consider off-campus study or international experience during the summer or JanPlan.  Keep in mind that financial aid is not portable to summer or JanPlan study though scholarships may be available. Colby OCS staff can assist with  advising on opportunities. Transfers of credit, however, are arranged through the Registrar’s office.

All Colby JanPlans, including those abroad, are planned and administered by Academic Departments in conjunction with the Dean of Faculty's Office. Please refer to the respective Department for more information. Please note that Financial Aid is not available for JanPlans abroad. Some Departments, however, may have sources of financial assistance available.  JanPlan offerings change each year. A full description of JanPlan courses is available on the web in October, and students may elect for January courses at that time.

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Information for Science Majors and Pre-Med Students

There are numerous opportunities for science students to study abroad. Students in disciplines such as Biology and Mathematics, which do not have a great degree of vertical structuring in their curricula, have the most opportunities for study abroad. However, even in the more sequentially organized disciplines, such as Chemistry, Geology, Psychology and Physics, foreign study is possible with advanced planning and consultation with advisors within the department. Regardless of your discipline, a valuable program of foreign study requires careful planning and discussion with your advisor well before you participate in the program.

Pre-medical and pre-dental students can also consider international study.  While it is generally advisable not to take required pre-medical or pre-dental courses at a foreign university, it may be possible to do so after a thorough examination of the course in question, and a careful comparison of its content with that at a US university.  Please consult with your pre-med advisor if you have any questions.

In some cases it may be possible for a science major to study abroad for a semester without studying science. This requires careful planning in consultation with your major advisor so that you do not have an unusually heavy course load upon your return.

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Security and Study Abroad

All study abroad program providers take security very seriously, particularly given international developments over the past few years. While there is no reason to assume that going abroad will compromise your safety, you must be sure to follow safety guidelines provided by your program at all times. You must also take personal responsibility for informing yourself of risks in locations in which you might study or travel; a good source of basic information is the US Department of State Web site (http://travel.state.gov).

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Travel Warning

Colby College discourages travel to countries and participation in a program in a country for which there is a U.S. State Department Travel Warning in effect at the time of departure. Students wishing to travel to a country currently under U.S. State Department Travel Warning are required to submit a petition to the Travel Warning Review Committee providing a complete description of and justification for their study/travel at a Travel Warning site. If approved, they will then be required to sign a second waiver as part of the application for approval process.

In the event that a country goes under Travel Warning after a student has been approved, the student will be required to submit a petition, and sign a second waiver, in order to proceed as planned.

Students on programs already in session when the Travel Warning is issued will not be required to return, but will be advised of the Travel Warning by the OCS office.

For a listing of countries currently under Travel Warning consult the U.S. State Department website.

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Course Loads & Credit for Off-Campus Study

You are required to register and complete a full course-load which must be at least the equivalent of 15-16 Colby credits for the semester.  In some cases, the course load required by Colby may be higher than that recommended by your program provider. Information on credit equivalencies is available from the program or university you are attending or in Colby Off-Campus Study’s Pre-Departure Handbook which you will receive prior to departure.

On a Colby program abroad you will normally receive, upon successful completion of the course of study, 16 Colby credits per semester.

For Non-Colby programs lasting the equivalent of a full Colby semester (a minimum of 14 weeks of class time, including exams), you will normally receive 16 credits per semester for successfully completing the entire program. You may be granted more than 16 credits for work that exceeds the normal course load of the program, upon petition to the Registrar. Students attending programs not sponsored by US institutions should be sure that credit transfer has been approved by the Off-Campus Study Office and that the correct number of credits to be applied to their Colby degree is indicated on the application form for approval of study abroad.

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Course Credit and Approvals

General credit: 
On all non-Colby programs, the Off-Campus Study Office grants approval of courses completed for general Colby credit. If you change courses after arrival at your off-campus study destination you must inform OCS by email for confirmation of approval. Please note that not all of the courses on an approved program will automatically be approved individually. All transcripts from abroad are examined by the Off-Campus Study Office before they are sent to the Registrar. Unless specified, courses will be applied as general credit.

If you have not taken the courses you listed on your application, and have not obtained permission to change your courses, you may not receive complete credit for your semester or year abroad. You should advise the Off-Campus Study Office of changes at the beginning of your off-campus program in order to resolve any issues that may prevent transfer of credit. If there are discrepancies, your off-campus credits may not appear on your transcript when you return, delaying your ability to use them in applications for graduate school or other purposes.

Please be aware that Colby may not approve full credit for certain courses taken abroad that do not meet Colby’s standards of academic rigor, even when these courses are marketed to you during your program orientation. For example, Sports & Learning in Australian Culture at the University of Sydney may only receive 2 credits. When in doubt, please consult with OCS by email and include a full course syllabus to allow us to determine the course content.

Major, Minor, Distribution or Diversity credit: 
Approval of courses toward the major/minor/ACL is decided by academic departments and not by the Off-Campus Study Office. For course credit to count toward your major or minor or a college requirement, these courses must be approved in writing by the appropriate academic department and OCS must be notified.

Course approvals should generally be requested upon return by completing the Off-Campus Study Major/Minor/All College Requirement Approval Form available from the OCS website (Returning to campus). You must also submit a full course syllabus to the Faculty Advisor signing off on your coursework.

If you would like advance approval, you may also use this form or email the relevant department Faculty member to seek course approval accompanied by a course description or syllabus and copy or forward their response to OCS at offcamp@colby.edu.

You will be given more information on credit transfers prior to your departure.

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Attendance and Exam Requirements

You are expected to attend classes regularly and to comply with all the requirements of your program. If you are studying at a foreign university or institution, you are required to take the regular final examinations for all courses in which you are enrolled, or to have an alternative assessment of your work if you are not allowed to take the final examinations. If you do not take a final examination in a course for which an exam is given, you will receive no Colby credit for the course. If you leave your program early or for extended periods of travel while classes are in session, the amount of credit you receive will be reduced. In extreme cases, you will receive no Colby credit for your period abroad. Please note that no course abroad may be taken pass/fail and receive Colby credit.

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Program Cost and Billing

Colby programs: students on Colby-run programs (Colby in Salamanca, Dijon, St Petersburg, Washington D.C. and selected affiliated exchange programs) are billed by Colby in the same way as a semester or year on-campus. This covers tuition, room, board, round-trip transportation and a number of organized excursions. A $500 non-refundable deposit is generally due after acceptance into the program and Colby's refund policies will apply. Please keep in mind that if a student decides not to go on a program excursion, there will be no refund of money either to student or to parents. Please also note that programs have specific policies with regard to possible changes of return dates on the group flight.

In some cases, when students are cooking for themselves or living in apartments, they will receive a per diem amount from the resident director of the program. On some programs, students eat some of their meals with a host family, and receive a stipend to cover the rest. For programs with fixed end dates, the stipend or per diem lasts until the fixed date. For others in which students have different exam dates, the resident director will set an end date, generally two days after the student's final exam, after which the stipend will be discontinued. While some students may choose to stay in the country at their own expense beyond the end of program date, Colby College cannot be responsible for those who choose to extend their visit.

Non-Colby programs: When a Colby student attends a non-Colby program for a semester/year, program fees will be paid by the student and directly to the program. All students studying on non-Colby programs will also be billed by Colby for a $1,000 credit transfer fee for each semester they are away (excluding certain Colby affiliated programs). The charge will be billed to your home address by Colby’s Office of Financial Services. For students on financial aid, this charge is built into the aid package. Please refer to the Student Financial Services website for more information.

It is particularly important that you pay attention to the refund policy of your program. Some programs have very severe refund policies. Be aware of the refund policy of your program before you send any money for a deposit or payment.

If you are on a non-Colby program, keep in mind that the program will not release your transcript to Colby if you have not paid them in full by the time your program is complete.

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Financial Aid for Off-Campus Study

Financial aid is portable to both Colby and non-Colby programs as long as your plans (or your petition) have been approved by the Off-Campus Study office. In any of these courses of study, a student's aid is based on the actual cost of the program up to a maximum of Colby's student expense budget. The evaluation of the aid application includes consideration of necessary personal and travel expenses, and currency exchange rates. Staff in the Student Financial Services office work closely with Colby students prior to their departure and while studying away. More details about billing can be obtained from the office of Student Financial Services.

Please keep in mind that Student Financial Services must have the fee information for your program (or at least your expected costs, if exact fees are not yet known) in order to process your financial aid for the academic year in which you are studying abroad. This is true even if you are not leaving until the spring semester.

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Travel and Living Arrangements

If you study on a Colby program (Colby in Salamanca, Dijon or St. Petersburg) program fees are comprehensive; that is, they include complete room, board, round-trip airfare, and excursions, in addition to tuition. You can find out more information about the individual programs on our Web site.

On non-Colby programs, programs differ in what they will provide. In many cases, you will be responsible for making your travel arrangements and requesting living arrangements. It is the sponsoring institution, not Colby College, that is responsible for all arrangements, and you should contact that institution directly for more information.

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Passports and Visas

It is your responsibility to obtain your passport and student visa for all study abroad programs. Passports may be obtained by filling out the appropriate form at your nearest post office. Even if you already have a passport, your host country may require the passport to be valid a certain time period (e.g. six months) beyond the end of your stay. You should renew it if there is any doubt whatsoever. In any case, you should apply for your passport months in advance of your date of departure.

Visas are obtained from the consulate of the country in which you will be living. Some countries do not require student visas; others do. Make sure you have obtained the correct information and materials from the sponsors of your program. You must usually apply for a visa in the consulate located within your home jurisdiction but in some cases you may also be able to apply from the Consulate in Boston as a student resident in the State of Maine. Keep in mind that you will need a passport before you can get a visa, so any delay in obtaining the passport could mean you are unable to secure a visa in time to attend the program you have chosen.

Foreign visa applications for study abroad for both U.S. and non U.S. citizens have gotten increasingly complex in recent years (e.g. for the UK, France, Spain, and other countries). Please be prepared to take on this responsibility and do not leave it until the last minute.

Questions regarding visas should be addressed to the appropriate consulate or program or university with which you will be studying.

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Leave of Absence from Colby

All students planning to study off-campus, on a Colby or a non-Colby program, must complete a leave of absence with their Advising Dean before leaving campus.

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Health and Travel Insurance While Abroad

Students are urged to take appropriate health precautions, particularly if going to a developing country. Check with your program sponsors to determine what inoculations may be needed. Be aware that many of these inoculations must be obtained several weeks prior to departure.
 
Health Insurance: Most study abroad programs require students to have health insurance abroad and show proof of such coverage. Students attending both Colby and non-Colby programs abroad should review their major medical insurance policy with their parents and confirm that it will provide coverage while abroad.  Students on Colby programs will be required to show proof of their insurance policy by submitting a letter from their insurance carrier stating that they are covered abroad. Whether you are attending a Colby or non-Colby program, if you and your parents have determined that your insurance coverage will not extend to the overseas program site and there is no possibility of purchasing a rider to extend coverage, you can consider purchasing a policy with Cross Insurance by contacting 1-800-537-6444 ext. 211 or www.crossagency.com.  Be sure to specify that you are a Colby student.

Travel Insurance: Colby College does not provide for any travel insurance for students studying abroad.  Students attending Colby programs in Dijon, Salamanca, and St. Petersburg, however,  are required to purchase the iNext Basic card at least at the rate of $25.  For all others the College highly recommends that, in addition to your primary insurance, all students studying and travelling abroad purchase supplementary travel insurance through iNext. 

You can purchase an iNext card on-line at www.iNext.com. Simply create an account online and follow the prompts to select your level of coverage, complete your profile, upload a digital photograph, and make your purchase. Your card will be sent to you the following business day. You will also be able to print a confirmation of insurance directly from the iNext website.

This supplementary insurance offers benefits such as accident and sickness expenses, emergency medical transportation, 24-hour medical, legal and travel assistance, travel document replacement, and student discounts. Three plans are offered, varying in cost from $25 - $85 for one year of coverage. It is important to understand that, as with any travel insurance policy, this coverage is secondary to your primary medical coverage and certain exclusions may apply. If you have any questions about the iNext travel insurance coverage or how to purchase a card online, please feel free to contact (207) 553-4039 or info@inext.com.

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Keeping in Touch

Students on Colby programs receive the Colby Echo regularly, through their resident directors or online. The resident director is also a link with the Colby administration, and takes care of assisting you with registration and with processing course changes. You will provide him or her with your e-mail address and cell phone number, if you have one.

Keeping e-mail contact with Colby is essential while you are abroad, since much information is distributed that way, including registration and housing information for the semester of your return to campus. All communications from Colby will be sent via your Colby e-mail address, including those from the Office of Off-Campus Study.

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Program Evaluations

In order to receive credit upon completion of your program abroad, you will be required to fill in an online program evaluation at Colby (in addition to any forms that your program may require). These evaluations are extremely useful to students considering your program, and to faculty and the OCS staff as we regularly review the programs that we approve for our students. At the completion of your program, you will be notified by e-mail that the evaluation form is available, and you will be directed to the appropriate location on the OCS Web site. Your credits will not appear on your transcript until you have logged in to your evaluation form, as Colby considers your reflection on the experience an important part of the learning process.

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