"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered."
Nelson Mandela
We hope that your term or year abroad was both rewarding and challenging. Please see these re-entry resources to help you re-adjust to life on campus, to ensure credit transfer and to make the most of your time abroad now that you are back on campus.
Program Evaluation
Credit transfer
Course approvals
Re-entry challenges & Reverse Culture Shock
All students are required to complete program evaluations. Colby and Non-Colby program evaluations are completed online. Transcripts for non-Colby programs and grades for Colby programs will not be released to the registrar until student log-ins to the evaluation site have been documented. Evaluations will be available for online submission at the end of the semester through the Off-Campus Study Web-site.
In order for your credits from off-campus study to transfer to your Colby record you need to make sure you have:
• Completed your program evaluation
• Notified your off-campus study program to send your transcript to Colby’s Off Campus Study office, 4500 Mayflower Hill, Waterville, ME 04901.
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.
As you return from study abroad, we hope you will enjoy this humorous piece written by a Glipmse intern about what NOT to do when returning from abroad.
http://glimpse.org/stories/view/top-5-things-not-to-do-after-returning-from-abroad/
We also want to share some tips on what TO DO to celebrate your abroad experience and address any reverse culture shock you may be feeling.
Understanding that you will likely face some culture shock, re-entry and reverse culture shock frustrations when you return is important; and even more important is to know that you are not alone in these feelings. These feelings are often more difficult because they are unexpected.
Top Ten Re-entry Frustrations
- Feelings of alienation; seeing home with critical eyes
- Fear of losing the experience and new perspective, like storing it away in a souvenir box that we only occasionally look at
- Inability to apply new knowledge and skills
- "No one wants to hear about this"
- It's hard to explain
- Reverse homesickness
- Previous relationships have changed
- People see the "wrong" changes
- People misunderstand if I adopt elements of my host culture; they misinterpret my behavior
- Boredom
Do you find that you:
- Can't fully explain your experience or its importance
- Realize that others do not want to hear very much about your adventures
- Have the sensation of being "out of place" despite being home
- Are bored with being home
- Experience "reverse homesickness" for the place where you studied abroad
- See that relationships with family and friends have changed
- Feel that others misunderstand your growth, or see the "wrong" changes in you
- Assess your home in a way that is judgmental or overly critical
- Feel that your experience abroad is lost or cut off from the rest of your life
Understanding what kind of frustrations you might face upon re‐entry into your home country is important; and even more important is to know that you are not alone in these feelings.
Upon your return to campus, we encourage you to share your experiences and reach out to fiends, family and on-campus resources which can help.
Here are a few ides and some resources to help you make the most of your abroad experience and deal with some of your re-entry challenges.
- Contact the Colby counseling center
- Come talk to OCS staff – we love to hear about your experiences!
- Reach out to DOS or Campus Life
- Watch the Journeying Home video (available in OCS and the library) , or better yet, organize a group viewing and discussion in your dorm
- Submit your photos to Colby’s photo Contest
- Organize a photo exhibit
- Consider sharing your study abroad impressions with the general public through Abroad View – Webzine, TransistionsAbroad.com, Glimpse – Your stories from abroad website.
- Visit the Career Services office to discuss with a counselor how you can “use” your experience in your career search or prepare to go abroad again. Check out our web page that lists various organizations which sponsor work, volunteer, and teaching opportunities abroad.
Other Resources
Videos
Journeying Home (available from OCS and the Miller Library)
Discussion questions for Journeying Home
Handouts
Coming Home resource packet
Re-entry Strategies (SIT)
Surviving Reentry: A handbook for parents of study abroad students returning home (SIT)
Writing about your experiences:
Abroad View
TransitionsAbroad
Glimpse.org
Web resources:
What's Up With Culture: On-line Cultural Training Resource for Study Abroad
Culture Matters: On-line workbook developed for the Peace Corps for helping participants to acquire the skills and knowledge to work and live abroad successfully:
Cultural Gaffes: A Peace Corps video
Cultural Gaffes 2
Books:
Austin, Clyde. Cross-Cultural Re-entry: A Book of Readings.
Abilene, Texas: Abilene Christian University Press, 1986.
Bruce, A. Culture Shock at Home: Understanding Your Own Change - The Experience of Return. Transitions Abroad. January/February, 1997, p. 79-80 (http://www.transabroad.com).
Chisholm, Linda A. and Howard A. Berry. 2002. “Understanding the Education – and through it the Culture – in Education Abroad”. New York, NY. The International Partnership for Service-Learning.
Citron, James. Short-Term Study Abroad: Integration, Third Culture Formation, and Reentry. NAFSA: Association of International Educators (http://www.nafsa.org).
Hess, J. Daniel. Studying Abroad/Learning Abroad: An Abridged Edition of the Whole World Guide to Culture Learning. Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press, 1997.
Hogan, John T. Culture-Shock and Reverse-Culture Shock: Implications for Juniors Abroad and Seniors at Home. Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the American College Personnel Association (Houston, TX, March 13-16, 1983).
Howell, Leah. Coming Home: Sustaining the Experiences of Studying Abroad. The Vermont Connection. 1999.
Kauffman, Norman L., Martin, Judith N., and Weaver, Henry D. Students Abroad: Strangers at Home. Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press, 1992.
Kepets, Dawn. Back in the USA: Reflecting on Your Study Abroad Experience and Putting it to Work. NAFSA: Association of International Educators, 1995 (http://www.nafsa.org).
Kohls, L. Robert. Survival Kit for Overseas Living. Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press, 1996.
Martin, Judith N. Patterns of Communication in Three Types of Reentry Relationships: An Exploratory Study. Western Journal of Speech Communication. v50 n2 Spring 1986, p.183-99.
Paige, R. Michael, Andrew D. Cohen, Barbara Kappler, Julie C. Chi and James P. Lassegard. Maximizing Study Abroad: A Student's Guide to Strategies for Language and Culture Learning and Use. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota, 2002.
Raschio, R.A. College Students' Perceptions of Reverse Culture Shock and Reentry Adjustments. Journal of College Student Development. 1987, p. 156-162.
Storti, Craig. The Art of Coming Home. Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press, 1997.
Storti, Craig. The Art of Crossing Cultures. Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press, 1990.
Summerfield, Ellen. Survival Kit for Multicultural Living. Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press, 1997.
Uchara, A. The Nature of American Student Reentry Adjustment and Perception of the Sojourn Experience. International Journal of Intercultural Relations. 10, 1986, p. 415-438.
Woody, Stacey. Programming for Reentry: Issues and Solutions for Study Abroad Returnees. Transitions Abroad. Mar/Apr 1998, p. 107-108 (http://www.transabroad.com).
