academics

Program Academic Framework

• Programs should make good use of their host environment, should support students in broadening their understanding of the host culture(s), and ideally will incorporate guest lectures from local experts familiar with the subject matter or its application.

• EA reminds collaborators that Penn State is a leading member of the Forum on Education Abroad and, as such, is required to abide by the Standards of Good Practice for the field of education abroad.

• We encourage all program leaders to carefully consider Forum’s piece on leading short-term programs and the Standards.

Grade Reporting

• Programs abroad are an extension of the Penn State campus. Students are expected to attend and participate in classes, academic excursions and/or site visits and to complete homework.

• Students must also be assessed on their learning through exams, final papers/projects, or other assessment methods.

• Grades must be assigned for work completed, and students may not register for coursework abroad as pass/fail or as an Audit.

• Since all faculty-led programs offer Penn State courses, grades are reported by faculty at Penn State at the end of course, just as if the course was offered through traditional instruction. Registrar policy dictates that grades should be reported via LionPATH within 48 hours of the final course assignment being submitted. If your program includes a transcript of record from an international institution, please consult with the customized team concerning the grade posting process.

Student Course Selection and Scheduling

• Courses for each program are identified during the proposal process and may be cross-listed if appropriate. The faculty leader is responsible for confirming that the course is active/available for the relevant term.

• If not, it is the responsibility of the faculty to work with the department to be sure the course is approved. EA staff will set up the course in the Lion Path system.

• Students select their courses in the post decision stage of their application and are scheduled by Education Abroad staff.

• It is recommended that the course syllabus include expectations for academic achievement as well as student conduct while studying abroad and that it is clear that inappropriate behavior may be considered when evaluating the student.

SRTE Process

• Like a course taught on campus, students participating in a Penn State faculty-led program abroad should have access to an evaluation of the instructor’s teaching. At Penn State, the student evaluation of a course is administered through the SRTE process.

• Since Penn State Global is not an academic unit, our staff are not able to set up the STRE reviews for each education abroad course, nor would it be appropriate for our office to collect this information.

• The customized team does set up each individual education abroad course in LionPATH, and the appropriate faculty leaders are listed as ‘instructor(s) of record’ for their course(s).

• The customized team will reach out to each college and campus SRTE designee with a list of faculty-led courses for the upcoming term to request that the SRTEs be activated for each of those courses.

• The SRTE process is managed within the college or campus, with the results to be collected by the appropriate departmental official.

• We encourage each program leader to follow up with the departmental contact for SRTEs prior to start of the program to ensure that the evaluations are activated and will be sent to students near the end of the course.