Classes

Unless you're looking at this trip as a halt in your degree pursuance, then getting the right credit for the classes you take abroad is very crucial to the success of your trip. You could get all your study abroad credits transferred back but if UHM counts them all as elective credits then what forward movement did you really make the past semester or year abroad. 

The most important thing to do starting right now is to save ALL your syllabis!! When petitioning for classes between institutions and/or trying to place into a certain class having your past syllabus on hand will help you and the creditor better assess what level you stand at in that particular subject.

Below are steps I've done to ensure I get the right credits transferred from CityU to UHM. Have I been successful? We won't know till summer 2014.


1.  Know what you've taken and what you still need to take  
Obviously the earlier on you are with your college degree the easier this step will be. Going into my fourth year of college I don't have too many classes left I can take at UHM let alone at an oversea international school. I've wanted to study abroad since my freshman year in college so I've strategically saved certain classes so that I may take them abroad.  

Business core courses are much easier to get equivalency to because they are foundation courses to the higher level, more specific courses Shidler offers. Elective courses in our personal majors are where we can really control what we learn. Having spent a bunch of money on this trip, I don't want to be taking a class I could easily take at Shidler. It'd be most beneficial to me to take an elective class such as Business and Hong Kong Society, Chinese Multinationals, or Managing Chinese Organizations.


2.  Go to advising and gather all available resources  
I've been to advising countless times to satisfy my curiosity in UHM's International Exchange and Study Abroad Programs. What advising had given me is direction, brochures, helpful links, and informational events I may attend.

Through advising with Rikki Mitsunaga I was able to learn more about the different scholarships I'm eligible for and the Course Agreement List. This list is available for many of the partner schools Shidler is connected with.

Luckily through negotiation with CityU's College of Business and Shidler there is a list of classes I may take, that I do not have to petition for, that will 100% transfer back to UHM and count towards my MGT & IB majors. This has helped tremendously with ensuring that I am not wasting my time while abroad and still moving forward in earning my degree.


3.  Petition for classes you're interested in taking
Now that you know what classes you don't have to petition for, you're going to need to petition for classes you are interested in taking. Petition for all the classes you are any bit interested in; there is no cost, penalty, or quote as to how many classes you can petition for. This step ensures peace-of-mind that the class you're taking abroad will count for a specific credit/requirement at UHM.

Below is what Shidler's Course Petition form looks like:
http://shidler.hawaii.edu/sites/shidler.hawaii.edu/files/downloads/business_student_petition_form_form_fillable.pdf

Looks hard at first but really all you have to fill out is the top two sections. The first section is for your personal information while the second section is about the course you'd like equivalency to.  The completed form is to be turned into B101. After about a week or two of waiting the results (approved or denied) will be sent to you via email. 


4.  Ensuring credit transfer
CityU will automatically send two official transcripts to UH Manoa. One for the Records Office and another for your personal reference. A copy of the transcript will also be sent to Rikki who will take care of the class equivalencies for you. Just make sure you have met with Rikki previously explaining what classes you've taken and what class you would like to transfer as what (make sure the appropriate class petitions are submitted and approved of). The entire process took about one and a half months for me. I was able to transfer all my classes according to what I have previously planned. Just FYI: the lowest grade that will transfer is a C-.