Application process for students wishing to study abroad in 2017/18
The Study Abroad Application deadline is 20th December 2016, regardless of whether the exchange is in Tri 1 or Tri 2, and whether within Europe or overseas.
By this date students must have completed an application form including possible module choices for the period abroad, and it must have been formally approved by their Programme Leader or designated Academic Study Abroad Adviser (PL/ASAA).
Relevant staff are sent instructions on this process, which is completed online. Once complete, the application is forwarded automatically to the Global Mobility team for consideration. Students will be informed of the outcome in January-March.
Programme Leader’s support to students – pre-application
Before applying, students must discuss their wish to go on exchange with their Programme Leaders, to ascertain that you support the request in principle, including the proposed timing within their degree programme. Please consider the following before encouraging students to go ahead with an application – as not all students may be ready for mobility:
Course compatibility at the chosen destination. Students are asked to research possible modules at an early stage when considering potential destination; it is essential that the PL/ASAA is happy with the academic match as the the credit achieved while studying overseas will count as an integral part of the student’s Edinburgh Napier University degree.
Academic performance - a student who is struggling at home may find their difficulties exacerbated while abroad. Students are not normally permitted to go on exchange if they have not passed all of the modules in the period leading up to their exchange. If you wish to give approval subject to improved academic performance, please email the Global Mobility team at studyabroad@napier.ac.uk to let us know.
Attendance record and suitability as an ambassador for Edinburgh Napier - we should be confident that the student will enhance the reputation of the university while at our partner institution.
The reasons for going on exchange. What is the student’s motivation? Have they thought through the implications, e.g. academic, financial (refer them to Costs document), semester dates (which may be very different to ours)?
The Global Mobility team can direct students to the relevant course catalogue and advise on the number of credits needed, but we are not permitted to advise on the appropriateness of modules i.e. content and learning outcomes – advice on this must come from academic staff.
If you are happy for your student to study abroad during the next academic year then the next step is to encourage them to complete the Study Abroad Online application form.
**New for 2017/18 Study Abroad Online application form**
Students should be encouraged to visit the relevant Application page on myNapier where they will find information on the new online application process as well as a link to the online form.
For your interest, we have created a brief video to talk you through the student interface so that you are familiar with the various parts of the form.
Student’s responsibilities prior to completing the online application form
A student needs to have:
- Decided on their preferred semester(s) abroad,
- Selected up to three exchange destinations in order of preference. **Please be aware that if a student wishes to study at a different destination in each semester, they may list up to six destinations in total (three per semester)**,
- Provided their Programme Leader/ Academic Study Abroad Adviser with a proposed list of equivalent modules abroad bearing in mind the required number of credits for each destination
- Researched an estimated budget in £ sterling for the duration of their exchange.
After a student clicks ‘submit’ on the Online Application Form, their application will automatically go to their Programme Leader as per the information currently stored on SITS. Students will then receive an email with their Programme Leader’s contact details (name and email address), confirming successful submission. At this point they will no longer be able to make any changes to the form.
Programme Leader’s responsibility when supporting a student who is submitting a Study Abroad application form
- When one of your students submits their application, you will receive an email asking you to log in to the system (adminstudyabroad.napier.ac.uk) with your regular University login details and review the application.
- If you are happy with a student’s application, notably the modules they are proposing to take when overseas and that the student has a sound academic record to date* then click the ‘Approve’ button. The student will then receive a notification that the form has been forwarded to the Global Mobility Team for consideration. (NB Your approval indicates that you are happy with the academic side of the student’s proposed study abroad destination(s); we, in the Global Mobility Team, will then look at all approved applications collectively and allocate students to study destination).
*Students are aware that their academic results achieved to date will be considered as part of the selection criteria. Please note that 1st year applicants or direct entrants will not have any marks recorded on SITS at that point. We therefore suggest that the approval of their forms is subject to the successful pass of the trimester 1 modules.
- If you do not approve the application then click ‘Reject’ button. The system will allow you to write a message to individual students asking them to make any changes and re-submit the form (if appropriate). If following the resubmission you are happy with the changes made you will be able to approve the form as described above.
Further guidance for Programme Leaders on advising students on module choices abroad
FAQs
What do I need to check?
The key things you need to ascertain before approving students’ choices are:
- Are the modules your student plans to take while on exchange broadly equivalent to what they will be missing at Edinburgh Napier (level, content, learning outcomes etc)?
- In particular, do they correlate to any compulsory modules the student would be required to take if they stayed at home?
- Do the chosen modules avoid duplication with any your student has already done/will be taking later?
- Will the selected modules offer sufficient total credits (see below)?
Where can I find module information for the institutions abroad?
Students should come to you with a prepared list of possible module choices, and online links. They should refer to the Exchange Portfolio on myNapier for links for different institutions.
Course information for the relevant semester(s) is not available. Please advise.
If the course catalogue at the host institution is not yet online for the relevant period, students should choose from the nearest available equivalent, i.e. if they are going abroad in spring semester 2018, the nearest equivalent may be for modules in spring semester 2016 or 2017.
How many modules will students need to take while abroad?
This depends on the country/institution, but students will in many cases need to take more than 3 modules per semester. In some European institutions, there are set courses for exchange students. The most important thing is that the total number of credits meets the required minimum per semester.
How many credits do students need to achieve while abroad?
Students must take a full-time workload while abroad, equivalent to 60 Edinburgh Napier credits per semester. For those going to European destinations, this means modules totalling 30 ECTS (European credits). For overseas destinations, this varies according to institution - please refer to the home page of the Exchange Portfolio
Students taking the Edinburgh Napier Living and Studying Abroad module the trimester before going on exchange may require fewer credits while abroad. You should advise them if this applies in their case.
Please note the exception to this is students going overseas who must complete a full-time workload while abroad in order to comply with Tier 4 visa requirements.
My student has identified modules equivalent to the compulsory modules he/she would normally take at Edinburgh Napier, but still lacks sufficient total credits. What should they do?
In this case the student may make up the balance of credits with other modules connected to their subject area or future interests, including language classes - you should advise the student on what is appropriate / acceptable.
Do I need to check all modules if my student is going away for a full year?
Yes, if your student is going on exchange for a full year, they should complete module choices for both autumn and spring semesters if possible.
NEED FURTHER HELP?
If you or your students have difficulties identifying appropriate links for course information or you would like further support with this process, please contact us for advice at studyabroad@napier.ac.uk.