How will the courses taken at a host school be equivalent to WSU courses?
Before you ever go on exchange, you will fill out an advising agreement with your
academic advisor. Your advising agreement is the contract that sets forth the manner
in which all classes taken on exchange will transfer back to your WSU program of study.
If you take classes other than those listed on your advising agreement, you cannot
be guaranteed those classes will transfer back to WSU in a way that will help you
progress towards your degree. Your advisor, the dean of your college and our office
must approve any changes or additions. Your advisor has the authority to determine
course "compatibility," which means he or she can decide whether a class taken on
exchange will count toward your degree program and where it will apply.
Please keep in mind courses do not necessarily have to be equivalent, but they must be compatible. This means that although a course taken on exchange may not have a direct equivalent
at Wichita State, it may be still be compatible with a course in your degree program—at the discretion of your advisor—therefore, fulfilling that degree requirement.
Some courses are worth different numbers of credit hours at different institutions.
For example, if you take "Basket Weaving 100" at Cleveland State University, worth
3 credit hours, and it is deemed compatible with "Basket Arts 101" at Wichita State,
worth 4 credit hours (yes, these are fictitious courses), you will only receive the
3 credit hours for the class you actually took while on exchange. So, although the
class fulfills the major requirement, that does not mean you will get the 4 credit
hours of the WSU course.
Your advisor is key to the success of your exchange. Keep them informed of any changes,
ideas or problems you encounter.