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> Fudan Contemporary Society and Language > Credit and Transcripts
Credits, Grades, and Transcripts
A study abroad experience is first and foremost an academic experience, which is why The Alliance for Global Education takes the process of credit and grade conversion so seriously. Understanding the overseas educational system and assigning the correct number of credits to a program is of vital importance.
Credits
The Alliance provides information on credit transfer and conversion at the time that a student chooses courses. Credit appears on transcripts issued by Arcadia University at the completion of a student's term of study abroad. Converting credits into US semester hours accurately is essential, both in ensuring that students continue to make progress towards degrees and verifying the academic load a student carries while abroad. The Arcadia University Undergraduate Academic Program Committee and Registrar work in conjunction with the Alliance's overseas staff and National Advisory Board to review our conversions to make sure they accurately reflect a full-time load at the institution where a student is studying overseas. We look carefully at the question of what constitutes a full academic load for a degree-seeking host country student and base our determination of equivalence on that. Arcadia University is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Any grades that appear on an Arcadia transcript must meet Middle States' standards.
Credit conversions for a specific programs:
| Program | Credits earned | |
| Fall or Spring | Summer | |
| Beijing-BLCU | 15 | 9 |
| Chinese Instruction | 9 | 6 |
| Area Studies courses and available internship |
6 | 3 |
| Shanghai-Fudan Contemporary Chinese Society and Language |
15 | 8 |
| Chinese Instruction | 9 | 5 |
| Area Studies courses | 6 | 3 |
| Intensive Chinese Language | 15 or 18 | 8 |
| Chinese Instruction | 15 | 8 |
| Optional Area Studies course | 3 | - |
| Shanghai-SUFE | 15 or 18 | 8 |
| Chinese Instruction | 9 | 5 |
| Business, Economics and available internship | 6 or 9 | 3 |
| Xi'an-SNU | 15 | 8 |
| Chinese Instruction | 9 | 5 |
| Area Studies courses | 6 | 3 |
Grades
Students will receive a letter grade on a scale from A to F for every course they take while enrolled on an Alliance program. Although policies at students' individual home institutions may differ, the Alliance does not permit students to take courses on a credit/no credit basis. In order to determine grade equivalencies, the Alliance and Arcadia University look at data about grade distribution in the host institution and at information about what constitutes a minimum passing grade at the host institution in addition to the host institution's suggested "translation" scales. Arcadia University is obligated to uphold the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools' standards. Therefore, we conduct our own independent evaluations in accordance with our responsibility. Students are provided with a table explaining how their grades will appear on an Arcadia University transcript when they go through the orientation process overseas.
Transcripts
At the conclusion of a program, the College of Global Studies at Arcadia University will send an official Arcadia University transcript to a participant's home school and an unofficial copy to the participant. This transcript will list the course numbers and titles exactly as they appear on the original transcript from the university or program which the participant attended.
Because overseas universities have different administrative structures, transcripts may take longer to issue than they do at U.S. institutions. While the timeline varies by program, a general timeline for transcript issuance is:
- Summer programs - transcript issued in early September.
- Fall program - transcript issued in late February.
- Academic year and Spring program - transcript issued in late September.
If you have a question about the process, please feel free to contact the program manager responsible for the program.
Participants can request additional copies of transcripts online or in writing at any time from the Arcadia University Registrar's Office.