Students may learn about the exchange opportunity through a variety of marketing and promotional tools, but faculty and advisors should be proactive in seeking out students who could benefit from the opportunity. Exchange participation is a privilege, not a right. Applicants must meet the minimal criteria of NSE (see Exchange Policies) in order to participate in the program. Your campus or your department may impose additional criteria for participation. Your students will be subject to any campus-specific exchange limitations and restrictions imposed at the host campus. Such restrictions are identified in the campus narrative section of the NSE Directory.

The academic advisor of a student who participates in NSE plays an active role in most, if not all of the processes listed below.

ENCOURAGING EXCHANGE PARTICIPATION

As you work with students in classroom, research or advising situations, you are likely to encounter individuals who would benefit from an exchange opportunity. They may be seeking courses that would complement, supplement, or even replace those offered by your department. They could be looking for facilities or research options offered by another campus that would enhance their education. It could be that a student may profit just by a change of venue or the chance to be closer to family members for a period of time. With the academic offerings and facilities of close to 200 colleges and universities, think of NSE as an expansive extension of your own institution’s academic resources.

Perhaps you have a colleague at another NSE campus teaching different courses or offering different research options which would enhance the student’s undergraduate degree program. You may be familiar with a university that would provide the proper environment in which a student could better develop both academically and personally. As you get to know your students encourage them to consider NSE as one way to make the most of their undergraduate education.

PROCESS

Exploring Exchange Participation – Students are encouraged to talk with faculty and advisors while they are exploring exchange participation. The right time to go on exchange may vary for students within the same department. Likewise students in some departments might find more flexibility earlier in their academic progress, while students with other majors may find more in their senior year. Progress in completing core courses, meeting proficiency requirements, and flexibility within the curriculum must be considered.

Registration in courses at the host campus is based on availability and cannot be guaranteed. Therefore a flexible academic program while on exchange is a must. If the student is dependent upon a specific course or courses in order to maintain academic progress, the student should remain at the home campus.

Review degree progress with the student and consider where NSE might most appropriately fit within departmental degree requirements as well as the student’s goals and objectives. Consider how courses offered at other institutions and the opportunity to live and learn in new places can enhance the student’s major and demonstrate to future employers and graduate schools that they have accomplished something beyond the expected.

Participation by Seniors – NSE campuses, and departments within campuses, vary in their policies of whether or not a student can exchange during the final year of degree completion. The National Student Exchange has no policy which precludes such participation. In fact, 25% of the NSE participants exchange during their senior year. For some students, an advantage of exchanging as a senior offers opportunities to explore graduate and professional school programs or seek out future employment. For information on the policy of your own campus relative to seniors, contact your NSE coordinator.

Selecting Exchange Sites – When you feel that exchange is appropriate for a student, helping them select campuses may be the most important contribution you can make. It is important that the campuses selected by the student serve their own personal needs as well as meet the academic requirements of their major. You can assist the student in examining their proposed sites, reviewing host campus curricula, and determining the appropriateness of selected NSE campuses relative to your own departmental requirements.

Majors – While some students will take courses in their major while on exchange, others may choose to take electives and/or fulfill core requirements. Searching for course offerings or majors, at NSE’s many campuses could be like looking for a needle in a haystack, but NSE has made the job easier. Majors links to a search engine that enables the student to search by campus to determine if the major is offered, or search by major to determine which member campuses offer a particular program.

Accreditation – Is your program recognized by a regional, national, professional or specialized accrediting agency? If so, will you require that the student exchange to a similarly accredited program if planning to take courses in his/her major? If enrolling in a program where like accreditation will be required, please assist the student in identifying NSE member colleges or universities that meet this requirement. NSE does not track accredited programs and does not have the capacity to assist students in locating such programs. NSE has found that most departments have access to information on accredited programs in their field and can direct students to them as necessary.

Program Information and Course Descriptions – Extensive information on NSE member campuses can be found at the respective campus web sites. Links to Member Campuses provides direct access to the home page of each NSE member. Using the Campus Catalog link allows direct access to the campus catalog (called schedule in Canada) for each campus. Using these resources, students can research on line and identify specific course descriptions.

Honors Program – If your advisee is an honors student and seeking a campus which allows access to honors courses, consult Honors Access for a list of member institutions which accept incoming NSE students in their honors programs.

APPLICATION AND PLACEMENT

The student’s application process and attempted placement will be handled by your NSE coordinator. For additional information on the process, refer to Application and Placement.

Recommendation – You might be asked to provide a written recommendation for the student as part of their application process. That is helpful to the NSE coordinator in determining overall eligibility as well as department approval for program participation. If you have not already talked to the student about participation, timing, campus selection, and courses, NSE suggests that you do so prior to completing a recommendation.

Placement Probabilities – NSE encourages students to select at least three exchange sites. Some NSE campuses place limits on the number of students they are able to receive. As you might guess some member institutions are very popular and have more applicants than they can accept. The NSE coordinator on your campus has access to placement statistics from previous years and is in the best position to assist the student in determining placement probabilities. From the campuses selected by the student, the coordinator may recommend prioritizing the choices in such a way as to improve the student’s potential for acceptance. Although 83% of applicants are annually placed at their first choice college or university, the student must be prepared with acceptable alternatives.

POST-PLACEMENT ADVISING AGREEMENT

Prior to leaving the home campus, the exchange student must develop a written advising agreement governing the selection of courses in which the student plans to enroll at the host campus. For flexibility, NSE students are advised to identify two or three times as many courses as they actually plan to take. This will help the student accommodate to registration priority and course availability at the host campus. A link to Campus Catalogs (called schedule in Canada) can be found on the NSE Web site so that students can review descriptions of courses by department.

An NSE student will generally have registration access to courses on the host campus similar to students of similar class standing at the host institution. In some cases, however, registration access is prior to native students; and in some cases the host university does not permit NSE registration until all its own native students have registered. NSE students must meet the pre-requisites or co-requisites identified for host campus courses.

The home campus NSE coordinator will provide the advising agreement appropriate to your own campus along with directions for its completion and return. The coordinator can also answer questions you or the student might have regarding how courses successfully completed will be identified on the home campus transcript and whether or not the grades earned on exchange will be calculated in the home campus GPA.

The advising agreement should indicate where each intended course, if satisfactorily completed, will fit into the student’s home degree program, major, electives, core requirements, etc. A signed copy of the agreement should be given to the student, the NSE coordinator, the records office, and other designated administrators. If a student fails to complete a written advising agreement prior to exchange, the student has no guarantee of how completed courses will fit into the home campus degree requirements. For any additions, deviations or substitutions from the initial advising agreement the student must secure written (e-mail or fax) approval from the individual who initially approved the agreement.

DURING EXCHANGE

You should not expect any contact with the student during exchange unless the student needs approval to modify their advising agreement. Prior to return to the home campus, the student may need advising assistance in selecting courses for their first term back home.

"Students who participate in the NSE program consistently cite their experience as the single most rewarding opportunity of their college career. They return full of life, interested in furthering their education and, in many cases, more goal oriented. They become explorers ready to take on the challenges a new environment offers them."

Ross Meloan
NSE Coordinator
and Director of Career Services
Murray State University