Students planning to earn credit for a program abroad must be enrolled in credit at UNL during the term(s) they are abroad. Being enrolled keeps participants “active” at UNL as a full or part-time student while they are on their program, and it enables eligible scholarships and financial aid to be disbursed to help fund students’ experiences.
Students can enroll in credit in two different ways. Students can:
- Enroll directly in UNL courses, or
- Enroll in a Special Course Waiver placeholder course if they are earning transfer credit (the Global Experiences Office will enroll students in SPCW).
UNL Course
Students should enroll in a UNL course if they are participating in:
- A faculty-led program with courses taught by UNL faculty
- A special UNL-sponsored program, like the Nebraska at Oxford program, where host country faculty directly teach UNL courses
- An independent study program supervised by UNL faculty
- An internship, research, or service learning program with credit supervised by UNL faculty
For UNL course enrollment instructions, students should contact their faculty leader/supervisor or that faculty member’s department.
Special Course Waiver
Special Course Waiver (SPCW) is a placeholder “course” that students are enrolled in when they are earning credit abroad from another institution. This course keeps students active at UNL while they are away on their programs. Student SPCW enrollment hours should match the number of credit hours they plan to earn from their program abroad. After students have their credits pre-evaluated, the Global Experiences Office enrolls students in the SPCW course.
For example, a student studying abroad in the spring semester is planning to take 12 credits abroad. In late-October through November, they will get 12 credits evaluated by the respective departments (History courses are evaluated by the History department, Art courses are evaluated by the Art department, etc.). Once all 12 credits have been evaluated, Global Experiences Office enrolls the student in SPCW for 12 credits. The SPCW enrollment will show up on a student's MyRed enrollment, making them elligible to receive scholarships & financial aid.
SPCW courses do not have a grade or tuition associated with them.
Due to federal and University rules, students enrolling in SPCW must have their transfer credit pre-evaluated prior to the start of their program. This helps ensure that courses are able to count toward a student’s degree and fit within their academic degree plan. For more information on the pre-evaluation process, see Pre-Departure Credit Evaluation.