Academic Transfer Credit

Transcript and Academic Credit Information

The purpose of this section is to explain how LPI handles the university transcripts of students who participate in our study abroad programs. LPI students study at accredited universities abroad and receive an official transcript upon successful completion of the program. Transcripts are sent directly to LPI from the university and may take 3-4 months to arrive. Once received, LPI sends one unofficial copy of the transcript, an LPI cover letter, and a Transcript Release Form (TRF) to all students. If a student has an outstanding balance, LPI will not release the transcript.

Terms

Official Transcript: Official record issued by the foreign university of the course(s) completed while abroad. Official transcripts include course titles, number of hours of instruction, grades earned and language level.

LPI Cover Letter: An explanation of the contents of the transcript translated into English and the circumstances under which the course was administered. LPI also suggests how the credits earned abroad may be transferred.

Transcript Release Form (TRF): Online form used to request that LPI send an official transcript to a student's high school or university. The TRF must include a completed mailing address (P.O. Boxes are not acceptable) and the name of a contact person.

Applying to Universities

LPI students who have completed coursework abroad should send a COPY of their unofficial transcript and LPI cover letter to all the universities to which they apply. Official transcripts are not normally required in order to be considered for acceptance. Once a student has decided which university to attend, he/she should then complete the TRF requesting LPI to send an official transcript and cover letter. It is very important that the entire school address (no P.O. Boxes) is indicated along with the name of a contact person who will receive the transcript on the TRF. LPI sends all official transcripts and cover letters via UPS ground service. Once the transcript and cover letter are received, the university will evaluate the coursework completed abroad to determine how the credits will transfer.

Transfer Credits

Ultimately, it is the decision of the university receiving the transfer credits to determine the grade equivalency and how coursework will be evaluated. LPI is not responsible if credits do not transfer. Universities may accept coursework completed abroad as pass/fail credit. Depending on the institution, grades earned abroad may not be included in the student's overall GPA. The following are commonly used guidelines for transferring credits.

Students at universities with the semester system typically receive 1 credit hour for every 15 contact hours at the abroad university.
Students at universities with the quarter system typically receive 1 credit hour for every 10 contact hours at the abroad university.

Once the transcripts are received by the U.S. university it often takes up to 6 weeks to evaluate transfer credit and to update students' academic records. Students may also be required to provide supporting materials to those evaluating the transcript in order to transfer credits.

Supporting Materials: A student's advisors/department chair/registrar may request to see course descriptions in order to determine the type of credit or course equivalent earned abroad. Students may acquire most course descriptions from the LPI website in the "Academics" section of program site. Students should be sure to save course syllabi and any major written assignments or exams completed abroad.

Cost of Transcripts

LPI students will receive one unofficial copy of their transcript after successful completion of the program abroad and may request one official copy to be sent to a university/high school of their choice free of charge. Additional official copies will cost $15.00. If more than one official copy will be sent to the same address, each additional official copy will cost $10.00. Unofficial or digital copies of the transcript will cost $10.00. If you require an offical transcript sent from the university abroad, please call LPI at 512-474-1041.