Progression and credit transfer
Find out what steps you need to take, before returning from an exchange, to ensure successful progression.
On successful completion of your exchange, you will receive credit for the work completed abroad and progress into your next academic year at UoE.
This involves going through a Progression Board, the first of which typically occurs in September each year. During the progression process, your School, College, and SWAY check and assess your returning transcript from your host institution. We check that you have:
- attempted the correct number of credits/courses at your host institution
- taken and passed appropriate courses which will satisfy your learning requirements for Edinburgh
- obtained sufficient credit
- taken courses aligned with the Learning Agreement we have for you in Mobility Online
Once your transcript has been considered by the relevant Progression Board/Board of Examiners at the University of Edinburgh, and if you meet the above criteria, then your University of Edinburgh records will be updated to indicate the credit awarded for your exchange period and you will progress to your subsequent year of study.
Notes
Please note that updating your record can take some time and does not happen immediately. This is nothing to be concerned about and you should still be able to enrol in your final year courses and matriculate whilst awaiting your record update. Should there be any issues impeding or delaying your progression you will be notified.
Progression Board processes vary slightly for European Languages students and research students e.g., chemistry research. We still require a copy of your transcript, but this is then assessed by your individual School which awards credit for your time abroad.
Steps you need to take
Please read the following information to ensure smooth progression and transfer of credit on your return to Edinburgh after your exchange:
If you have failed courses or are concerned that you will not meet the credit requirement for your year or semester abroad, please let us know.
If you are not yet sure if you have failed courses but suspect you may have, we ask that you await your official results and then get in touch with us so we can support you. If you know that you have failed an exam it is important to notify the relevant SWAY team and your Exchange Coordinator as soon as possible so we can look into the impact this may have, and advise on your next steps.
The implications of failing a course may vary depending on factors such as your degree programme or the course failed. Each situation is taken on a case-by-case basis and assessed by your college (CAHSS or CSE) – whether you will receive your 120 credits and successfully progress depends on various factors including how many credits you achieve overall, whether failed courses are compulsory courses and any mitigating circumstances you may have.
It is, therefore, important that you contact your exchanges team should you have any extenuating circumstances that affected your academic achievement whilst abroad.
Before (and possibly also during) your exchange, you completed a Learning Agreement displaying the courses you and your Exchange Coordinator had agreed you would take whilst on exchange.
In order to confirm that you have met your learning requirements and enable your progression, we need to check your Learning Agreement against your returning transcript to ensure that they match your original approved courses. If you changed your courses since the last agreement you uploaded into the system, you will need to complete an Amended Learning Agreement in Mobility Online.
All students undertaking an exchange period are expected to return a transcript of results to the Study and Work Away Service (SWAY) at the end of their exchange period. You should receive this from your host institution - this is an official document that should clearly indicate:
- all courses you completed and at what level
- grades and marks obtained
- credit awarded
This process for obtaining your transcript varies from institution to institution, so please check with your host institution's International Office. You must ensure that you know how to obtain this from your host university before you leave - please do not simply assume that it will be sent to Edinburgh as a matter of course.
Some institutions may send it to Edinburgh automatically whilst others may send it directly to you or require you to collect it before your departure. At some institutions, you may need to collate and submit individual certificates to a particular office or member of staff at your host university, whilst at others, you may need to specifically request a transcript in order for it to be generated. You may be required to request the transcript be sent to us by completing an online form or paying a small fee which you need to pay yourself.
If you have undertaken project work or research (rather than courses and assessments) then you must request and obtain a summary or report from your supervisor outlining the work completed.
It is your responsibility to make sure your transcript will be transferred from your host university to the University of Edinburgh at the end of your exchange - you should organise this before departing from your exchange.
In order to progress you into your next academic year at UoE, we need to receive a copy of your official transcript. Without it, we are not able to check that you have adhered to your Learning Agreement and passed your courses and obtained the required number of credits at your host institution. We need this official confirmation in order for you to receive UoE credits toward your degree.
Please ensure transcripts are sent to the relevant SWAY exchanges team. We prefer electronic transcripts but if you would like a hard copy for yourself, you should request an additional transcript from your host for your own purposes.
Once we have received and processed your transcript, you will be notified via your Mobility Online workflow. You will also be able to download an electronic copy of your transcript via the workflow.
If we do not receive your transcript before the start of the academic year, you will not receive credit for your year abroad before you resume your studies here - should there be any shortfall in the credit obtained at your host university, this may affect your ability to continue your studies at Edinburgh.
The work you do whilst on exchange will always be transferred back to your degree at Edinburgh. Some students will be awarded credits only for their time abroad, whilst others will be awarded both credits and grades. You can see which applies to you below:
You will be awarded credits only from your time abroad if:
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Your exchange is not a compulsory part of your degree
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OR you are an International Business/Law with a Language student
Your credits will be awarded by the College Study Abroad Academic Progression Board, which meets in early September.
You will be awarded both credits and grades for your time abroad if:
-
You are a DELC student
Your credits and grades will be awarded by your School Academic Progression Board. Please refer to the DELC Year Abroad handbook for detailed information about credit/grade conversion for Modern European Languages students.
You should check with your School how your credits/grades will be awarded if:
- You are doing a research placement at your host institution (rather than taking courses)
-
You are a PhD student
Your credits/grades will be awarded by your School Academic Progression Exam Board.