Course Approval Process

Students who are participating in an Exchange, Affiliate, or Direct Enroll Program should complete the course approval process.

To begin the course approval process, download the Course Approval Form from our Forms page. From there, students should pencil in course offerings that they would like to take while abroad from the course catalog of the partner university or program abroad. Courses that are available through the partner university are frequently linked through the program page in our online portal.

Our office recommends selecting first choice courses, but also selecting “back-up” courses in case your top choice courses fill during the term you intend to be abroad. You will want to enter information into the “Subject & Course #,” “Course Title,” and “Expected Credits” columns. Once you complete your portion of the Course Approval Form, you must review the form and your course choices with your Academic Advisor. They will fill in the “Drake Equivalent” and “Fulfill and AOI?” columns, and then you and your Academic Advisor will sign the form, and turn it into your College or School’s Dean’s Office for final approval. The College or School’s Dean’s Office will return an electronic version of the Course Approval Form to you, and you can then upload it into your online application.

For semester students, your unofficial transcript in Drake’s MyDusis system will display 12 credits in progress, no matter how many credits you are taking while abroad. When your study abroad transcript arrives at Drake after your program concludes, your Drake transcript will be updated with the actual number of courses and credits that you have taken abroad. You must earn a C- or higher in each course for it to count as credit toward a Drake course or requirement.

For Academic Advisors and Assistant or Associate Deans, please assist your student with reviewing the courses they have selected on their Course Approval Form. Most of our partner universities abroad and partner organizations freely provide course syllabus and descriptions. Sometimes those can be found directly on the program’s website (which the student should have access to). In some cases, the course syllabus or descriptions are not open to the public, but we can contact that university to get copies of the course syllabus and descriptions, if needed. Once you have finished reviewing the student’s course selections and decide how they can count toward Drake requirements, please indicate this in the “Drake Equivalent” and “Fulfill and AOI?” columns. In some cases, the student’s overseas course selections may change. It is the student's responsibility to notify you of any change in courses taken and to remain enrolled full-time while abroad.