College Credit Overview
SPI uses foreign universities and university accredited language institutes for our course work abroad. These institutions provide high school students, upon successful completion of their courses, with an official transcript that they may use to petition college credit from their future university.
Petitioning Credit Once Enrolled in a University
After SPI receives your official transcript in our office in late September, we will mail you
an official copy of your transcript in a sealed envelope. You will mail this official transcript directly to your U.S. university once you are enrolled. Please do not include your transcript with college applications – only petition for credit after you are enrolled.
Contact Hours/Credit Hours
Most SPI language immersion programs give 40-80 contact hours, or classroom hours, enabling for a potential of up to 2-6 semester college credit hours by your university. Contact hours are treated differently at every school. Some schools will grant specific class credit for the hours (ie. Spanish), although most give a general foreign language or elective credit. Most regular semester-long college courses are 3 credit hours.
The following is the general rule for granting credit:
15 Contact Hours = 1 College Credit Hour
Credit Granting Notice
IMPORTANT: Due to the nature of college credit granting by each individual U.S. University, it is impossible for SPI to guarantee credit for any student. It is ultimately the decision of your future school if they will honor the transcript or not.
High School Study Abroad Credits
Most high schools do not grant high school level credit from unaffiliated international summer programs. The AP/IB exams are the most assured way and offer the greatest amount of college credit for high school students. You may contact your school to see if they will award any high school credit for your coursework overseas.