About Us
School of Record
Overview:
The ϳԹ (ϳԹ) is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award the following degree types: Associates, Baccalaureates, Masters, Specialist, and Doctorate degrees. Located in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, Florida, ϳԹ holds the Carnegie Classification of a Research Very High institution and is one of the largest public universities in the nation, and among the top 50 universities, public or private, for federal research expenditures. For more information about ϳԹ, please see our annual ϳԹ Facts publications.
ϳԹ recognizes the importance in higher education for institutions to ensure high academic standards in Global Learning and recognizes that Schools of Record play a key role in ensuring that students have an academically rich educational experience abroad and receive appropriate credit for the academic work completed abroad. In accordance with the Forum on Education Abroad’s , the ϳԹ proudly serves as the accredited institution documenting and awarding U.S. credits for courses in partnership with the Florence University of the Arts (FUA) , Sea|Mester, and WorldStrides Higher Education.
ϳԹ’s School of Record Processes:
ϳԹ conducts regular site visits to its partner institutions to ensure academic and programmatic integrity and quality. A member of the ϳԹ community also sits on the advisory boards of each of its School of Record partners.
ϳԹ faculty from relevant departments evaluate each syllabus from our partner institutions to determine the ϳԹ course equivalency. In addition, the curricula vitae and copies of transcripts or diplomas of our partner institutions’ faculty are reviewed and approved by departmental chairs and college deans to ensure that they are qualified to teach in the academic discipline and/or area of specialization.
ϳԹ considers partner institutions’ courses to be, in every respect, the equivalent of a ϳԹ course. However, since ϳԹ recognizes that students are enrolled in our partners’ courses, the credit is shown as “transfer” rather than “institutional” credit on the ϳԹ transcript. The original foreign-taught course title, course number, number of credits and grade are included on the transcript, followed by the ϳԹ equivalent. This most accurately represents the connection between the foreign course and the ϳԹ equivalent.
Students who require duplicate official transcripts from a previous study abroad experience through FUA, SEA|mester or WorldStrides should contact the Global Learning Office for assistance. Standard transcript fees are assessed. Information on obtaining additional transcripts can be found here.
current partners:
Florence University of the Arts (FUA)
Florence University of the Arts (FUA) is an internationally recognized institution and leading provider of study abroad programming in Florence. It is an Italian non-profit educational institution certified by the European Union, and is accredited by the Region of Tuscany Ministry of Education.
ϳԹ faculty evaluate each course from FUA to determine ϳԹ equivalencies. Each course equivalency must be approved by the ϳԹ chair of the department and dean of the respective college. The curricula vitae and copies of transcripts or diplomas of FUA faculty are reviewed and approved by departmental chairs and college deans for qualification to teach in their academic discipline and/or area of specialization.
ϳԹ considers these FUA courses to be, in every respect, the equivalent of a ϳԹ course. However, since ϳԹ recognizes that students are enrolled in FUA courses, the credit is shown as “transfer” rather than “system/institutional” credit on the ϳԹ transcript. The original FUA course is included on the transcript, followed by the ϳԹ equivalent. This most accurately represents the connection between the FUA course and the ϳԹ equivalent. Students are able to obtain additional official ϳԹ transcripts through the Office of the Registrar.
In building this School of Record agreement, all levels of the university were consulted and asked to approve the relationship, including but not limited to the Office of Decision Support, Office of the Provost, Office of the Registrar, the ϳԹ Undergraduate Counsel, the Academics and University Environment Workgroup reporting to the Board of Trustees, in addition to the individual colleges and departments throughout the ϳԹ System. ϳԹ also sent official notification to SACSCOC regarding the SoR relationship between ϳԹ and FUA.
In developing the School of Record relationship, ϳԹ and FUA have closely consulted and followed the Guidelines for School of Record Relationships developed by the Forum on Global Learning with input from the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Offices.
ϳԹ has had a long-standing relationship with FUA – in 2006 courses of Apicius, the hospitality and culinary institute of FUA, were approved by ϳԹ’s Undergraduate Studies in Tampa. Further, over the past 10 years, more than 1800 ϳԹ students have studied at FUA, and more than 50 ϳԹ faculty and staff have visited FUA. Under the SoR agreement, every two years, a delegation consisting of ϳԹ administrative and teaching staff conduct a site visit to FUA, conversely FUA staff visit ϳԹ on a biannual basis. The School of Record relationship between ϳԹ and FUA was established in 2012.
Sea|Mester
Sea|Mester programs are undertaken on sailing vessels that circumnavigate the globe. Students live on board the ships with professional sailing and teaching staff. It is an ongoing learning experience with programs ranging from 20 to 90 days in duration. The voyages take students to the Caribbean & Lesser Antilles; Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean; Pacific Ocean and Polynesia; Australia and Indonesia; and to Asia, India and Suez Canal. In 2011, Sea|Mester was awarded the prestigious Sea Education Program of the Year Award by Tall Ships America (Formerly the American Sail Training Association). Sea|mester offers a limited number of courses each year (typically under 10) that relate to marine biology, oceanography, meteorology, geology, navigation skills, and leadership.
The SoR relationship was established in 2014 by recommendation of faculty from the Integrative Biology department who had worked on the SEA|Mester program for several years.
WorldStrides
ISA (now WorldStrides) was established in 1987 to provide academically challenging and culturally thorough study abroad programs for US college students. Their first established program was a partnership with the University of Salamanca that still exists today. Since then, it has grown to a global provider offering a wide variety of international education opportunities throughout Western Europe, Africa and Latin America. In 2015, ISA was acquired by WorldStrides, making it part of the largest educational travel company in the U.S. The SoR relationship between ϳԹ and WorldStrides was established in 2021. Initially, ϳԹ will serve as the School of Record in WorldStrides’ study centers in Meknes, Morocco, Sevilla, Spain and Cusco, Peru as well as for all internship and service-learning programs and courses.
For questions regarding ϳԹ’s School of Record relationships, please send us an email.