Study Abroad/ NSE (National Student Exchange)

Instructions relating to Department of Biology Majors or courses for students who are either:

• USF students planning on participating in NSE or Study Abroad
• Incoming NSE students who plan to take Biology courses while attending USF

USF Students taking courses at another institution through Study Abroad or NSE:

1. Meet with the NSE or Study Abroad Coordinator for application materials, university/course information, etc. Office located in New Student Welcome Center , ADM 102; Phone: 813-974-1151. Coordinator Joanne Pieri
2. Once approved to participate in NSE or Study Abroad, select courses to take at the NSE/Study Abroad Host Institution. It is recommended to choose more courses than you need so you have backups.
3. Request course descriptions for each NSE/Study Abroad course. Request course syllabi for all science courses. Most science departments will require a full course syllabus to approve a course at another institution. The NSE/Study Abroad office should be able to assist you in obtaining the necessary syllabi. Office located in Cooper Hall, Room 468; Phone: (813) 974-4314 email: studyabroad@iac.usf.edu (Coordinator varies by program)
4. Each course that meets a degree requirement must be approved by the department that offers the course (i.e. General Chemistry II or Biochemistry must be approved by Dept of Chemistry). Most USF departments will have a course evaluation request form or coversheet to attach to the syllabus submitted for approval. If not, be sure to include a note with as much information about yourself (name, U#, email, your major, why you are submitting the form, etc.) and request that the departmental approvals be sent/copied to your advisor. The Biology course evaluation coversheet is outside the advising office SCA 203 or available online. Submit the coversheet with an attached syllabus to SCA 203 (or fax to 813.974.3263). Any general education course can be approved at the College Office in BEH 201.
5. Once course evaluations are complete, submit the NSE/Study Abroad Advising Agreement to your major academic advisor for approval. The NSE/Study Abroad Advising Agreement will need to be signed by the student's academic advisor. The Advising Agreement will document the approval of the NSE/Study Abroad institution's courses and verify what USF requirements will be met. Department of Biology majors are welcome to drop off the Advising Agreement in SCA 203 when all course approvals are complete. However, if you drop off the form, be sure to follow up with an email to bioadvise@cas.usf.edu to ensure your advisor received the form. Please tell us if you would like the form immediately forwarded to the NSE/Study Abroad office or if you will pick it up in SCA 203.
6. Meet all other NSE/Study Abroad requirements.

Incoming NSE student preparing to attend biology courses at USF

1. Meet with the NSE for application materials, university/course information, etc.
2. Once approved to participate in NSE, select courses to take at USF. (Science courses fill up fast at USF, so we highly recommend choosing extra for back-up.)
   • In regards to selecting biology courses at USF, be sure to review all biology course prerequisites. The Department of Biology STRICTLY enforces the course prerequisites. Use the link to Courses in the left navigation pane to obtain this information, or the link to Permits. The permit request form has the prerequisites for courses being taught in the current semester.
   • FYI: Other departments such as Chemistry, Math, and Psychology may also require your prerequisites to be approved. Be sure to follow up with your NSE coordinator and the academic departments.
3. Have USF departments approve prerequisites necessary to take biology courses.
   • Each science course must be approved by the department which offers the course (i.e. General Chemistry II or Biochemistry must be approved by Dept of Chemistry). Most USF departments will have a course evaluation request form or coversheet to attach to the syllabus submitted for approval. If not, be sure to include a note with information about yourself (name, identification as a NSE student, U#, email, your major, why you are submitting the form, etc.) and request that the departmental approvals are sent/copied to the NSE coordinator and academic advisor.
   • The Biology course evaluation coversheet is available in SCA 203 or online. Submit the coversheet with an attached syllabus to SCA 203 (or fax to 813.974.3263).
   • Any general education course can be approved at the College Office in BEH 201. Be sure to identify yourself as an NSE student and include a copy (may be unofficial) of your transcript.
4. Once course evaluations are complete, submit the NSE Advising Agreement to your major academic advisor for approval and meet all other NSE requirements.
5. PRIOR to your USF NSE semester registration, you will need to request Course Permits in order to register for biology (and potentially other) USF courses. You will need to submit a permit request form to the department offering the course.
   • Department of Biology Prerequisite Permits may be requested online (use the link in the navigation pane to the left to Permits). At the bottom of the online form, there is a comment box. Be sure to 1) Identify yourself as a NSE student and 2) Indicate the date your prerequisites were approved by the departments with proof of unofficial transcripts.
   • For those who did not have the course approvals already completed, you may submit a paper version of the permit form with the course evaluation and unofficial transcript. Once the course evaluations are approved and verified with the unofficial transcript, the paper permit may be processed.
   • If one of the prerequisites is currently being completed at your Home institution, you may receive a preliminary course permit. You will be instructed to submit a follow up unofficial transcript to prove that you completed the prerequisite course with a C- or better.
6. Register for USF courses
   • Unfortunately, there is no special way that our department can get you into a closed course. Keep watching OASIS to see if a seat becomes available. DO NOT keep trying to register for a closed course. Repeated attempts to register will cause the system to lock you out.
   • Many students will drop throughout registration, and several will drop (or be dropped) during the first week - so don't give up!During the first week of classes, seats will change dramatically.
   • Each student MUST attend the first day of class or the student will be dropped from the class. If lecture and labs are connected, students must attend BOTH first days to stay in both courses.
   • 5pm on the first Friday is the deadline to finish adding all of your semester courses online. If a seat opens in a course after the last day to add, you can petition to late add a course. See your NSE coordinator for the procedure.