Returning to Auckland

Welcome back from your exchange. We hope you had a great time overseas!

Transfer credit process

The transfer credit process is when courses taken on exchange are officially added to your degree here at the University of Auckland. This takes approximately three to ten working days.

We will need the following four items from you:

  1. Official Host University Transcript
  2. Exchange Report
  3. Transfer Credit Application Form
  4. Completed Course Approval Form

Before the end of each exchange semester, we will send the exchange cohort email reminders with instructions regarding the credit transfer process and the deadline by which we need your documents, especially if you are hoping to apply for the next graduation ceremony.

Students going on exchange in Auckland Semester One will receive credit transfer reminders between May to July. Students going on exchange in Auckland Semester Two will receive credit transfer reminders between December to February.

Please note that January to February and July to August are very busy periods for our team with overlapping exchange cohorts. It's also a very busy time for many teams in the university such as the faculties and Graduation office, so it's important to submit your documents as soon as possible for your credit transfer. 

Official transcript from your host university

360 International can only accept official transcripts if your host university sends the official transcript directly to the 360 International team (by email or post). We cannot accept transcripts sent directly from students.

    We can accept digital or physical official transcripts.

    • Digital transcript: This must be emailed by the host university directly to 360international@auckland.ac.nz.
    • Physical transcript: 
      • If your transcript is being sent to 360 International, we will notify you once we have received it.
                    
      • If your transcript is being sent to your home address, please do not open the envelope but bring it to 360 International. We will take a copy and return the original to you.

    If your host university provides digital transcripts through a portal which allows us to download and/or verify authenticity of your transcript online (e.g a transcript portal like My eQuals), you can send 360 International a link for us to download or verify the transcript online.

    Due to regulations, we cannot accept transcripts if you email it to us directly as a PDF or forward us an email from the host university with your transcript attachment. If the host university emails your transcript to you directly, please contact them and request for your host university to email the offical transcript to 360 International.

    Many of our partner universities will automatically send out exchange student transcripts once available, however in some cases you may need to request a transcript through the Registrar or an online portal. 

    If your host university does not issue your official transcript and you must initiate the request for your official transcript to be sent to 360international@auckland.ac.nz, please action this in a timely manner.

      Instructions for your official transcript should be provided by the exchange office at your host university, but please reach out to them if you are unsure of the process or timeline. If your host university does not issue your official transcript in time for us to post your credits, unfortunately this will delay your ability to graduate in the next graduation ceremony.

      Transfer Credit Form

      Download and fill out the form below. Submit it to 360 International by email.

      Exchange report

      In the exchange report, we ask you to write about your exchange experience and share with us highlights and photos from your time abroad. These reports and photos maybe used on our blog to inspire other University of Auckland students to go on exchange. 

      Please submit the exchange report attached to your learning abroad portal profile. The exchange report can be found on the My Programmes section of your learning abroad portal profile. Please click on the Past tab on the right side of the page and select your host university programme to access the exchange report.

      Course approvals

      While abroad, if you have enrolled into additional courses that you have not yet received approval for, please submit another course approval form and relevant course outlines to your faculty advisers for assessment as soon as possible. You must submit new course approval requests to your Faculty before the deadline to change enrolments at your host university.

      Faculty staff are not obligated to process any course approval requests that are submitted following the deadline to change enrolments at your host university, or upon your return to Auckland.

      If you only took courses you already had approval for and sent the approvals through to 360 International, you don't need to do anything else.

      Note: A new course approval is needed if your host university course title or code has changed, even if it was originally pre-approved under a different title/code.

      Posting credits on your Auckland transcript

      We can only transfer credit for courses that you have passed at the host university (grades are not transferred). Courses must be passed based on the host university's passing grade, which may differ from the passing grade at Auckland, so it's important to check with your host university.

      You must still take the academic experience seriously as you will still receive a transcript from your host university, which is still part of your official academic record, and you may be required to provide this as part of future applications for postgraduate programmes, postgraduate scholarships and employment opportunities.

      Courses from exchange will be listed as ‘CRDT’ on your transcript, which indicates credit has been awarded. Courses taken on exchange will not affect your GPA. Your GPA will remain as it was before you departed for the exchange.  

      On your Auckland transcript your exchange semester will always show up as ‘In Progress’ even after your credits have been transferred. This does not affect your ability to graduate or enrol into further studies.

      Graduation after exchange

      Did you complete your final semester of your degree abroad on exchange? 

      360 International will require your credit transfer documents well in advance of the deadline to apply for the next graduation ceremony. The Graduation Office is strict and will not accept late applications. Please note that your ability to graduate will be delayed if we do not receive your documents in time or for other reasons that are not within our control or your control.

      The process for your credit transfer will involve the following steps:

      • You submit your documents to 360 International as soon as possible.
      • 360 International reviews your documents and if everything is matches up, we post credits on SSO. If there are any courses that have not been approved, a missing grade or missing piece of information, this will delay your credit transfer.
      • After we have posted your credits, 360 International sends you an email confirmation. You need to download an unofficial transcript from Student Services Online to ensure the credits are appearing correctly.
      • Your faculty will complete your final checks for your eligibility to graduate.
      • If you've been made eligible to graduate, you will receive an email notifying you that you can apply to graduate. Allow at least two working days for the 'apply to graduate' tile to become available on Student Services Online after you're made eligible to graduate.
      • Apply to graduate using Student Services Online by the deadline. After applications close, you cannot apply to graduate.

      For everything related to graduation, please review the Graduation website.

      If you have any questions about your eligibility to graduate, please contact the Student Hubs. 360 International cannot advise on your eligibility to graduate.

      Attend the pre-departure session

      Remember when you attended a pre-departure session and asked questions to students who had been on exchange? Now it’s your chance to answer the questions! Pre-departure is held during the study break before exams (June or October). We’ll email you asking you to attend.

      Join the Study Abroad Students’ Society

      The Study Abroad Students’ Society (SASS) is a club which consists of returned alumni and current incoming exchange students. It is a great way to get involved, share your passion for exchange and provide new students with an awesome experience at the University.

      Dealing with reverse culture shock

      Be prepared that you may come home and get a case of reverse culture shock.

      When you return:

      • Give presentations to family, friends, community groups, schools, about your experience overseas. Do anything that allows you to process, and pass on, your experiences.
      • Take some time to be a tourist in your own area. Observe things in the same way you did while overseas.
      • Keep your expectations reasonable. It may take a while to settle in and feel at home again.
      • Stay active, positive, forward looking.
      • Market yourself. Update your CV. Highlight any languages or specialised skills you picked up.  

      The Alumni Office have created helpful guides with insider information if you find yourself abroad after you've graduated. You can check out their City Landing Guides.