A recent informal Eagle poll of AU Abroad alumni found that 15 percent had trouble transferring their credits and another 15 percent felt misled by the AU Abroad office. Many students complained about outdated course information or finding out when they returned from abroad that courses they took abroad do not count for the major or minor requirements that the students thought they did.
The main complaint is about miscommunication and conflicting messages between advising offices, AU Abroad and the registrar's office. Students have enough trouble coordinating regular scheduling among all necessary schools (more than one for double majors), specialty programs like the Honors Program and Financial Aid (to ensure that scholarship requirements are being met). Throwing another whole university office into the mix usually seems to add more headaches.
AU touts its study abroad programs as some of the best in the country (with good reason), and the majority of the student body studies abroad for at least one semester. It doesn't seem right that the majority of students shouldn't be met halfway.
The university should provide more detailed information about the scheduling and forms necessary for each program.
Most advisers at AU - academic and abroad - are pretty great, despite the high turnover rate. Providing more centralized, detailed information will help them do their jobs and better serve students.
