Introduction

Be World Ready semester exchange students, will be immersed in the culture, traditions and education of their host country. This experience will allow students to develop on both a personal and professional level and distinguish their resume.

Any student who wishes to embark on an immersive international experience such as a Semester Exchange will need to be independent, resilient and organized. Students will be required work within deadlines, organize accommodation abroad, and select their own timetable. The Be World Ready team, NC International staff, and Partner Institute faculty are will try to assist with any issues you may encounter, but students are ultimately responsible for their own success. Students will need to make studies a priority during their time abroad. If a student does not pass a class while studying abroad, they will need to re-take the credit at Niagara College.

Every student exchange is a unique opportunity and will be specifically crafted by Niagara College and Be World Ready on a case by case basis. A student wishing to participate in a semester exchange must complete the initial requirements a MINIMUM of 8 months prior to the desired academic start date at the foreign institution. It is preferable to begin the process 10-12 months prior to the start of the academic term for which you wish to be abroad. Please see the requirements section for detailed deadlines.

Niagara College and its global educational partners do not exchange fees. Semester exchange students will be required to pay full-time NC tuition, but not the tuition of the partner institution.

Estimated monthly living costs are $900-$1500 CAD, and are dependent on country, city, housing costs, and lifestyle. This estimate does not include flights to and from your destination. All students are eligible for a $500 Be World Ready grant to help offset these costs.

Prior to completing an application to complete a semester exchange, all interested students must first meet with a Study & Work Abroad Advisor to discuss their options. Please email [email protected] to schedule an appointment.

Requirements

All domestic and international full-time Niagara College students enrolled in a 3 Year Advanced Diploma or a 4 Year Bachelor Degree are eligible to apply for a Semester Exchange.

3 Year Advanced Diploma students are eligible to participate in a Semester Exchange during the 4^th & 5^th term. Be World Ready and Program Coordinators will assist students in determining what term best suits student’s educational goals while studying abroad.

4 Year Bachelor Degree students are eligible to participate in a Semester Exchange during the 4^th, 6^th, & 7^th terms. Be World Ready and Program Coordinators will assist students in determining what term best suits student’s educational goals while studying abroad.

All academic requirements must be completed by the end of academic term, under no circumstances will coursework or exams be allowed to take place after the end of the term. For example, for a Fall Semester Exchange all coursework and exams must be completed by December 31^st.

Students must be in good academic standing with a GPA of  75% or higher to be eligible for a Semester Exchange.

Students must have a valid passport that does not expire within 6 months after day of arrival in host country. If students require visa to enter the host country, Niagara College will support the applicants through this process. Please see the visa section of this page for more information regarding acquiring visas.

Students must submit an application for a Semester Exchange on the Be World Ready website no later than the following dates. If applications are received after the deadlines an exchange may not be possible for the desired year.

• Fall 2020 Exchange: Application due by February 1, 2020
• Winter 2021 Exchange: Application due by June 1, 2020
• Fall 2021 Exchange: Application due by February 1, 2021
• Winter 2022 Exchange: Application due by June 1, 2022

Students who are enrolled in a 2 Year Diploma program, are encouraged to visit www.beworldready.ca and view other international opportunities such as International Field Studies, Summer Institutes, and Volunteer/Work Abroad options. All international opportunities are eligible for a Be World Ready grant up to $500.

Academics

Selecting a Partner Institution

Please visit beworldready.ca to view the full list of Niagara College’s International Exchange Partners. Students must research and select a host institution themselves. Be World Ready and Niagara College will only assist in building an academic plan for one institute per student.

Students are encouraged to research what each institute offers regards to academics, student life, and facilities, along with the culture and cost of living in the host country. It is important to note which institutes are located in the city center and which are in residential areas as this will affect transportation availability and housing costs.

Once a Partner Institute has been chosen, students must email [email protected] to arrange an appointment with a Be World Ready team member. This meeting will cover a variety of subjects including course progression, academic plan, timeline, and next steps.

Program Approval (3-6 Weeks)

Be World Ready will review the academic requirements of each student’s Niagara College Program to assess the viability of a Semester Exchange. For specialized programs, International Partner Institutes may not offer courses which satisfy Niagara College’s academic requirements. In this scenario students may be able to take courses abroad which will satisfy 3-5 general elective credits.

If the academic requirements of a Niagara College Program will be satisfied by an International Partner Institutions, a Semester Exchange will not be possible. Academic success is the main priority of Niagara College.

Course Equivalency Approval (3 – 6 Weeks)

Be World Ready will work with NC and Partner Institute Academic Advisors to find courses that match the academic schedule of a student’s Niagara College Program. In some cases, required courses are available only one semester a year. In this case a Semester Exchange student will be required to take this course in addition to their regular full-time studies or have their path to graduation pushed back. Niagara College Academic Advisors will liaison with Be World Ready to ensure student success.

Selecting Courses

When the International Partner course list that satisfy Niagara College program requirements becomes available, students will rank the courses they wish to be enrolled in. All available courses will made available to students, it is important to choose more courses than required as scheduling conflicts may occur.

Students are encouraged you to visit Partner Institutions’ website to research course offerings. Most partners offer a detailed course outline similar to Niagara College. It is important to make an informed decision when choosing courses as once you are enrolled in a courses changes often cannot be made.

A list of desired courses, ranked in order of preference, must be sent to Be World Ready as soon as possible allow adequate time to prepare a Preliminary Learning Agreement.

All coursework and exams are required to be completed in the host country by the end of the academic term. Exams and coursework cannot be completed upon return to Canada. Courses may be 100% coursework based and have a final exam. These courses are called Continuously Assessed (CA) courses.

Learning Agreement (2–6 Weeks)

A Learning Agreement documents all equivalencies, exemptions and other important course information. This document will dictate how credits earned at a Partner Institute will be allocated on a Niagara College Transcript. A Learning Agreement must be approved by Be World Ready, the Partner Institute and Associate Dean.

An Associate Dean will review all course details for the Partner Institute and Niagara College and determine course equivalency. If and Associate Dean do not believe a Semester Exchange is in the students best academic interests they may deny the Learning Agreement or deny a student’s request to participate in a Semester Exchange.

Learning Agreement Example: A learning Agreement may state that a student is receiving 2 General Elective credits, 1 Language Elective, and 1 credit equivalent to COMM 1145.